ADF Newsletter
The Porch
We call ourselves The Porch because porches are public places where people connect. As a church, we wanted our name to be a constant reminder that Jesus moved into the neighborhood and stepped into people's lives. He invited the lost into His life, and He was invited into theirs. He was connected to His neighborhood, wherever He found Himself.
As a church plant, we were homeless for more than a year. Since we launched The Porch in October 2006, we've shared or rented any space we could find. Currently, we meet in a theater that seats about 70 people. Our children's ministry takes place in a small store-front office. As pastor, I've been driving around neighborhoods, working with realtors, and praying like crazy that God would open up a space for us.
It's not that you need a building to be a church. A friend of mine started a church on the beach in Hawaii. They get rained on every once and while, but they are on the beach…in Hawaii. However, there are no beaches in Spokane, Washington, and it snows. Shelter is not optional. For us to gather without getting frostbite, we need heat, a roof and walls. A building—rented or purchased—is a necessity.
With little money and no prospects, we knew that God was going to have to come through for us to move ahead. So we began to pray each week, and the prayer was pretty much the same: God, we don't know where we are supposed to move to, so would you please just drop a building on us?
After about six months of praying this way, I got a phone call from Melinda, a realtor friend. “There's a building you need to look at.” She said we should move on it quickly because others were interested.
It was late, and I was tired. But I drove to the address Melinda had given me. When the building came into view, I was disappointed. The front was pieced together with rotting plywood, the windows didn't match, and newspaper insulated the poorly crafted entrance. I rolled my eyes and kept driving. I couldn't imagine spending another minute on yet another dead-end.
Later I had a nagging thought to give the place another look. This time I got out of the car and looked around. Everything had changed. The front entrance was still rundown, but the building was in pretty good shape. It was on the edge of a poverty stricken neighborhood and two blocks away from one of the most ambitious development projects in Spokane history. Suddenly, I could see us in this location, reaching out to people of diverse backgrounds. We could be a presence in this neighborhood in the tradition of Jeremiah 29.
There was still the problem of money, so we prayed. A week later, Melinda called again. There were two offers on the building, both for the full price. “If you want it, you need to make an offer. ” The 7,000 square-foot structure was listed at $350,000, and against Melinda's advice we made the low offer of $225,000. We also noted that our offer was contingent on financing. It was a long shot. When our agent called the next day and told me the owner had accepted our offer, I just about fell off my chair. The seller had heard about us and believed in what we were doing.
I immediately approached the leaders of our mother church and asked if they could help. They responded with overwhelming generosity and agreed to support us at $1,000 a month for the next five years. But we still didn't have anyone to finance the loan. We were too young for a bank to finance us, and none of my friends have that kind of money. As we were scrambling to find an institution that would take a risk on us, Kelvin Gardiner, our district superintendent, called me. Kelvin said that the Alliance Development Fund (ADF) was willing to consider financing us.
In record time, we closed on the building. It was barely a month from the first phone call from our realtor to the day we signed closing papers. This would not have been possible had ADF not stepped in. Along with some faithful supporters, ADF helped us get into a building that will be our new gathering space—and so much more.
We are still remodeling and have not yet moved in, but already we are connecting with neighbors. An old warehouse, our new building had been a thrift store. It was full—and I mean full—of stuff: clothes, appliances, gas grills, furniture, just about anything you could imagine. All this was ours. It came as part of the deal. To get rid of it, we had three rummage sales and one free giveaway.
Our neighbor across the street came to the first rummage sale, looking for candles because her electricity had been turned off. We couldn't find any, so a church member who was helping at the sale went home and got a few. When our neighbor first met people from The Porch, she wasn't too sure about the whole “church thing. ” Several weeks later after she had made friends, she left us a thank-you note that said, “Jesus is cool. ” We also have forged multiple partnerships with local ministries and churches, including Youth for Christ.
It has been amazing to watch what we prayed for start to materialize. We hope to move into our new facility in early 2008. The building still needs much work, and there are many neighbors we want to get to know. There are many ministry opportunities in our near future. We are thankful to partners like the ADF that make dreams like this possible.
Dave Wilkinson pastor of The Porch
Spokane, Washington
Edited by ADF staff
Guest Corner
“God's Economy”
Bill Malick is the director for Church Multiplication for the C&MA and the South Pacific District.
The reason we multiply churches in The Alliance is to help every man, woman and child within our reach to know God and become everything Jesus intends. When we fully grasp that Christ intends more than we can think or even imagine, the outcome will be fantastic, effectively changing every aspect of life, including matters of heart and treasure.
Tides Church is a three-year old Alliance plant in Lake Elsinore, California. Earlier this fall church leaders initiated a curriculum for couples entitled “God's Economy.” The results of the intensive course continue to produce life-changing attitudes and ideas about stewardship. The theme is that where your treasure is, that's where you will find your heart. The root of financial stewardship is first and foremost about spiritual formation. We are a people blessed by God with the capacity to generate income. Consider this: What if we were to become all Christ intends even with our money?
In addition to numerous verses and passages from the Bible that address giving, spending, lending, and debt, “God's Economy” featured Randy Alcorn's little book, The Treasure Principle, a quick read. Randy builds on these six keys:
- God owns everything, and I am His money manager.
- My heart always goes where I put my money.
- Heaven, not earth, is my home.
- I should live not for the dot on my lifeline but for the whole line.
- Giving is the only antidote to materialism.
- God prospers me not to raise my standard of living, but to raise my standard of giving.
“God's Economy” was not approached as a way to raise offerings for the church but as an accelerant, enabling each person to become all Christ intends. The residual affects in the lives of the first 29 families to graduate from the program have been incredible. Financial miracles abound. But even more important are the testimonies of God's abundance, including growth in personal faith and positioning for spiritual blessing.
Immeasurably more than we can think or even imagine is within God's reach. Tell me of a better place for you to invest…a place were the return is immeasurably more than God.
To learn more about “God's Economy,” e-mail jeremy@tideschurch.org
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