It
is an interesting thing to talk of “God’s will”.
There are so many examples of things that are
done in the name of God that have had such tragic
consequences. As
Christians, we learn the heart of God through the pages
of scripture, prayer, and submission to the leading of
the Holy Spirit.
As
a church plant and local mission, we have been operating
“by the grace of God” since the beginning.
To hear the voice of God when there is so much to
distract us is by no means a trite thing.
It takes practice as God trains His people in His
school of “listen and obey”.
The Bible teaches us to listen to God’s still
small voice where He speaks to His people.
There is a principle that is given to us in
scripture also of “testing all things to know what is
of God”. This
is a reminder to avoid vain presumptions and misguidance
due to a zeal that drives fleshly ideas. In this way, we
test each thing by the Spirit to see if a particular
direction seems right and by the Bible to verify that
there is no contradiction to Gods clear direction in
scripture. For
the Bible teaches that God is truth and light and in Him
there is no darkness nor shadow.
In part, this means that God will not tell His
people to do anything that contradicts Himself.
In addition, the Bible speaks of God’s ability
to speak to each of His people through His Spirit and
gives to us a principle of confirmation through God
speaking to others who listen to Him.
Although
we had been praying for general wisdom concerning this
since 2000, it was mid 2004 when our entire congregation
began to focus fervent prayer seeking God’s direction
regarding this “Chapel” property on Apricot &
Mahoney. Because
we had been doing regular weekly ministry there for
years, we were cut to the heart at the prospect that
this was to end. Although
Sunday mornings were at the community center, almost
everything else we did was in homes, or at “the
Chapel” location.
As the former congregation was deciding how to
transition the remaining ministry, the idea at the head
of the table involved bringing in another church that
expressed they would eliminate our use of the sanctuary,
classrooms and lower multi-purpose room, allowing us to
merely “rent” the Youth Room.
Because of the dramatic effect this would have on
our ministry, essentially closing down mid-week services
and special event outreaches, I felt God put me in a
place where I had to bring the difficulty before the
entire Sunday morning congregation.
In that, I asked for a commitment to prayer.
They did.
God
answered our prayer by giving direction, removing the
immediate crisis, and then He began speaking to people
in the congregation.
People began coming to me to say that God is
“giving” this facility to Calvary Chapel Ojai
Valley. A
new pastor came in to Chapel by the Pines to carry it
through her final season.
Our relationship continued.
At the Summer of 2005, the congregation resolved
to dissolve.
Dr.
Ross Chenot of the American Baptist Churches of the
Pacific Southwest www.transmin.org
left their meeting
to come visit our Sunday morning service.
This opened a new door.
As
Dr. Ross Chenot and I got together to pray, so did the
congregation. Ultimately,
Michael Arredondo (our administrator) & myself met
with Dr. Dale Salico and David Gregory of the ABC/PSW to
pray and discuss this further.
People would continue to tell me that God is
“giving” this to us.
In January 2006, the ABC/PSW issued us an
exclusive offer to purchase the property at HALF of
it’s “land only” appraisal.
I announced it to the congregation on Sunday and
they stood up in praise to God.
After
prayer and praise to God, our board decided to accept
the offer “in faith”.
In fact, because so many people had already
believed so strongly that God had spoken on this, we had
put that to action by having taken over the utilities,
maintenance, and occupation of the facility in early
Fall 2005. Now
we would take it to the next level by moving the
bookstore ministry there and starting the desperately
needed remodel.
They
say “hindsight is 20/20 vision”.
This is especially true when seeing the hand of
God work in situations; looking ahead is always with
“fear and trepidation”.
In hindsight, you can see how God worked.
We operate on the principle “where God guides,
God provides”. In
each of the steps in this remodel project thus far, God
has been providing in amazing ways the laborers,
equipment, and materials.
Lastly,
the response of the people in the community; neighbors,
local leaders, other churches, etc., has been wonderful.
It has become clear to us that God has a purpose
in what He wants to do with all of this.
It is only partly about us at Calvary Chapel and
also has a whole lot to do with what God wants to do in
many other people’s lives.
We remain open to hear and receive direction from
God in this by His Spirit, through His Word, and as He
speaks through His people.
Please join us in prayer and seeking God’s
direction; for this has been a place of worship for
approximately 75 years and we are here to serve God in
this.
