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Tag Archives: hazel dell

Two Things Coming Up!

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October 18, 2013
Inspiration, Ministry
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There are two calendar things coming up that are really important to the mission we are on to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus.  They are on two opposite ends of the spectrum, but we’d love for you to engage in both!  Here it is!

Potential New Building Visit

We have an opportunity to buy a church property just 16 blocks from our current location that would serve our church for the next season of ministry.  We have an Open House scheduled for Sunday, October 20 from 4 to 6:00 pm where we will have a chance for you to walk around, hear the stats, and give some input.  You don’t need to be there for the whole 2 hours, but plan to give yourself at least 20 minutes to walk through.  Also, you are welcome to bring your kids!  The address is 811 NE 88th Circle, Vancouver, WA 98665.  From Hwy 99, turn on 88th towards I-5.  Whether you are from the Hazel Dell campus or from Battle Ground, we value your input!

Charity:Water Benefit Concert

Tour

We have a concert scheduled for November 5, which will be amazing!  Even more importantly, it’s for a great cause!  Charity:Water provides clean drinking water for people all over the world, which saves lives every day.  We look forward to supporting them!  You can purchase a ticket and then bring some extra money for some over-priced-for-a-purpose concessions and an opportunity to donate.  If you can’t make the concert, just mark your giving for Be Present via Sunday giving or online at www.coffeechurch.com.  We’ll be glad to direct your money to this world-changing cause!

Although a church building and drinking water seem very diverse, both are an opportunity to Be Present in a unique way.  We would love to have you as a part as we seek to change the world right down the street and around the globe!

Countdown to Year Seven: The Renovation Church

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September 20, 2013
History, Inspiration, Ministry
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We are days away from celebrating our 7th year anniversary as North Creek Church!  For the next couple of weeks, I will be sharing highlights from this incredible journey.

Around our 2nd year anniversary, we made a call that changed the course of our church.  An old night club in Hazel Dell had shut it’s doors two years earlier and the landlord was struggling to rent one of the ugliest buildings on Hwy 99.  We wanted to get a look inside.

As our team walked through that building I think we all saw the reality.  There was filth, damage, and challenges everywhere.  We were a church of about 80 people with no money, but something about this very pathetic old bar was calling our name.  It was a mess, but then again, aren’t we all?  That run-down place just needed some love, attention, and time to be used once again for a greater purpose.  It echoed the smallness of our beginnings and we wanted in.  Through a series of miracles, we not only negotiated a rent we could afford, but we fixed it up to working order with a lot of volunteer effort and all of the meager $2700 we had to spend.  We moved in November 23, 2008.

The next five years would be a constant project to make that old building the best it could be.  It’s still what I call “Funky-Chic”, but when I look around all I see is one miracle after the other.  It seemed like the renovation of that building mirrored the renovation of the hearts within it.  I will forever see the face of the dad that we prayed for who walked in one day and never left.  I see every one of the baptisms in our portable tank.  I see the tears of the people we prayed with to know Jesus.  I see the hopeful faces of the people that we handed out first Bibles to.  I see teenagers flooding out of there on a Thursday night.  I see greatness where there once was devastation.

There is a bittersweet moment for me when I remember that this old night club is not our permanent home.  It’s just a stopping point on our journey and our time there will end.  Still, it will always be a season where we feel like God said, “I need you here for now.  Not because it makes sense, but because there are some people I need to reach.  People who look a lot like this building…abandoned, forgotten, left in disrepair…I’ve called you to look past that and see their potential.  Always remember…I am the God of renovation.“  

That is all we ever want to do…Go where God leads and watch Him repair what is broken.  If you are feeling like your life is a mess, come on in.  We believe there is greatness in you.

 

I wrote a blog a long time ago that is the story of one of the greatest moments of my life that happened in this building.  You can read it HERE.

 

 

To Be Continued

 

 

March 31 Easter Highlights

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April 1, 2013
Inspiration, Ministry
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What a great day!  Could the weather have been more incredible?  I love Easter for obvious reasons, but when the sun shines and ends a long, rainy winter, it just makes the whole holiday perfect!

Church was fun all around!  We preached the value of the resurrection and were thrilled to have all of our services well attended to hear the good news.  We love guests at the Coffee Church and are always ready to welcome anybody in for the message of Jesus.  We had 450 people into our churches for this amazing weekend and look forward to the Stories of Changed Lives we will hear for months and years to come.

Our worship teams knocked it out of the park!  Thank you to Matt and Alissa for leading us well.  We appreciate your faithful teams who serve week in and week out with amazing talent!

I also want to thank all of our volunteers who served yesterday.  We had plenty of hands of deck and it was just a smooth morning all around.  We appreciate all that you do to help lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus.

We gave all of the kids candy-filled eggs on the way out the door.  ‘Cause that’s what my kids needed on Easter….more candy.  At 4:30 am my oldest daughter called me in to her room with a stomach ache and proclaimed, “I think I ate too much candy!”  No kidding.

We served free lattes at Battle Ground, which just meant that everybody at Hazel Dell came in the door saying they considered swinging by Battle Ground on the way to Hazel Dell…I reminded them that there at THOUSANDS of places to get a latte in the Vancouver area and they will be just fine.

Eddie apparently did something cool on his guitar at Hazel Dell.  I miss these things as I have an amazing inability to understand music.  I did however enjoy worship, so they are doing something right!

I came home to a house filled with 30 people…the more the merrier!  We had a massive egg hunt in my back yard, which means that we’ll be finding eggs until winter.  I am surrounded by the best people in my life!  Then we invited my in-laws to a smoked turkey dinner, compliments of our friends John and Kari!  We loved it and were excited to have Grandma and Grandpa with us to end our Easter celebrations.

Pastors – whatever we thought was so important to do for Easter Sunday, we should probably do every week.  That’s how we try to go about church at North Creek, but even I found myself doing things that probably should have been done months before.  Our job is a matter of life and death all 52 weeks a year.  No pressure…

We have some good things to tell you coming soon.  We always have good things to tell you.  The favor of God is with us and we know He is moving us where He wants us to be!

Next week will mark our one year anniversary of the launch of North Creek Battle Ground via a merge with Maple Grove Church.  Best. Adventure. Ever.  And so much of our gratitude goes to the Hazel Dell folks who put the mission of God in front of their own desires and needs.  We are humbled by your hearts!

Let’s make Easter a year-round point in our lives.  He’s alive, which means you are too!  What better news could I possibly put in my blog?  On that note, live free today!  Free of addiction, anger, pain, doubt, fear…all of it!  Be blessed!

 

Get Dirty and Give Ridiculously

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October 12, 2012
Ministry
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Be Present.logo.kWe are on the verge of heading full steam ahead into our next sermon series called Be Present.  It’s not enough to be half-heartedly engaged in this world!  We’ve got to Get Dirty and Give Ridiculously.  One of the ways we will be providing you an opportunity to do both of those things is a Blood Drive on Oct. 28 at both campuses.

Here’s some interesting facts about giving blood: Read More