This is the final update blog before we officially open Restoration Church for public gatherings. I (Jared) confess I may be pushing the nervous emotions down right because I know they will be here on Saturday as we are doing our final checks soon all the lists and being reminded of all the factors we are not in control of. Here are some bullet point updates, FYIs, and 3 minute (proof of life/health) video. Thanks for being here WITH us.
Here's a short (3 minute) update video from Jared. Filmed right before a shift at the PT job this week. If you look past his wind-blown hair, you can see the mountains. That makes every so much better. He covers most of the info covered in the this blog. CLICK HERE.
We have a sweet (NEW) space for our weekend gatherings. Months ago, as we were in talks with multiple possible meetings spaces, we received a simple email from Table Mountain asking if we would consider their space for our church. They received our info from an event center webpage we have been using for leads. We toured their space and loved it but wanted to keep a few other options in the conversation. THEN JARED GOT SICK and most (if not all) of the location search was put on hold for a month. When we revisited the location/venue conversation, we asked God to lead us. There are so many positives with the Table Mountain option but we wanted to have peace. In the end, we made the right call to sign a 6 month contract with them. There is room grow, it is a beautiful space, it is enough space (for kids rooms and more), they are friendly toward churches, the employee contact is a Jesus follower, and its only 15 minutes from most of our team's homes (not all of us). Take a look at the venue here.
We did not meet our goals set last January. It has been disappointing for our team as we have faced and embraced the reality of not meeting our pre-grand opening goals. In a team meeting a few weeks ago, we allowed each team member to share how they were feeling and share if they were feeling led by God in any particular direction. Based on our team's collective wisdom and a decision by the executive team, we decided to move forward with a MODIFIED GRAND OPENING. Our original plan was much bigger and more complicated. If we kept that plan, team member burnout would not be a possibility, it would be a guarantee! Phase One is full of risk financially as we move forward supported 80% by outside support and are taking on a new monthly rental fee (venue). Despite all of this, we are excited. Partly because...
This past weekend was our practice gathering. It was a low key worship gathering for our team to go through everything a typical weekend gathering would include. We had kids ministry, all of our tech equipment, lots of chair setup, arriving early, a sermon, and more. Take a peak at some of the photos here. We feel ready for the upcoming weekend because we know a lot of the surprises happened at practice and we have addressed them this week.
Finally, we were given a HUGE gift from network ministry partners in Fort Collins. We were given a trailer and some sweet equipment for no cost at all. This was a church some dear friends (of The Bells) and supporters of RC started 12 years ago. We have yet to go through every piece of equipment yet and have a plan to donate unneeded equipment to other new churches once we have a full inventory. A quick peak in the trailer we saw everything from rocking chairs (for the nursery) to light equipment. Praise God! We are so thankful!
Thank you for your support.
We ARE in need of growing our financial support in the days ahead to cover the first year of renting our new venue and allow us financial margin to invest in growth. If you are open to having a conversation about becoming one of our financial sustainers, email me (Jared) and we will setup a time discuss how a gift as humble as $25 per month can make a Kingdom Impact.
- Jared
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