Church on the move!

About three and a half years ago, several like-minded families came together to birth a brand-new church in our area called Grace Reformed Baptist Church and they called Brad to be the Pastor/Teacher! We began very small with just a few families and our very first Sunday meeting was in the home of one of our Elders! After a couple of weeks, the Lord provided a small office space for us to use and as we grew, He continued to provide for our needs. We then moved to the gym of a private Christian school called Northeast Christian Academy (NCA) where Brad was also teaching Bible classes during the week. It was obviously a very large space that gave us plenty of room to grow and we were so thankful, once again, for His provision! The very first Sunday we met there was a little surreal for Brad and I since NCA's building used to be the very church that Brad and I attended while growing up! We still have very fond memories of that church (especially since we were dating each other during the time we attended there!). A little over a year later, through mutual friendships, Bethesda Romanian Baptist Church offered their church building to us as a more permanent place to worship on Sundays and during the week. The Romanian population is not growing today as it once was, so they have been so gracious to "share" their building with us including the sanctuary, several classrooms and other meeting areas! Once again, the Lord has truly provided for our church family in ways that we could not possibly think or imagine!

Old sign

New sign

Brad on the scaffolding with Dirk and Russ ( I believe this might have been a "posed" picture of Brad since I know Brad is not so fond of heights and I never actually saw him on the scaffolding.)
We have been busy getting things ready for us to move in and worship together! We had a church-wide work day all day yesterday where the men worked on the outside doing yard work, treating for ants (and any other pests!), hanging signs, powerwashing the pavement, picking up trash, etc. Bethany had done an amazing job sketching a precious little pasture with a fence and little lambs beside a stream for our Psalm 23 Lambs mural for the nursery. This past week, she and I met to get the lambs in place and paint the scene on all the walls, but we needed some help finishing the mural, so many of the ladies did a great job yesterday making the finishing touches that were so perfect!
Some women planted flowers while others worked indoors by organizing our kitchen supply area, cleaning the children's bathroom and painting it, and cleaning, organizing and setting up our children's classrooms! We are so grateful to be sharing such a perfect space with our Romanian friends and extremely blessed to receive the Lord's provision! Soli Deo Gloria!