We’ve all heard that the West Pasco Campus will launch on September 7 at 9am at the Fairchild Cinemas! Time is ticking away and here are several other dates I’d like you to know about.

July 15 - 7p | Team Training in the Desert View Room (Not a part of a team yet? Leave a comment or joins us for this training event!)

July 26 - 9:30a | West Pasco Prayer Walk Meet in the South end of the Fairchild Cinemas parking lot.

July 27 - 11a | Prayer and Preview Service in the Desert View Room

August 24 & 31 - 9a | Pre-launch Services at the Fairchild Cinemas. Come check out an actual service before we open to the public.

September 6 - 8:30p | Prayer in the Fairchild Cinemas parking lot. Join us in praying for Bethel’s new Campus as it reaches into the neighborhoods in West Pasco!

The BIG DATE!  September 7 - 9a | Opening Service at the Fairchild Cinemas. Share the morning with an unchurched friend or neighbor!

The vision of sending Bethel into West Pasco as a satellite campus was shared with the congregation in February of this year. It is the vision of reaching the people of West Pasco…people in need of Jesus Christ. This is why we are compelled to go. Closer to home? Maybe. A new place to serve? Possibly. But, neither of these, nor any other reason will send us out except a heart for God and a burden for the people.

At Bethel we believe that as a diciple of Jesus Christ we are to be God-Lovers, Relationship-Builders, Obedient-Followers and World-Influencers (oh, yeah, G.R.0.W). Let’s go straight to the “W“.

Here are a few ideas to think about…well, now that I look at it, we gotta read the whole thing because it is great! And as you read through it think “the unsaved people of West Pasco” wherever a word is written in bold letters.

A World-Influcencer…

· Influences the world in the name of Jesus to bring glory to God
· Believes the gospel is God’s only plan for salvation
· Loves non-believers because God loves them
· Lives a life so distinct from the world that it establishes a credible testimony
· Participates in God’s worldwide work of reaching all social, economic, and ethnic groups
· Prays for the salvation of specific people and God’s work throughout the world
· Watches for and seizes opportunities to share the gospel
· Builds relational bridges to non-believers in order to win them to Christ
· Acts boldly in the authority of Jesus, relying on the power of the Holy Spirit to bring about change
· Promotes what is good and exposes evil
· Meets needs of the poor and powerless

Pray On!

Karen and I have decided to tackle Badger Mountain this year. At almost a mile it provides us with a pretty good workout. Our son, Ben, likes to run the trail all the way to the top, I’ve tried a couple times but for some reason my lungs won’t allow me to make it very far, enough said on that topic.

Badger Mountain’s summit view of the Columbia Basin is amazing. I can’t believe I never experienced it as a kid growing up in Richland, but then again, Badger Mtn. was miles away back then. Upon reaching the top I take in the full scope of the landscape. The area of West Pasco is in full view to the North East and I stop to pray. I pray for the community, it’s residents, it’s businesses and it’s leaders. Then I can’t help but stop to pray, “How will You use me to reach the unchurched in West Pasco?” God is directing us, the people of Bethel, to a great opportunity to reach into the lives of people in this new area. Have you prayed and asked God, “How will You use Me?”

I’d love to hear from you. Email me at tim.phillips@bethel-church.org or click on the title above to leave a comment. In the mean time take a walk, a hike, a run, a second and pray!

Here’s the news we’ve been waiting for…after a lot of searching…a result of much praying: Fairchild Cinemas will be the home of Bethel’s West Pasco campus!

Unorthodox? Weird? Buttered Popcorn? Not at all. It is truly a blessing from God. He has placed us in the heart of the new West Pasco area in an environment familiar to the community – a movie theater. We are currently in the process of working out the details with the owner, Jeff Fairchild.

In the previous update I invited you to pray for a facility and shared that it looked like things were a “GO” in one of the locals West Pasco schools. Since then we have found that the limited amount of space allocated for our use on Sunday mornings has become even more limited, making it impossible for us to use at this point.

This news seems to conflict with the plans and schedules made up to this point and can certainly cause opportunity for unrest. Just as mans plans are not always God’s plan, the same could be said for schedules! But, isn’t it reassuring that God knows where we will be meeting in West Pasco? It’s no surprise to Him!

Philippians 4:6 reminds us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Would you join me in prayer in the coming days that God would lead us through the details? We can be thankful that these small diversions keep us dependent upon the Lord.

In the mean time, we will continue to look into a couple other options and seek to find a possible solution with the School District. You can expect another update as soon as we hear something!

Praying with you,

The West Pasco Campus planning is under way! Here’s what we know so far:

50+
Over fifty families have expressed interest in being involved (and you’re one of them!). Ministry teams will come together soon as we near the launch of the West Pasco campus. Prayerfully consider how the Lord wants you to serve.

The #1 Big ?
No doubt the most asked question is, “Where will we meet?” The Pasco School District recently approved our request to use one of the local elementary schools. The space usage is limited but we are praying that additional space will become available to accommodate Children’s Ministry. This is vital to reaching the young families of the surrounding community.

The #2 Big ?
is “When do we start?” Once the facility use is confirmed; the technology, equipment and materials will be determined and ordered. The earliest time frame we would be looking at would be late this Spring.

Right now, I would like you to pray for two things:

…that God would work in our lives preparing us to be workers in the West Pasco harvest, and

…that the facility use will soon be determined so we can continue move forward.

For the glory of God,