God can be so precise in His guidance. It was simply directions at the time, but looking back at the whole situation, it was utterly amazing to realize how precisely He guided us.
Four men, including myself, were moved by God to start a church. We met and prayed and waited upon the Lord for months. He slowly taught us to depend upon His guidance -- to move forward with our hopes and dreams, yet trust Him to lead us, both in small matters and in big strategic ways.
We chose four different regions of the greater Portland area to consider -- three of which were booming areas of growth – Tualatin, Sunset corridor, and East Vancouver. After much research, debate, and prayer, God helped to clarify not only the choice, but to tune our hearts to follow after His heart. He said, “I want you to focus on the needy”. That settled it. Parkrose was the fourth choice, but it became the only choice.
We began looking at the area, looking for homes, and for a site to rent for starting the church. We knocked on a few doors and came up with a list of possibilities. Then we decided to fast and pray for a season and come together to see if God would help direct us. That’s when he spoke to Perry, one of the four men, and told him simply this, “drive north on 138th and look to the right.”
Two of us set out the next day, map in hand, to do as the Lord had directed. We started at Burnside and drove north on 138th, wherever it showed up on the map. We got up to San Rafael and there was one little cul-de-sac left. We decided to skip it so that we could cut over to go around to the north side of the I-84 freeway. There was a good stretch north of the freeway, with some good possibilities we had already scoped out.
We drove a few blocks away and both looked at each other and said, “no, no, we better go back and see what is on that little residential cul-de-sac.” We turned the corner and there was a house on the left and a house on the right. But there were no houses directly in front. The road dead ended into a large field, part of a larger campus of some sort. We looked to the right and there was a building which we felt might be the one God was leading us to. We drove around and into the campus of Western States Chiropractic College. We went into the building and asked a few people who might be in charge. We talked to the business director and he said he had been thinking for some time about renting the gym and classrooms on Sundays to a church group.
I think of Acts 9 where Ananias was told by God to go visit a religious zealot, Paul, who was blinded on his way to Damascus. He told him exactly where to go, and that Paul would be expecting him. God still works in wondrous and precise ways when we choose to trust Him wholly and listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit.
The Lord told Ananias, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he as seen a man named Ananias come and place his hand on him to restore his sight.” (Acts 9:11-12)
Four men, including myself, were moved by God to start a church. We met and prayed and waited upon the Lord for months. He slowly taught us to depend upon His guidance -- to move forward with our hopes and dreams, yet trust Him to lead us, both in small matters and in big strategic ways.
We chose four different regions of the greater Portland area to consider -- three of which were booming areas of growth – Tualatin, Sunset corridor, and East Vancouver. After much research, debate, and prayer, God helped to clarify not only the choice, but to tune our hearts to follow after His heart. He said, “I want you to focus on the needy”. That settled it. Parkrose was the fourth choice, but it became the only choice.
We began looking at the area, looking for homes, and for a site to rent for starting the church. We knocked on a few doors and came up with a list of possibilities. Then we decided to fast and pray for a season and come together to see if God would help direct us. That’s when he spoke to Perry, one of the four men, and told him simply this, “drive north on 138th and look to the right.”
Two of us set out the next day, map in hand, to do as the Lord had directed. We started at Burnside and drove north on 138th, wherever it showed up on the map. We got up to San Rafael and there was one little cul-de-sac left. We decided to skip it so that we could cut over to go around to the north side of the I-84 freeway. There was a good stretch north of the freeway, with some good possibilities we had already scoped out.
We drove a few blocks away and both looked at each other and said, “no, no, we better go back and see what is on that little residential cul-de-sac.” We turned the corner and there was a house on the left and a house on the right. But there were no houses directly in front. The road dead ended into a large field, part of a larger campus of some sort. We looked to the right and there was a building which we felt might be the one God was leading us to. We drove around and into the campus of Western States Chiropractic College. We went into the building and asked a few people who might be in charge. We talked to the business director and he said he had been thinking for some time about renting the gym and classrooms on Sundays to a church group.
I think of Acts 9 where Ananias was told by God to go visit a religious zealot, Paul, who was blinded on his way to Damascus. He told him exactly where to go, and that Paul would be expecting him. God still works in wondrous and precise ways when we choose to trust Him wholly and listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit.
The Lord told Ananias, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he as seen a man named Ananias come and place his hand on him to restore his sight.” (Acts 9:11-12)
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