On this the last day of 2015 many of us will take a moment to look back on the year. The ups and downs, highs and lows. For us at Rise it has been a year we will never forget. A year of extreme challenge, and extreme faith, followed by incredible miracles. It's been a year of pioneering! Walking in obedience on the path God has set out before us. Together we are learning what it means to be the church, and together we are building a community that loves and serves God, as we love and serve people.
It's hard to fathom all that God has done in the past 9 months. But as we look to the new year let us not forget where we came from. Just 9 months ago a small group began meeting to worship and pray for direction as they felt God calling them out to start something new. Within 2 months the group grew to a number that required them to find a meeting place for weekly worship and teaching. In June the Boyd-Panciera Funeral Home offered their space for our Sunday gathering! In July we had our first ever Summer Family Camp, where parents and their children had a chance to get away for a week to build relationships and worship together. Over the next several months we studied the word of God together and learned that I AM CHURCH. As the year came to an end a door opened for a larger meeting space. We had our first Sunday Service at Pioneer Middle School on December 13th! The children now have an amazing space to learn about Jesus, and we now have an incredible opportunity to serve our community through the school system. On December 24th we held Our First Christmas Eve Service, together with our family at Salt Life Church. There were over 300 people in attendance and 21 people made the decision to follow Jesus!
As we look ahead to 2016 its hard not to get excited with expectation! God has truly guided each step we have taken, and we believe He has "set us up" for an amazing new season ahead. In the next month we will be moving into a new office space where we will be able to have our Weekday Groups and Meetings, along with a rehearsal space and studio to create new resources for the church and the community. We are extremely excited to see how God can use this space to reach our community every day of the week. This year is promised to be a year full of exciting new things as we continue to discover God's plan for us as a church. As we continue to pioneer ahead we know there may be challenges, but we also know if there is one thing we have learned this year it's that with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).