Pastor John shares how it all started...
While I was serving at a local church as one of the founding pastors, God began to stir my heart to start another ministry in Nelson County. I did not know if it was going to be a hands-on ministry or another church plant. So, I stepped down as pastor and elder to begin seeking the Holy Spirit’s leading. One Saturday morning after several weeks of reading, studying, praying, and listening, He showed me the warehouse at Advancing Native Missions! ANM was not using the warehouse to ship containers anymore, and there were no real plans for the future of the space. The location is very good with plenty of parking, which is in short supply in Nelson. The ANM office is a great complex, and the warehouse is 7500 square feet - large enough for a church. I also realized this would let us support the work of ANM and give more exposure for their ministry. As I had run the warehouse for almost 12 years, it felt like an opportunity to go back to my "roots" here in Nelson County! That was pretty cool.
I then shared my vision with the leadership of ANM and they agreed to let us use the warehouse space. Lynn and I began praying in the warehouse for God’s direction and guidance and were shortly joined by three more friends that began to pray with us. Over more time several others joined us, and we then had a group of people committed to the vision of starting the church.
One of the first outreaches we did as a church began with items that were donated by White Glove Cleaning. Our group did two big yard sales to raise funds for mission causes and our new church, and the Lord blessed. Soon afterwards, other items were available through what is now Nest Reality. There were now too many items to handle multiple times and there was not enough space in the front yard to hold all these pieces of furniture and household items. Our dilemma led us to purchase the box truck owned by ANM that was also the truck I drove while I served with ANM in the warehouse ministry. And as it turned out, the Lord had other plans for the warehouse space other than for our church plant. We now saw that the warehouse space was to be used for these items and it became the beginning of “The Warehouse Sales.”
God has really given us many opportunities to receive an abundance of furniture through various estates. We can do so without taking individual donations, since this is not our focus, and we don’t desire or have the manpower to be like Goodwill.
Now we are in the third year of having “Warehouse Sales” in this space. It has been a wonderful opportunity to meet people in the surrounding communities and to donate various items to those in need. Approximately 75 percent of the funds from the sales go to local, national, and international ministries and humanitarian organizations. Many lives have been touched here and around the world!
One of the first outreaches we did as a church began with items that were donated by White Glove Cleaning. Our group did two big yard sales to raise funds for mission causes and our new church, and the Lord blessed. Soon afterwards, other items were available through what is now Nest Reality. There were now too many items to handle multiple times and there was not enough space in the front yard to hold all these pieces of furniture and household items. Our dilemma led us to purchase the box truck owned by ANM that was also the truck I drove while I served with ANM in the warehouse ministry. And as it turned out, the Lord had other plans for the warehouse space other than for our church plant. We now saw that the warehouse space was to be used for these items and it became the beginning of “The Warehouse Sales.”
God has really given us many opportunities to receive an abundance of furniture through various estates. We can do so without taking individual donations, since this is not our focus, and we don’t desire or have the manpower to be like Goodwill.
Now we are in the third year of having “Warehouse Sales” in this space. It has been a wonderful opportunity to meet people in the surrounding communities and to donate various items to those in need. Approximately 75 percent of the funds from the sales go to local, national, and international ministries and humanitarian organizations. Many lives have been touched here and around the world!
In the meantime...
The Warehouse Church meets in the conference room at Advancing Native Missions. It is a nice facility with plenty of space for our services at 10:00 am on Sunday mornings. We are currently using contemporary worship videos for our time of praise and worship. There are Zoom capabilities for those that want to join us online. We also have a time of prayer for the service at 9:30 am. We would love to have you join us as we honor and thank Jesus for what He has done for us and in our lives!
Pastor John
Pastor John
