The Mission Church of the Nazarene

     Having a building is a blessing, most of the time. It's given us the ability to host City Connexx teams and other groups. It gives us a talking point as we interact with neighbors. It gives us something tangible in the very intangible world of church planting. It also gives us some concrete goals of what to aim for, and something physical for people to see. We are very grateful for our building...
    Most of the time. The down side to having a building is that there are so many things that can go wrong or need to be done. The building wasn't well maintained, so there is a vast amount to work on.
    Today I found a dead bird in the kitchen. We also had the plumber come out who discovered that the toilet that has had "out of order" taped to the door since before our arrival, had a kitchen sink tube and shut off valve, instead of a toilet one (this could've ended with some serious flooding issues that would have cost a lot more than the little bit for the plumber). I'm learning daily the importance of doing things well and taking pride in your work.
    I know it's silly, and it seems so small, but I think care and thoughtfulness in how you maintain a building really rolls over into how you do a lot of things. I heard someone say once that you can tell a lot if someone litters, because it probably means they don't care about a lot of things in their life. It's a small lesson that's important to remember. You don't need the best or the greatest things, but you should definitely offer people your best.
    Hospitality is an interesting thing that way. You don't need to have silver and china to have a welcoming home, but you do need to offer the best of yourself.  It makes people feel valued, it shows value.
   Jay Height, the pastor at Shepherd Community in Indianapolis said, they don't offer things for free there. They learned early on that when they offered free day camp during the summer, no one wanted to come, because they thought it must not bee any good to be free. Our hospitality is much the same way, it must cost us something. That something may be the time to clean up our house, the use of our dishes, the cost of a cup of coffee, but people ultimately feel valued when we give them something that costs of us. Sometimes that's as simple as our time.
    These are things I'm learning more and more. God desires of us much the same. We often seek the easy road, when the things of life that matter cost us. Planting this church, meeting neighbors, hosting group after group of teens, while fun a lot of times, is exhausting and financially draining, but it is so worth it. We are confident that God is and is going to continue to do great things. We are confident that lives are already being transformed. As the building is renewed and restored, it is our prayer, that hearts and lives are as well.
    On a more depressing note, I have a few pictures from the storm damage at the church.

     Every day is an adventure here. I imagine that church planting is always an adventure, regardless of what that look likes; having an old limestone building that seems to have not been cleaned thoroughly in 10 years+,  creates some unique adventures though.
     Friday and Saturday a pre-teen group from Duneland Community were here. Working with pre-teens after working with high school students was a learning curve. Every group of teens has their own uniqueness. They did accomplish a lot, and they played a lot too. It's always great to see our building getting use.
    One of the projects we worked on was cleaning out a very neglected storage area. We pulled everything out, and began organizing everything into piles of keep, rummage sale, and throw out. In our journey of cleaning things out, we discovered several mouse homes, and I discovered a weed growing up an air conditioning coil into the storage area. (I'm grateful the Freemont teens weeded all around the air conditioning units, which was a HUGE undertaking. I am sure that's why the weed I found was dead, and not continuing to grow up through the unit).
   

     A lot has happened over the past few days. It's hard to keep a blog and stay as busy as we are, but I know many of you are praying for us, and excited with the news of what is happening here in Hammond.

   I wanted to blog every day that the First Lutheran Youth were here. That didn't happen. I was so busy working, answering questions, and just enjoying making awesome new friends. It still amazes me a bit that this is my life now. All of my loves and passions seem rolled into one. My love of youth ministry, my love for the Church, compassionate ministry, and on the list goes. It truly is amazing.
    The First Lutheran group were really amazing. They weren't here long, but I feel like I met them weeks or months ago vs days. The teens were so polite, hard working, and it was evident they are truly striving after the heart of Christ.
    To give you an idea of how much they have done, I have put together some before and after pictures for you.
    Thanks First Lutheran teens for your amazing hard work, and your spirits. It was an absolute blast having you, and our house feels empty without your laughter, conversation, and spirit. Come and visit!



















































This is just a small fraction of the work they got done, and I have a lot of after pictures to still take. There is still a lot to do, BUT it definitely feels a lot less overwhelming. With all the groups coming, we may have a new church/house by the end of August!
    However, one of the greatest parts of having such awesome teens do visible work, is that the neighbors have come out of the woodwork to meet us. They are excited that the house and church grounds look presentable. They are excited that something is happening in the big old church that's been sitting empty for so long. I have met 4 or 5 neighbors over the past few days, and the teens kept telling me stories of their interactions as well.
    The neighbor across the street has a pool, and he kept telling the teens they could use his pool, and how great the work they were doing was. A man came by today and said even though he isn't a teen, he'd love to help out sometime, and looked excited when I told him he should stop by the house for a cup of coffee some time. Another man came up to the teens and said he was so happy a church was going to start here. When we went on a prayer walk Sunday night, people waved, they asked what we were doing, they welcomed the teens from Nebraska to Hammond. Stories of thin places where God was so evidently at work.
      I also had so many amazing conversations with the teens. About resurrection, life, living a life of intention, and the kingdom of God.
     The great moments seeped into our fun trips as well, into Chicago, to the Dunes. The laughter, the joy, the experiences, have made things here seem less overwhelming. They've made this church planting thing some more like a reality and less like a dream.
   This week was just another example that the Church is in great hands. These teens are amazing, and I am blessed to know them.
    Lastly, there was a severe tornado near where these teens were from. One of the chaperone's home town was destroyed. Her childhood church is gone. Her family has suffered great loss. She flew here late, and actually was scheduled to come in the morning after the tornado. She still came. I'm astounded by her selflessness. She said there was nothing she could do at home yet, so she should still come. Pray for them as they recover. A great reminder that maybe you can't come here to Hammond, or head to Nebraska to help with tornado relief, but there is no shortage of needs, you can serve somewhere in someway and be a blessing to someone else.
    More stories and more pictures to come. Excited for the days ahead.