About four months ago we got word that we needed to end our Sunday morning rental at Enochs High School. We have not known for four months where we would be having our Sunday services. But we knew one thing for sure: God would not forsake us. His promise is clear: “I will never leave you or forsake you” (Heb 13:5; Deut 31:6; cf. Matt 28:20). We did not know when God would answer our prayer for a new rental, but we knew He would lead us. The Lord had led us to Enochs when we didn’t know where we would rent and all of our options seemed to be gone. We wanted to make sure we stayed focused on His mission to reach people and grow lives – not be focused on a rental (though we did the work needed). We have stayed focused on living the mission, we saw this as a time to grow faith and see God work, we did not give in to easy options that would have lost the vision, we did not try to force the issue and get into bad financial situations – and God has moved.
Starting March 15, we will be renting at Orchard Elementary School, just a couple of miles away from our current location. This is an answer to prayer in so many ways: not only is it a location for us to worship Jesus and impact people’s lives, but it is also a ministry improvement for Kids Ministry to be in elementary classrooms. The worship area will be smaller, but that will also include less setup time and allow us to be closer to each other as we worship the Lord. This is also a new area and school for us to serve and reach out to with God’s love.
We will continue to pray and follow the Lord as He moves. We will also be doing the work needed to figure out new storage, setup, transitions, and moving. If you are in town, be ready to help out. These are special days! God is moving, and He is moving us to a new location, this is hard and exciting work! We are also looking at moving from the Bridge and possibly finding a new Ministry Center rental near Orchard Elementary, which would allow us to have our Sunday worship rental and our Ministry Center right next to each other.
Most of all, this is a time to remember. God answered our prayers. We did not lose heart or lose hope. Remember these lessons and pass them on to others. God loves you. He is with you; He will never forsake you.