In July of 2007, we came to Ellensburg with a lot of hope and confidence that God had called us here to start a new kind of church in this Valley.
Mission accomplished, I suppose. If nothing else, then certainly The River Church of the Nazarene managed to be a very unique church body for sure! Mind you, we never did come to the place... or status that we imagined when we made the 1200 mile trek to Central Washington State. We thought sure that if we build it, they will come. So, after a year of meeting in homes and in the gym of a Christian school... we finally got the place we dreamed of since before we ever left Kansas City - the Grand Central theater. And build it we did. We built a big stage, for all the shows and theatrical productions that would take place in this new kind of church. And we built a rock-solid, super-cool coffee bar... and put a commercial espresso maker on top so we could open our church-sponsored espresso shop. And we bought a big screen, and a great sound system so we could play DVD movies and make popcorn, and invite the masses in to see a good flick. And we hosted events. And we brainstormed to create fundraising events for the needy among us. And we rented the place out to interested parties... or gave away our space to support good causes. And we even hosted secular events like (gasp) Brewfest, and Jazz In the Valley, and First Friday Art Walk. And we hosted an open-mic night, inviting locals and college students to come in and have a bowl of soup and listen to (and/or play) some good music. Basically, we gave it our best shot to reach out to the people of this great little town.
And, for the most part, our invitations were... well... ignored. And I learned a few other things over the past five years too. Just because you have a good idea, and just because you have a great facility (for events). And just because you have a vision to reach people for Jesus. And just because you are a bit obsessed with becoming a "new kind" of church in your hometown... None of that really matters if your overtures are not relevant to the culture around you.
I've learned a thing or two about life in Ellensburg. First and foremost, it is definitely NOT a lazy little town. Oh, it's casual... and it's too-often slow moving (traffic) and out of fashion and out of date as compared to our very big "West side" cousins on the other side of the Cascades. But nevertheless, it's most definitely not a lazy town. In fact, people are never lazy around here. They never rest. They are always doing something.... and I do mean always. Weekdays people tend to work of course... and many of them - if their employment isn't at the college or a government agency, or in the hay industry - work somewhere out of town in places like Yakima, Wenatchee, Quincey... or even way over in Seattle... and/or some other Western Washington locale. My hat is off to those folks who navigate Snoqualmie Pass on a regular basis... it takes upwards of two hours to commute ONE WAY on Interstate 90... and that is when the weather is ideal (which it often is not in the winter).
And evenings around here? Let's see... dinners out, wine-tasting, bar-hopping... not to mention the endless list of social clubs, sports organizations, farming associations, rodeo events, etc. And the university students...? In my mind, there are two kinds that seem to dominate the Ellensburg landscape: (1) Those that come to CWU to party and want very little to do with God (I can relate to that one... it was my priority at the time). (2) Those who live close enough to home to make the drive for free food and laundry services. Yes, there are others... but take one look at the campus, and I think you'd agree it's a weekend ghost town!
Here's the problem with all the above observations... at least, for an idealist like me. I never understood the busyness of people in this small burg in Central Washington. I guess I thought it was Mayberry. I thought people lived a slower-paced lifestyle around here. I thought people sat on their front porch and talked to the neighbors. I thought people would want something different in a church, something unique, something adventurous, something out of the box... something that called for them to serve Jesus by serving the people of this town with all their "free" time. :-) Hoo-boy... I was naive!
So it's time to let go of the church/coffee bar/event center dream. It's time to say goodbye to the rough-hewn, yet beautiful old Grand Central theater. It's time to move on and move forward. It's time to try something new... actually, it's time to get back to the basics of discipleship: loving God, loving one another (within the church family), and loving our neighbor as ourselves.
As Jesus was resolutely headed to face the crucifixion, he rather mysteriously said this to his disciples one day:
“Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal." (John 12:24-25)
So the bad news, I suppose, is that The River has run its course in Ellensburg. For all intents and purposes, it has died. The place is empty, the signs are down, and the lights are off in our former place of ministry.
The good news, however, is that soon - out of the ashes - The River will ARISE.
We're not ready to announce ourselves to the world just yet. The state doesn't recognize any name change... nor does our own denomination for that matter! Besides, we've got lots to do in starting a brand new church in a brand new place, at a brand new time, with a brand new vision for ministry! So for the time being, we will fly a bit under the radar. We will be church pirates! Oh, we will still be The River in the legal sense, just not in the cultural sense. For now... I guess you could just refer to us as Church "A"... or "The Church Formerly Known As The River" (ya... no - let's go with Church A instead!). Very soon though, we'll come out of the mysterious mist to announce ourselves to the world afresh and anew. Very soon, the dead seed will sprout into something beautiful... something real and eternal. Very soon The River will ARISE! from the proverbial ashes! :-)
In the meantime, we certainly do invite anyone and everyone to join us in our new digs in the Ellensburg community. Here's how it will work starting this Sunday, April 14:
Our Arise and Gather worship services (all but the fist Sunday of each month), will be held in the Adult Activity Center (a.k.a., Senior Center), starting at 10:30 AM. It is located at 506 S Pine St (just South of Manitoba St on South Pine).
Our Arise and Serve worship (first Sunday of each month), will get us well-meaning but too-often lazy Christian-types out of our seats and participating in pre-arranged service projects together... this will be our corporate act of worship each month as we endeavor to BE the church, rather than simply GO to church. At 10:30 AM we will gather at our "corporate" office facility (wait till you see our offices!) at 511 N Pine St (corner of 6th and Pine behind Shaw's Furniture)... from there we'll have a cup of coffee, pray, receive our missional marching orders, and head out together to be the hands and feet of our Lord Jesus Christ. Woo-hoo... this is gonna be fun! The weird, Japanese-looking artwork at the top of this blog is a little hint of the logo we'll unveil when the time is right. In the meantime, be sure to watch for more updates from "Church A"! And one more thing: Please pray for our church body... we would certainly appreciated it.
