This Storm Stirred Up a Solution

This was our first weekly church gathering at our new location in Eastside Christian School’s Chapel on Sunday, September 8, 2024.

Storms stir up a lot of problems. Last month many of us were without power due to a severe wind storm. The disruption to daily life, damage to property, and the threat to personal safety made this a stressful time. I was so encouraged to hear stories of our church reaching out to their neighbors, such as one family who opened up their home, even though they had no power, so that the youth from their nearby public school could come together for a meal, games, and to be warmed by their gas fireplace. Another family opened up their home to a family in our church so that their pregnant mom could be warm and well fed until their power was restored. These stories remind me how oftentimes what we see as a problem can create an opportunity for God to use his church to offer his solution.

Earlier this year God used an ice storm to stir up a solution for our church. On a Wednesday afternoon, we received a call from the community center that the severe cold caused their pipes to burst and flood their building with water so we needed to find a different location to meet on Sunday. Fortunately we had a “back up” location, but when we called them, we found out that their pipes also burst so their building was closed due to flooding. I was stressed, and did not know what to do. I was also angry because earlier that week we promoted our church to hundreds of people at the City of Bellevue’s Health Fair, which meant they were now invited to an empty building. So I called one of our leaders, Carl, who listened and kindly reminded me to pray, which made me smile because that is what I needed. Later that evening, I was prompted to text my friend, Susan, who shared with me many years earlier how their school hosted churches to meet in their facility. And not only was their building available, but they were excited to help us. When we arrived that Sunday, their custodian also shared with me how they were looking for a church to meet in their facility. And what is amazing about that is how our church started praying months earlier for God to provide a larger space for our church to meet at because the community center would not allow us to grow into their gym. All said, God used this ice storm to stir up a solution for us by leading us to now meet in Eastside Christian School, which is a better location for us.

We found a new home for our church in Eastside Christian School. We are grateful to God for a location where we can continue to grow, but not only that, to partner in the gospel with an ECS staff team, who are an incredible group of people. They shared with us that partnering with the local church is a “Top Three” priority for them, which we experience every week from their warm hospitality and desire to find ways to partner in ministry together. In terms of outreach, we are a 1-minute walk from Bellevue College, which is where we were already offering our 'Talk Time' ESL Outreach. In addition, Jubilee Reach is just down the street, who we started ministering with this year. And, this location is still located in the area of Bellevue where there is the greatest ethnic diversity. As we continue to seek ways to reach the world that God is bringing here, by meeting at ECS, we increase our exposure and the opportunities to connect with our foreign-born community. In terms of community building, we not only meet there on Sundays for our weekly church gathering, but we also have access to use the facility on weeknights and on Saturdays, which is included in our partnership agreement. Now we can host our Worship Nights, our weekly Thursday night Bible study, and our leadership meetings in one place at the new church location. And since moving to ECS, God has grown the church to a point where we would now be close to maxing out the space we used in the community center. All of this is to say that God has answered our prayers, and has been preparing the way for us to continue to grow and become a more established and visible solution in our city for our foreign-born community in particular, but for everyone, who is looking to grow closer to Jesus through his church. Praise God for his provision to us with this new location for our church. Pray for our church to remember moments like this so that as we face whatever difficulty that is ahead of us, that we look to God for his solution because he has shown himself faithful even amidst our storms of life. Amen!