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The church who couldn’t: the God who could!

By Michael Thomson
Elder, Providence Christian Church

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you,
I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10 (ESV)

RIVERVIEW, NB—As the final lag bolt is driven in to hold up the newly refinished sign that will hang in front of Providence Christian Church, we consider what an incredible journey God has brought our church through this year. I pray that all who read this story will be encouraged as we seek to give a testimony of what God has done in our midst for His glory!

The outside of the church building was deteriorating. The stripping and repainting completed six years earlier was quickly weathering and its appearance was an eyesore. We also needed to do something with the old single pane windows that let out a significant amount of heat each winter.

It was a task that was overwhelming for a small church of 30 to 40 people, and yet it could no longer be ignored. At our annual business meeting in February 2007 we valiantly attempted to commit to renovations. But how does one begin to replace 26 windows and 4000 square feet of siding with less than 15 percent of the total required money?

Quotes and estimates showed that the total cost, without labour, would be around $15,000; we began to doubt the possibility of the task. But little did we know that the ground work was already being laid by the Master’s hand.

On February 21 we received an email from the pastor of Riley’s Creek Baptist Church in Wilmington, North Carolina to let us know that they had been reviewing applications for mission teams and were considering working with us. They had experience in windows and siding and believed that God was leading them to Riverview that summer. On March 5 they already had twelve people committed to come and had received $2000 in gifts towards the materials. By April 16 an additional $1000 was given for materials and there were four more volunteers. We had never met these people, but they were already becoming precious to our hearts.

While there was still a very long way to go, we began to believe as a church that God was confirming our direction. Would we trust Him for the rest?

By mid-June, between what we had scraped together as a church and what had been donated through Riley’s Creek Baptist we still needed $5000. We met together and agreed to place the order for the windows because the deadline had come. They were ordered with the expectation that the rest of the money for the siding would come. We continued to commit it to the Lord and asked for faith to believe.

Meanwhile, in tandem to all this, we were gearing up for our summer Vacation Bible School (VBS). God opened the door, through much prayer, to allow us to host a VBS with kids from the day care next door to our church—almost 80 children. Earlier God had sent us confirmation of a mission team who would come from Etowah Baptist Church in Etowah, NC to help with the VBS.

The week of the VBS was wonderful. God knew exactly who to send us—kids and mission team —and we praise the Lord for the way that Etowah Baptist allowed God to work through them! What we didn’t know was that during that week God moved in their hearts to donate $5000 towards our renovations, exactly what we needed to complete the ordering of materials!

God had provided all the money we needed; the rest of the materials were ordered and arrived the day before work began. The renovations began on Tuesday July 17 and the last of the siding was put on July 28. We are amazed at what God has done!

It was also a testimony to the community who watched the work unfold as many people worked day after day. Our prayers each day were not only that God would give us safety and strength, but that He would use our efforts for His glory and for kingdom fruit.

May we all remain faithful to what God has called us to do!