MOVED INTO THE BUCKMAN NEIGHBORHOOD: JUNE 20, 2010
Thanks to everyone who took time to worship Jesus through the work of our big move. Hundreds of people carried boxes, wielded paint brushes, wrestled with electrical and tech changes, donated time and service and finances. May that same spirit of generosity and community continue to grow and overflow into our new neighborhood.
If the move is still news to you, below you can find answers to some basic questions: the story and vision behind the move, the giving it took, and maps of our new campus.
THE STORY
Imago Dei started out in a living room, a ragtag community asking God to stir us in word and deed with his love for Portland. Before long, God answered our prayers. We started loving the city in whatever simple, strange, street-level ways his Spirit would lead us to imagine.
When the church grew, we asked that Jesus would position us at the heart of the city, where the call to love Portland in the midst of its messiness would be a daily opportunity - an immediate, human,
neighborhood reality.
For nearly ten years, we’ve existed literally out of boxes. And we have never stopped praying ‘Lead us to the heart of the city, Lord.’ So it made sense when, out of the blue, pastors from Portland Foursquare phoned and said, ‘We think God wants you to move into our
building. It’s just the right size for you, there’s no spot more central to metro Portland, and you can have it all week for what you pay in rent for one Sunday now.” And we prayed some more. We believe that God is saying, “It’s time. Let’s go.”
THE VISION
We envision that the new facilities will help us worship Jesus more holistically. By rooting us in the center of metropolitan Portland, it will give our community the chance to deepen in our practice of living the gospel incarnationally - being present with our city in the love, service, and proclamation of Christ.
With approximately 100K square feet available to us all week, we are free to dream in new ways. Local outreach leaders will have space to be hospitable to the poor. Artists will have freedom to reimagine Sunday worship spaces. Youth leaders will have a chance to facilitate wildly creative learning labs. And keep going: weekday job skill classes for the community, a place for those living outside to warm up during a cold spot of winter, an after school basketball league, a place for people to gather supplies before taking them into the streets of Portland.
The examples can - and will, we pray - run on and on. We are praying this facility will be an outpost of God’s Kingdom in the center of our city.
THE CALL
pray
As the Psalmist reminds us, “Unless the LORD builds a house, the laborer builds in vain.” This is a huge move - practically,geographically, logistically - and it will take God’s constant wisdom and grace to see it done right. Let’s be united in continual prayer that our hearts will be united and our lives committed to what God has before us. And don’t forget to gather on the last Wed. of each month so we can pray together.
give
Although our rent will be the same as at Franklin, having the building all week will cost more money for things like heat, water, and cleaning. Dreams for how to use the building will also take money to realize. We are currently quite a bit behind budget. So to make the most of the opportunities set before us, we need God to provide financially.
Usually, He does that through our generosity. We all need to join together in giving generously, sacrificially, and consistently. We celebrate God’s faithfulness to and through our community over the years and are convinced that He will continue to meet our needs through our common sacrifice of giving. Let’s grow together as visionary givers.
THE DREAM
Buildings and money and talent aren’t worth anything without the courage and freedom of faith. So we can expect that even as God is moving us physically, He is also moving among us to give new unexpected ideas about how to live into His story. Will you dream about how God will use your talents and gifts to build our community into the image of Jesus for the sake of our city and the Kingdom of God?
MAPS
CAMPUS MAP: 1302 SE ANKENY
