October 2026 Update

Hey Church Family,

Things are moving fast, and I believe we are witnessing something far greater than the renovation of a building. We are watching God build a people.

Yesterday was another incredible workday at the property. People showed up, worked hard, and continued pouring themselves into something much bigger than any one of us. Then, as if on cue, the Lord opened another door. A drywall company came along with an opportunity to complete the work faster and at a significantly reduced cost.

Another relationship. Another unexpected provision. Another reminder of God's faithfulness.

But before I get ahead of myself, I want to take you back for a moment.

At the end of February, we purchased this property with a fairly straightforward plan. Renovate both buildings for approximately $100,000, complete the work in four to six months, and move into our new church home.

Well, here we are, eight months later. We've exceeded our original renovation budget, and we still haven't moved into the facility.

From the outside, that might look like a setback. Some might call it a trial, a mountain, or even a season of tribulation.

But what if what we've been calling a delay has actually been God revealing His plans?

What if the Lord has been doing something in us that was just as important as what He was doing through us?

Because when I look back over these last eight months, I don't simply see construction delays, unexpected expenses, or unfinished walls. I see relationships being formed, friendships being strengthened, people discovering gifts they didn't know they had, and a church family learning what it means to carry one another's burdens.

I see the body of Christ becoming what the body of Christ was always intended to be.

And I wonder if perhaps the Lord was never in as much of a hurry to finish the building as we were. Maybe He was building something else first.

Let me remind you where we were just one year ago.

In October 2025, we had no money to purchase a facility, no down payment, and no clear answer about where we would even meet when February arrived.

In November, Brent and our elders presented a vision for a building fund. Vickie began diligently identifying rental properties and potential buildings to purchase. We had a vision, but we didn't yet have the resources.

By December, you responded. Our church family stepped forward in faith and generosity. Enough money was raised to make a down payment, a property was identified, and we entered into a contract to purchase it.

In February 2026, we closed on the property and immediately began the work of restoring it.

Now here we are in October. Drywall is being installed as I write this, and there's a very real possibility that the walls will be completed and painted before the end of the month.

Church, do you understand what has happened?

One year ago, we didn't know where we were going to worship. Today, we are preparing a place where generations will come to worship Jesus.

We went from wondering where we would meet to renovating property we own. From wondering how we would afford a facility to watching God's people give sacrificially to make it possible.

I don't want us to become so focused on what still needs to be done that we forget to stand in awe of what God has already done.

Sometimes we're so busy asking God for the next miracle that we forget we're standing in the middle of the last one.

And the building isn't even the greatest testimony of this year.

For many families in our church, this has been one of the most difficult years of their lives.

We've watched a child experience healing from cancer, and we are still grieving the loss of someone we loved to that same terrible disease. We've witnessed physical healings through prayer, marriages restored, relationships reconciled, and families experience breakthroughs they had been praying about for years.

We've celebrated babies being born, families purchasing their first homes, and new beginnings. We've also stood together through funerals, heartbreaking diagnoses, painful losses, and seasons when the answers didn't come the way we prayed they would.

I don't want to pretend that every story has ended the way we hoped. It hasn't.

But through it all, I've witnessed something that has deeply moved me.

You kept showing up.

You showed up when you were tired. You showed up when your own family was walking through difficulties. You showed up when there was nothing glamorous about the work that needed to be done.

You showed up with hammers, rakes, shovels, paintbrushes, and work gloves. But you also showed up with prayers, hugs, meals, encouragement, and shoulders for people to cry on.

You didn't just help build a church facility. You demonstrated what it means to be the Church.

And that is something no amount of money could ever purchase.

There's a song by Elevation Worship called More Than Able that has been on my heart lately. It challenges us to consider what the Lord can accomplish when His people come together in faith.

But I don't have to imagine what God can do.

I'm watching Him do it right before my eyes.

I wish I had better words to express how grateful I am. I really do. But right now, all I have is thank you.

Thank you to every person who has given financially, whether it was five dollars or five thousand. Thank you to those who have sacrificed Saturdays, evenings, weekends, and precious time with family to work on this property.

Thank you for pulling weeds, removing nails, hauling trash, hanging fences, sweeping floors, running cables, repairing walls, and cleaning up messes you didn't make. Thank you to those who stand outside on Saturday mornings waving at cars and welcoming people to worship.

Thank you for the letters, messages, prayers, and words of encouragement. Thank you to those who have quietly served without ever asking to be recognized.

Some of you have given until it hurt. Some of you have served while carrying burdens that most people know nothing about.

And I want you to know something.

The Lord sees what nobody else sees.

Hebrews 6:10 reminds us that God is not unjust. He does not forget the work we have done and the love we have shown Him as we care for His people.

And while all of this has been happening locally, the Lord has continued expanding our reach around the world.

Did you know that HFF is now ministering to more than 60,000 households worldwide every month? We've gained over 20,000 YouTube subscribers this year alone.

Think about that.

While some of you are scraping drywall mud off the floor, someone on the other side of the world is hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ through this ministry.

We aren't just renovating a building. We are establishing a place from which the Gospel can continue going out into the world.

And every one of you has played a part in that.

Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 19:26 that what is impossible with man is possible with God. I think we've been living in that verse for the last year.

Not always on our timetable. Not always in the way we expected. But He has been faithful.

And now we are approximately 60–90 days away from moving into our renovated facility.

When God brought Israel out of Egypt, His intention was never for them to wander in the wilderness forever. He was bringing them into a land where they would establish homes, raise families, worship Him, and become a people who would bear witness to His goodness among the nations.

The Promised Land wasn't the end of the story. In many ways, it was the beginning of a new chapter.

And I believe that is where we are.

The building isn't the destination. It's a place from which we will continue the mission.

I can already envision worship nights where people encounter the presence of Jesus. Prayer gatherings where burdens are laid down and faith is strengthened. Evenings where we pray for the sick and trust the Lord to heal. Coffee mornings where lonely people find community. Cookouts where neighbors become friends. Outreach to the homeless, neighborhood gatherings, children growing up surrounded by people who love Jesus, and marriages being restored.

I envision people who don't yet know Jesus walking through those doors and discovering that He has been pursuing them all along.

That's why we're doing this.

Not because God needs a building. Acts 7:48 reminds us that the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands.

We aren't building a house because Jesus needs somewhere to live. We're preparing a place where people can come together to encounter the One who gives us life.

As I prepare to leave for my family's annual sabbatical, I've been reflecting on the timing of everything.

There's an irony here that I don't want to overlook.

After all these months of planning, working, praying, and overseeing renovations, I won't be here to see the final stages of construction completed.

And I've come to realize something.

I'm not supposed to be.

Because this has never been my project. It's Jesus'.

This isn't my house. It's His.

And this church has never been built on one pastor, one family, one elder, or one group of leaders. It belongs to Jesus Christ.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:6 that he planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.

Different people have different assignments, but the work belongs to the Lord.

If this whole thing falls apart because the pastor takes a few weeks away, then we haven't built a church. We've built a dependency.

But that's not what I'm seeing. I'm seeing a church family that knows how to love, serve, lead, and carry the mission forward. And that gives me tremendous joy.

We're now approximately 90% of the way toward completing our building fundraiser goal. We have just over $19,000 remaining to raise before January 1 to meet our goal and help pay our contractors.

And I'm asking you to prayerfully consider helping us finish.

Maybe it's five dollars. Maybe it's fifty. Maybe it's five hundred or ten thousand.

I don't know what the Lord has entrusted to you, and I certainly don't know what He may be asking you to give. That's between you and Jesus.

But I do want to ask you to take a moment and pray.

Lord, what would You have me do? What have You placed in my hands that I could use to bless this church family and help complete this work? How can I participate in what You are doing?

I keep coming back to the prophet Haggai.

In Haggai 1, the people of Israel had returned from exile, but the rebuilding of the Lord's house had been neglected while they focused on their own homes. Through the prophet, God challenged them to consider their ways and examine their priorities.

Now, I want to be careful here.

We are not rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem. Under the New Covenant, God's people are His temple, with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone (Ephesians 2:19–22).

But I do believe Haggai confronts something that is just as relevant today as it was then.

It's possible to become so consumed with building our own little kingdoms that we forget to invest in the Kingdom that will never end.

We invest in our homes because we want our families to have a place of comfort, safety, and belonging. There's nothing wrong with that.

But shouldn't we also have a heart to invest in places where the broken can find healing, the lonely can find family, and the lost can encounter Jesus?

Not because God needs our money. Not because our generosity purchases His favor. And certainly not because anyone should feel pressured, manipulated, or ashamed.

Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 9:7 that each person should give what they have decided in their heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, because God loves a cheerful giver.

Generosity isn't about how much God can get out of your hands. It's about what His grace is doing in your heart.

So I'm not asking you to give out of guilt. I'm inviting you to prayerfully participate in something beautiful. Something that I believe will continue bearing fruit long after we're gone.

As I write this, drywall is going up. Next comes paint, followed by the remaining installations, inspections, and moving furniture and equipment into place.

We're getting close. Really close.

And I don't want us to lose sight of the miracle because we're exhausted by the process.

Don't let the unfinished work blind you to the faithfulness of God.

Years from now, I hope we look back and remember more than the walls, the paint, and the floors. I hope we remember the people, the sacrifices, the prayers, the laughter, the tears, the friendships, and the God who was faithful through it all.

There are two practical ways to help us reach this final goal. You can give toward the building fund at hff.house, either online, by mail, or in person at church. You can also purchase needed items from our Amazon wish list to help us prepare the facility for ministry.

Whether you're able to give financially or not, please hear my heart. You are not valued because of what you contribute to this building. You are valued because you belong to Jesus, and you are part of this family.

Paul closes his prayer in Ephesians 3 with one of the most beautiful declarations in Scripture:

"Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." — Ephesians 3:20

Notice something. Paul doesn't simply say that God is able to do more than we can imagine. He says God is able to accomplish it through His mighty power at work within us.

That's what I believe we're witnessing.

Not a church accomplishing something impressive so we can celebrate ourselves, but Jesus working through ordinary people who have made themselves available to Him.

People with jobs, children, responsibilities, struggles, and limitations. People who don't have unlimited resources or unlimited time. People who have simply said, "Lord, here I am. Use what I have."

And look what He has done.

Church family, I believe we're going to look back on this season and realize that while we were busy building a house for ministry, Jesus was busy building His Church.

And that was the greater miracle all along.

The walls will be finished. The paint will dry. The inspections will pass. Eventually, the tools will be put away, and we'll walk through those doors together.

But the work of the Kingdom will only be beginning.

Because the goal was never simply to open a building. The goal has always been to make room for people to encounter Jesus, to be healed, discipled, restored, loved, and sent into the world carrying His presence.

We're not building a monument to what we've accomplished. We're preparing a place for what we believe Jesus is going to do.

Who am I to deny what the Lord can do?

He has always been more than able.

And I believe the best chapters of this story are still ahead of us.

Thank you for everything you have given, sacrificed, and sown into this church family. I love you, I'm proud of you, and I'm deeply grateful that the Lord has allowed us to walk through this season together.

With all my love and gratitude,

Pastor Chris

All glory to Jesus. This is His Church, His house, and His story. We simply get the privilege of being part of it.