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Lynnwood Church Of The Nazarene

5326 176th St South West
425-745-1886

About Us:

Though the word “our” is used in each of the titles of this vision statement, it can be misleading. “Our” does not mean a plan, idea, or purpose that “we” derived or formulated. Rather it is a mission we own as our own because we firmly believe it is what God has called us to – at this particular moment in history and in this particular location. The purpose statement above concisely sums up that calling.

“As Lynnwood Church of the Nazarene we are called by Christ to
1) Be a Friend,
2) Equip Believers, and
3) Worship God.”

To be a friend means to use every conceivable opportunity to lead people into a relationship with Jesus Christ and to love all people on behalf of our Lord.

Secondly, we have a mission of equipping, training, and teaching those who have entered into a relationship with Jesus to become mature and effective Christians.

Finally, in all we do it is our desire to give God worth in our daily walks by living holy lives. That is to worship. Worship also encompasses times of celebration where we all meet together to express our love and devotion to God. Weekend worship services accomplish this through expressions such as music, scripture, and practical teaching (sermons) that move us closer to God. In our culture, weekend worship services are also perhaps the most opportune time to introduce spiritually hungry individuals to Jesus Christ, hence the tremendous importance of an effective tool such as a sanctuary/worship center.

Our Vision and Future - Where We Are Going

Our calling mandates our vision. Because our calling is to reach people for Jesus Christ, our vision involves accomplishing that task to the best of our abilities. We believe God has called us to be an effective spiritual resource center for Lynnwood. As you look our history, particularly the last 15 years, there is a common pattern. Our attendance figures have plateaued for many years due to space constraints. With two Sunday services filled, we have had no extra room to continue the mandate of reaching more people in our community for Jesus Christ. We believe now is the time God is enabling us to turn the corner away from that plateau and continue reaching forward. Furthermore, our current sanctuary and offices possess so many maintenance problems that it would not be good stewardship to attempt renovation or continued upgrading. Our conclusion is to remain on the current property and build a new sanctuary and office/classroom building. We will keep the gym and will continue to use the classrooms contained in the gym. The new sanctuary will be built behind the existing sanctuary, where the food bank is currently located.

In addition, because of our vision to continue being a “friend” to our community, we will build a new food bank building on the rear of the property (back of the new parking lot). Our vision for Lynnwood Nazarene is to have a church which ministers to the whole person – physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually. The new food bank will enable us to effectively touch the physical hunger needs and the new sanctuary will enable us to more effectively touch the spiritual needs of people in our community. As we begin the building process, the new food bank will be the first facility to be built, once the back property has been graded. After that, the old food bank will be razed in preparation for the construction of the new sanctuary.

Maranatha Custom Churches (architect and building engineers) have been hired to design the sanctuary. Maranatha will also fabricate the sanctuary superstructure and oversee its construction. At that point, with the aid of a building project manager, we will act as general contractor to complete the building, using as much volunteer labor as possible (those of us in the church).

Our Plan - How We Will Get There?
As we launched the vision of a new sanctuary 2 years ago (“Building to Minister”), we had planned on conducting a capital stewardship campaign ourselves. For these past two years it has become very apparent that just as we seek out expert help in many areas such as health care, automotive care, home-building, etc., we also needed expert help in the area of capital stewardship. God has often gifted certain men and women with spiritual gifts and abilities to accomplish particular ministries – such as evangelists, marriage counselors, or educators. After carefully and prayerfully considering a variety of options, the church board has engaged the services of Cargill and Associates to lead us in a Capital Stewardship Campaign. This campaign will have two essential elements – focusing on raising the funds necessary for a new sanctuary and helping us raise the bar of giving to fund existing, necessary ministries. Cargill and Associates has served churches and Christian organizations for the past 27 years, raising more than 2.5 billion dollars for their clients. Howard Cargill, co-founder, will work with us over the next three years to help us implement and carry out our capital campaign.
Just as we have a youth pastor, children’s pastor and worship pastor to help us in their respective areas of expertise, Howard Cargill will, in a very real way, become like a part-time staff member of our church helping us fine-tune our ministry of stewardship.

In this carefully designed program, we will take a Bible-based, Christ-centered approach that will help each of us grow in our understanding of Christian stewardship. The goal in this campaign is to invite every member and friend of Lynnwood Nazarene to prayerfully consider what God would have us give toward the 2002 operating budget (existing ministries) and over a 3-year period of time, what God would have us give towards the capital needs for the new sanctuary. An important principle throughout this campaign is “Not Equal Giving, but Equal Sacrifice.” This principle recognizes that every gift, whether large or small, is significant in the eyes of God.

Our Response - What Will I Do Personally?
Remember, we are “Building to Minister.” The Christian message is “other-person” oriented. Out of our own blessings and resources we minister to others. I urge you to join every other member and friend of Lynnwood Nazarene to prayerfully consider how God may prompt you to sacrifice to see the vision become reality. We truly believe that God will use each of us to fulfill His promise.