By Greg Yee, Superintendent, PacNWC
You are invited to join our much anticipated 133rd Annual Meeting Celebration in Spokane! It’s going to be a wonderful time to be together in the Lilac City to worship and celebrate the Lord’s faithfulness and goodness. Please be sure to register to be with us in-person for workshops, dinner, and a time of worship and prayer Friday. I am really looking forward to being physically together and meeting you. And if you can’t make it in-person, please be sure to register your delegates for our hybrid meeting Saturday April 29.
I’ve been wanting to have our annual meeting in Spokane for a while now. I know, it’s a long distance away for most in our conference, but not the four churches that are in Spokane! I’ve wanted it to be there because of how it beautifully reflects God’s story: call to follow and obey, facing trials/challenges and experiencing new life/resurrection.
In the early years of my role I thought the Covenant was leaving Spokane. Minnehaha Covenant concluded ministry and First Covenant was struggling. I feared losing our footprint in such a major city and one that held so much history for us. First Spokane was one of our four founding churches (Portland, Tacoma, Seattle) in 1890.
First Spokane made the very difficult decision to sell its downtown property on Division Street and move to a much smaller storefront kitty-corner to the iconic Milk Bottle in the Garland District. Almost a year went by as they lept into the unknown. The remnant of less than 25 prayed and dreamed of something new. They put in countless hours of sweat equity to transform a corner liquor store and former Asian take-out kitchen into a multi-use church, coffee shop and community hub. First Covenant was re-born and The Gathering House Church launched!
As they revitalized and grew, God led us to the wonderful adoptions of Immanuel and City Covenant (formerly Communitas). Each of these vibrant churches have inspiring origin stories that led them to eventually intersect with us. They have already had significant impact in our shared life and ministry together. Included in this was us having the opportunity to join in the significant investments Immanuel made in developing leaders and incubating church planters.
After a one year internship and another year leadership residency, in 2021, they birthed out Phil Moore to plant The Garden Covenant Church. 40 people from Immanuel joined The Garden many of which were leaders and faithful givers. That was a huge step of faith for Immanuel as they absorbed the decrease as well as those who were sent out!Oh, and by the way, this was all happening during the middle of the pandemic!
Today the Spirit is moving powerfully in four Covenant churches. Praise God!
It’s always been his story, right? He calls us to follow him in total obedience. Leave your land, your family and all of what is familiar and go where I show you. Leave Egypt and walk toward that uncrossable sea. Wander around the wilderness for a generation and then enter a land of fortified giants. Don’t fight with your 32,000, rather fight with less than 1% of your active army against 135,000. Live faithfully in a foreign land and be sent to a fiery furnace. Watch in confusion and horror as you entomb the supposed messiah.
And like Peter and Andrew, Jesus asks us to drop our nets and follow him. No matter what we’re going through or how much it feels like we’re on the verge of losing it all, the realities of Easter come to bear. Jesus rises from the dead, and walks out of that sealed tomb. Resurrection power bursts out into the world that showed us fully what we only had seen in part. Abraham became a blessing. The Jews successfully crossed over bodies of water. Gideon achieved victory. And Rack, Shack and Benny escaped execution. Jesus is alive and on the his throne!
It’s Spokane’s story. It’s the Easter story. It’s another year of our journey.
How fitting it is for us to meet on the lands of the Spokane Tribe who were known as the star people or the children of the stars. What a gift it is to be reminded of God’s promises to Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars.
I can’t wait to be together to hear more of what God is doing throughout the conference. Easter blessings to you, Mission Friends. The staff is praying for as you walk through the beauty of Eastertide. He is risen! He is risen indeed! See you in Spokane.
