It is an exciting time at Epiphany Station!

This week we were able to hire someone to do the sheet-rock, taping, mudding and painting in our warehouse, which was totally a God-thing. We called this guy last Saturday on a whim and a prayer and he said “I was just praying that God would show me what to do this week because I don’t have any jobs lined up.” He started the next night and is doing a much quicker and better job than we could ever do. The really cool thing is that on Monday we got an unexpected check in the mail that will pay for 2/3 of it. God is amazing! It is truly exciting to see this dream becoming a reality!

We have also begun our advertising blitz. We have radio spots, newspaper ads, TV commercials, invite cards, Radio Gram ads (daily news), a new Grand Opening banner, and most recently, a slide show running on a 42 inch TV in our Station window. I’m probably forgetting something. All of this coupled with the obvious renovations that have been taking place is causing people to take notice. I can hardly go anywhere without someone commenting on our church. And they are not just commenting. They are coming. We have had an influx of guests over the past few weeks, and many of them are sticking around.

There is quite a buzz around town about Epiphany Station. It truly is exciting. But through all of this we have to remember that it is not about building Epiphany Station, but about building God’s Kingdom. It is not about our glory, but God’s glory. And it is not about those who are already here, but about those who are not here. Everything we do – everything we are – is for the sake of those who do not yet know Jesus Christ and for the glory of God the Father. Our facilities, advertising and everything else are merely just tools to help us accomplish God’s mission to save souls in our community. Through it all, we must remain dependent on the Holy Spirit. He is the only one that has the power to change people’s lives.

Please keep us in your prayers as there are still many things to tie up in the next 10 days. And, of course, pray most of all that God will move in a mighty way in our community and draw people unto Himself through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Things are moving a long rapidly as we prepare for our Grand Opening in less than 3 weeks! However, there is still a lot of work left to accomplish.

In the past two weeks we have had a connection built between the gas station and warehouse which will become our new worship center. We have had electrical and two fire doors installed.

On September 13 we had our first large group workday. We had a good group of about a dozen people come and work hard all day. We got all of the framing done which is a a huge task in a 30×60 building with a 16 foot roof. However, we were really hoping to get the sheetrock up that day, but the wrong insulation was delivered and we just didn’t have enough time.

Our next workday is scheduled for September 27, but frankly we have a lot of work we need to get done between now and then if we have any chance of being done for our Grand Opening on October 5.

Here is what we have left to do (in order):

1. Hang insulation sheets
2. Hang sheet rock
3. tape, mud & sand sheet rock
4. build stage
5. install light fixtures
6. paint

We could really use more workers over the next 3 weeks. We really need some skilled laborers that can hang the insulation and sheetrock before September 27. If you can help, please comment or email me.

On another note, we have begun our advertising blitz for our Grand Opening and that coupled with the noticeable work we are doing is creating a lot of buzz. People are taking notice, asking questions and new people are coming every week to check us out.

In all of this please pray that we will “Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.” (Colossians 4:5-6)

On August 24 I had the wonderful privilege of team-teaching with Pastor Jon Herring at Cross of Glory Church in Hopkins, MN. We sat on stools and casually talked about God’s new and creative work in our two churches and in our personal lives, using Isaiah 43:14-25 as our key text. You can listen HERE.

I am really excited about this emerging partnership with Cross of Glory. Pastor Jon has already been such a tremendous encouragement to me and Epiphany Station. And I can’t wait to see how God uses us together to further His Kingdom in our communities.

I am happy to report that as I am typing this email, a hole is being blasted in our cement wall to begin construction on the long-awaited connection between our station and warehouse buildings. Praise God!!! We have anticipated this day for months and it is finally here! Once the connection is finished we will be able to start meeting in the warehouse which can house about 200 people. There is still much work to be done, but the first and most critical step in the process in now under way.

Because of the delay with our building renovations, we have decided to push our GRAND OPENING back to October 5. However, we do hope to have our first worship gathering in the warehouse on September 7, which also marks our transition to morning worship at 10:29 a.m. If you can make it for either of these special events, we’d sure love to have you join us.

As August is quickly coming to a close, we are hopeful that some outside volunteer work crews will still be able to join us in September to assist us with the necessary building renovations as we prepare for our Grand Opening. If you or a group from your church can give us a Saturday in September, we are confident we can get the necessary work done. Please contact Dale Schneider to arrange for your visit.

Please keep praying for us and the people of Thief River Falls as we approach our Grand Opening. We are all very excited to see what God has in store.

Thank you for your prayers and support!

Prayer Update 7-13-08

• Please pray for a man named Matt. He knocked on my door yesterday asking if he could mow my lawn – saying he was trying to earn money to take his daughter to the fair. I hired him and talked with him a little bit. I told him God loved him and invited him to church. Later that night, who was the first person I spotted as we entered the county fair? Matt! I chatted briefly with him again. I strongly sense that God has a calling on this man’s life. Please pray that God will work His will in Matt’s life and draw him unto Himself.
• Our worship band at Epiphany Station is essentially our worship leader Ben Kosharek’s band Novice Nation. This past week, they played in two different “battle of the bands” at area county fairs at won them both! God is obviously blessing them at this time! Please pray that they will be responsible and obedient with God’s blessing and that people will come to know Jesus Christ through their music and witness.
• Please pray for our family – especially for our three boys: Justus, Tranquil and Noble. They (and therefore we) are having a difficult time with the transition (going back several months now). Please pray that God will guard their hearts and minds and help us as parents to be sensitive and patient.
• We have major renovations that we are hoping to make serious headway on here in the coming weeks. We have loads of volunteers who have said they would like to come help, but we have struggled thus far in finding the right contractor/point person to head the whole project up. Please pray that God will supply the right person in His timing (which we prefer to be NOW).
• Health insurance – we are still waiting on this issue. The policy we were all set to get increased by $70/month as we were filling out our application. So we put it on hold to wait and see what happens with our current MNcare status.
• Pray for God’s leading for myself and the elders of Epiphany Station as we seek God’s leading for our new journey together. Pray that God will reveal His agenda to us and give us unity in carrying it out.
• Pray for Heidi on Monday and Tuesday as she makes her first flight from Thief River Falls to the Twin Cities to lead a teacher training. Pray for the boys and myself when she’s gone. And thank God for Lauren Kelley who will be helping with the boys in mom’s absence.
• Pray for me on Thursday and Friday as I take a 24 hour personal prayer retreat at Mount St. Benedict Center in Crookston. I am hoping for some spiritual renewal during this time, as well as, some guidance for the road ahead.

Thank you for praying!

We have arrived in Thief River Falls and are quickly getting settled. Our move went remarkably smooth thanks to lots of good helpers. A crew came down from Epiphany Station with a semi truck on June 28th. We also had friends come up from Owatonna and the Twin Cities as well as friends from the Cushing area. With all those able helpers we loaded that semi in about 2 hours!

The highlight of the day for was that our van was having some serious issues and I didn’t want to drive it all the way to Thief River Falls. I had it in two different shops in the days leading up but neither could fix the problem. As soon as this was discovered, Jared and Darren from TRF got on the phone to their dad, Alvin (another epiphanist) who was in the area delivering hay. He just happened to have a huge flatbed trailer because of the hay and they immediately began scheming as to how they could get our van onto their trailer. Mike knew of a loading ramp in Staples behind his shop so plans were made to drive my van off the ramp and onto the trailer. I couldn’t watch as Mike did the driving. Apparently it’s a lot easier to drive someone else’s car off a ramp then your own. It was a lot of fun to just watch these guys go to work and “git-r-done,” as they say ’round these parts.

We drove our other vehichle up on Sunday and were met with a moving crew at our new home and lots of food and beverages. To top it off, Alvin took our van into the shop on Monday and took care of the bill. We were so overwhelmed with blessings!

We have now been here for two weeks and we are rapidly getting settled into our new life here. Almost every day I say to Heidi, “I really like this place.” It is just so exciting for me to be in a community that is small enough to have a real neighborly feel, but yet be large enough to not feel incredibly isolated. Just getting out and meeting neighbors has been a real joy for me.

Tonight I will preach my first sermon as pastor of Epiphany Station. I will be sharing about the road that led us here. It’s really quite an amazing story. You can listen to it on the Epiphany Station website after Sunday night.

Mike driving my van onto Alvin's truck

I am excited to announce that Adoration Church pastored by Dan Schmitt has committed to partnering with myself and Epiphany Station to the tune of $7,500 over two years. I am totally stoked about this new partnership. Dan and I were in a seminary class together back in 2001 in which God pricked both our hearts for church planting. We have been in touch off-and-on but God has brought us together in a significant way for His glory and kingdom.

I had the opportunity to preach at Adoration on June 8, have lunch with their leadership team and play some flag football with some members. I had an absolute blast! I felt so welcomed and that people genuinely cared about me and my ministry. I am excited about what God is doing through Adoration Church and I am totally honored to be a part of it.

I will be preaching at Adoration again this Sunday (22nd) AND playing football.

One of the sad things about our move is that we need to find a new home for “Tiger,” our one year-old kitty kat. Heidi is allergic so he has been an outdoor cat, but with the move to town, he won’t be able to live outside anymore. So unfortunately he must go.

He is truly a great cat and it makes us sad (especially the boys) that he needs to find a new home. He is both cuddly and playful. He comes when called, loves “stalking” children and other animals, and is a great mouser. He is the best climber I’ve ever seen – climbing way to the top of our tallest trees and actually climbing back down again.

He’s been mostly an outdoor cat (in the winter, he spent the nights in the basement) but he is litter box trained and I think could easily transition to being a housepet if desired. He is neutered and has all his shots.

Neither Heidi or I are really “cat people” but we have grown attached to him. He’s a really great cat (and I’m not just saying that).

Tiger comes with a pet carrier, covered litter box, food dishes and toys.

You are invited to Move to the Groove – a party SO BIG it spans two days!!!

WHEN & WHERE?

Saturday, June 28 – 26402 40th Ave, Cushing, MN
Sunday, June 29 – 609 Horace Ave N., Thief River Falls, MN

Come when you can. Stay as long as you like. No prior moving experience necessary!
Spread the word! Bring a friend!

Please RSVP.

For church planters and pastors of small churches, finding “affordable” health insurance can be a huge obstacle. Our denomination does not offer this benefit so we are left to try and figure out the dilemma for ourselves. We met with an independent insurance broker a few weeks ago and thought we had found an “affordable” plan. However, when I went to fill out the online application, it wouldn’t work. When I contacted the insurance company, I was told that the system was down because they were in the process of changing the rates and it would be a serious increase. We’re waiting to hear how much that means.

We would appreciate your prayers – that we will trust God and He will provide for our needs.