A Building for Tacoma

How many times have you said, "I'll never..." and before you know it God has placed you in a position to do what you swore you would never do? Well, I never said The Pathway would never have a building, but I certainly said I'd be fine if we didn't. I know in my heart I never thought we would have a building and I definitely didn't think we would have a building in our first 5 years.

Well, you guessed it. God has given us a building. Well, we don't own it, but we just signed a lease for the next 2 years! I'm not disappointed. I'm actually amazed, excited and curious. I'm curious to see why God has placed this building in our care and how he is going to use it to accomplish the vision he's given us in Tacoma. Although I don't know all the answers, I've already begun to see a little of what God has in store.

For starters, the owners of the building (the Covenant Church denomination) has allowed us to lease the building for the same amount we're currently paying to have a location 2 days a week. They have made the lease escalate slowly over the next 2 years, giving us plenty of time to get adjusted and grow into it. We made it clear to the owners that this building is not going to be "The Pathway." We are "The Pathway." We told them we would only take the building if we could use it for our community... for our city. They have given us green lights all the way. Their heart is for the Kingdom. It's beautiful.

Well, we signed the lease last Monday and that night I attended a board meeting for the Hilltop Action Coalition (HAC) a crime prevention and neighborhood enhancement organization that is well respected in our community. They told us they were excited to have a new church in the neighborhood and they wanted to help get us engaged with the community! They were having a neighborhood clean-up this past Saturday and asked if we would be willing to host their pot-luck... I could barely contain myself. Engage the community? Host their potluck? Thank you Jesus!

Well this Sunday, Easter Sunday, will be our first Sunday in the building for worship. We have challenged our people to team up and invite their friends and families to have Easter dinner and worship with us. Our people are nervous and excited! Kelli and I have invited a new family and I just found out tonight that they will attend. We will be baptizing at least 5 people. I'm so excited and I believe if we band together in prayer, the Holy Spirit can use our presence through this building to saturate the community with the gospel. Can't wait to see what happens!