Our Conference theme for 2021 is Real Church. It only seemed appropriate to remind ourselves of what it truly means to be the church as we begin to walk through (what we hope is) post-pandemic. What we learned over the past year and more is that the church is not the building, it is not the programs, it is not the potlucks. No, the church is the living and breathing body of Christ, at work in our workplaces, our communities, and our homes. For the next few weeks we’ll be taking a closer look at some of the individual expressions of The Church within The Pacific Conference.

We asked each church to answer four simple questions. We’ll share their responses here.

Getting to Know Our Churches

East Vancouver Community Church (Vancouver, Washington)

https://www.eastvancouvercommunitychurch.com/

1. Your Congregation’s Favorite Songs (for the moment):
   Heart of Worship (Matt Redman), Living Hope (Phil Wickham)
2. What is a challenge you’ve faced in the local church because of the pandemic?
   Ministering to others without being able to see them face to face. Zoom became a major tool along with calling others on the phone. Teaching children outside of a classroom and keeping them engage in learning about Jesus.
3. What is a victory you’ve seen in the local church over the course of the pandemic?
   Our congregation stayed connected through prayer, scripture, and relationship by doing what we called “Congregational Care Plan.” Along with having services on Youtube and Sunday Morning chat time on Zoom before church started. We have had more children and families join us during the pandemic.
4. Describe something special you’re planning for the summer:
   We just had our first all church Wednesday Night Dinner and games in July (Tacos, Volleyball, Bean Bag Toss and lots of laughs). It felt great to gather again around the table. We have two more planned in August. Also, we are planning on outdoor service and picnic over Labor Day Weekend. Our Youth have been active this summer with (1) Day Events (Paint ball, Night Frisbee, etc), (2) Mission trip to Southern Oregon in July to help people who suffered from the fire, and (3) a Retreat in Sweet Home, OR in August. Our seniors have started their monthly J.O.Y. (Just Older Youth) Lunches along with a few day trips together. At the end of August we will participate in the Back to School Event for Wy’East Middle School.

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Faith on Hill (Milwaukie, Oregon)

https://www.faithonhill.com/

1. Your Congregation’s Favorite Songs (for the moment):
   The Gospel (Ghost Ship), Glorious Day (Passion),and Look What god Has Done (Ghost Ship)
2. What is a challenge you’ve faced in the local church because of the pandemic?
   Like all churches we faced that challenges of pivoting our ministry focus to “distance community”. We had to get some people used to new technology (or any technology) and we had to choose to remain committed to each other as the world sought to divide us (masks, politics, racial injustice… how did masks get to the top of that list?)
3. What is a victory you’ve seen in the local church over the course of the pandemic?
   We are still here. We are still on mission. We have seen people disciples and several confess to sin and seek victory in Christ.
4. Describe something special you’re planning for the summer:
   We are doing church in the field again this year. Last year it was out of necessity, this year it is by choice. In fat, we had a man come to church just last Sunday just because he saw us setting up the sun shades.

Before You Go

Please add these churches to your prayer list as they lovingly serve their communities! (Don’t forget to pray for Supt. Randy and Linda while they are on sabbatical. They’re currently in Scotland with their family.)