God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home. (Ephesians 2:20-22, The Message)
“UNDER CONSTRUCTION”
We are in the middle of a grand building project at 5475 Ravine Road in Kalamazoo! The venerable facilities that formerly housed Twin Lakes Reformed Church are now the home of our new church plant, The Living Well. We received this facility as a wonderful legacy gift from the faithful members of Twin Lakes on April 1. With their blessing and the generous support of The Bridge (our parent church) and the Southwest Michigan Classis of the RCA, we have begun to address the demands of deferred maintenance, repairs, and building updates. It’s a BIG JOB! When it is all finished, it will serve as a sign that points to the grace of God and the faithfulness of God’s people. It will be, in short, another physical expression of the Church. “God is building a home…we see it taking shape day after day…a place in which God is quite at home.”
But far more significantly, God is taking our little congregation of about 70 men, women and children, and He’s making us into His holy temple, “using us…fitting us in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together.” It’s a BIG JOB! And when He’s finished with us, we will be a sign that points our neighbors and friends to the grace and faithfulness of God.
Our new mission states it simply, “We are a group of people who find real life in Jesus Christ, celebrate that life in community and share the life with everyone around us.” As we press into our identity as God’s holy temple, the Holy Spirit has begun to address the demands of our own deferred discipleship, spiritual healing, and missional effectiveness.
Part of that process happened during the days leading up to Pentecost Sunday. Between Ascension Day (May 10) and Pentecost (May 20) the whole community of The Living Well went on a 10-Day Bible Adventure. During that 10-day stretch, we read the entire Bible…every word…aloud in our new facility at 5475 Ravine! Taking turns in one-hour shifts, we declared the truth of every event, every law, every genealogy, every prophecy—from The Garden of Eden in Genesis to the New Creation in Revelation.
When we completed our journey (with 100% participation) we celebrated together with our first ever Sunday morning worship service. We invited our friends, and “shared the life.” We shared stories of how the Holy Spirit had moved among us— healing migraines, making connections with a neighbor, sharing the gospel with a friend who doesn’t know Jesus, comforting us in loss. We were celebrating our new home—still under construction—and God was blessing His new community—also still under construction!
We have a long way to go before either of God’s “building projects” is completed. But we are confident that God is able to use both of His projects for His glory. Please continue to pray for us as we press on toward our October 7 launch goal. There is a whole lot that needs to happen before we launch! Pray that God will continue to provide all the energy, all the resources, and all of the faithfulness required to complete His work—in us and through us!
Please continue to pray with us:
– Pray for financial resources – The building renovations and maintenance required for our new facility is much greater than we had anticipated. We need to immediately raise another $25,000 as a Launch Team to offset some of those expenses. If you are able to contribute toward that campaign, please make donations to “The Bridge” and indicate “Launch Team Building Fund” in the memo line of your check. Donations can be sent to The Bridge at 7200 Angling Road, Kalamazoo MI 49024.
– Pray for open doors to share the good news with our friends, coworkers and neighbors. We continue to seek connections and pursue spiritual conversations. God has opened our eyes to the needs around us and to the power He provides
– Pray for completion of work on our facility by the date of our first official “preview” service Sunday, August 5. This includes summer road construction directly in front of our property!
– For wisdom and direction as we begin to develop ministries and systems that will serve the mission of The Living Well. We want to develop PEOPLE and not just PROGRAMS.
May God bless you, just as you are a blessing to others!
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