The Story of City Bible Church

Portland is the largest city in Oregon and one of the major urban centers in the Pacific Northwest. Incorporated in 1851 its early history is fairly shady, known for drugs and alcohol and the practice of “shanghaiing” young men. When the railroad arrived in 1883 the city began to grow into a major economic force on the west coast. Portland is known for the beauty of its rivers and mountains and the friendliness of its citizens.

Bible Temple was established in 1951 as a nondenominational Pentecostal church. It was founded by members of the same family, namely Ivy and Sylvia Iverson, and their son and daughter-in-law, Dick and Edie Iverson. The background of the church was the healing revival of the late ‘40’s, the Iversons having been a part of the ministry of T. L. Osborne. Father and son pastored the church together for almost ten years until poor health forced Ivy to turn the church over to his son. Altogether Dick Iverson pastored the church for 44 years, until 1995, when he appointed Frank Damazio to be the new senior pastor.

Pastor Frank came to Portland from Eugene, Oregon with a passion for impacting the city. Bible Temple had been known for its apostolic outreach, including church planting and missionary sending. The church had begun Portland Bible College to train pastors and missionaries, including Frank Damazio, who had been sent out to plant a church in Eugene in 1981. The new pastor brought with him a deep desire to reach the city in new ways.

The first symbolic step in that process was to change the name of the church, no small fete for an older, well-established congregation. In 1998 Bible Temple changed its “brand” to City Bible Church, a church in the city for the city.

Frank began to reach out to the other pastors in the city, from both denominational and nondenominational churches. His desire was not to form a quasi city denomination but simply to be a source of encouragement and resources to all the churches of the city and to promote unity and effective ministry among them. As a congregation of over 4,000 members C.B.C. is a “regional” congregation, impacting the metropolitan area and beyond. Part of the opportunity afforded such regional churches is the honor of actively serving other congregations in the region. Pastor Frank began to host pastors’ prayer meetings for mutual intercession, encouragement and fellowship. Before long there were so many local pastors attending they had to have two groups meeting together at different times in the month.

As the pastors joined together in prayer they began to see the needs of the city from a broader perspective. And they saw clearly that all of them together could effectively address some of those needs. On one Sunday evening members of all the congregations represented by the pastors met together for a citywide prayer meeting. At the meeting they took an offering for the homeless. The next week several pastors met with members of the local government and presented the funds to them. It goes without saying that such an event had never happened before.

At another time the Portland school district ran into budget problems and no longer had the funds to adequately maintain school properties. The first to hear about it was City Bible Church’s Generation Ministries, who organized young people to mow the lawn of the elementary school closest to the C.B.C. campus. It soon became obvious that much more was needed, so members of the C.B.C. congregation worked together to maintain an area middle school, including mowing and painting and whatever else was needed. Now many congregations are working together to serve the Portland school district.

And then it happened. A member of the congregation presented the elders of City Bible Church with a year-end gift of $100,000 with a clear proviso—the money could only be used to feed the poor. The decision to accept the gift would require a long-term commitment to an intentional ministry to the poor. It seemed to be another opportunity to serve the community, so “City Reach” was formed. A food distribution facility was rented and a couple hired to coordinate ministry to the poor. The strategy was to make such a ministry as personal and pastoral as possible. Food would be delivered personally to the homes of needy families by a pastor or small group leader, with an offer of prayer and other forms of support. In addition, arrangements were made with a local second-hand store to give vouchers for clothing and household goods to needy families. That ministry continues to grow.

Every year a variety of city outreach projects are aimed at being salt and light in the city of Portland. The “City Summer Celebration” began as a July 4 picnic and soon became a community-wide event. One year 5,500 people attended the celebration. Along with food, games and attractions for children there were community services offered such as free oil changes for single mothers, free food for needy families, and a blood drive organized by the Red Cross. There were also a variety of “prayer booths” where prayer was offered for visitors with a variety of personal needs.

The movie phenomenon, “The Passion of the Christ,” affected cities across the U.S. and around the world. It was obvious not everyone in Portland who wanted to see the movie would be able to. Portland has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the nation. So the congregation of City Bible Church rented space in two local theaters and went downtown to invite homeless people to a “Passion” party. Over 600 people accepted the invitation, loaded into buses and saw the movie for free. They were then taken to the C.B.C. campus for a pizza party. An opportunity to pray with someone was offered and 169 accepted the offer. All the homeless were given gift bags containing soap, toothpaste and toothbrushes, socks and Bibles.

Then a weekly “recovery ministry” was launched. A variety of groups, led by trained leaders, were offered free of charge. From “Chemical Dependency” to “Codependency,” “Eating Disorders” to “Marriage Builders,” Celebrate Recovery ministers to over 100 people in small groups. Testimonies from the community indicate that the power of God is at working liberating and healing many.

Thanksgiving is traditionally a time to celebrate the faithfulness of the Lord in our lives. For C.B.C. it has also become a time to recognize that not everyone is equally blessed. Some in fact are in desperate straits. As a result, money and food for the poor are collected every year. During a recent year over 600 food boxes that included a Thanksgiving turkey were assembled and distributed to families in the community. That opportunity to give and serve was such a blessing to the congregation a Christmas follow-up was planned. In 2004 Portland was experiencing a high rate of unemployment and many families were not going to have extra money for the holidays. So the City Bible Church congregation raised money and bought toys for over 700 families. In addition, a special Christmas dinner was planned and invitations sent to needy families. Around 650 people were served a sumptuous dinner they would not have enjoyed otherwise.

Easter seemed another good opportunity to reach out to the community. Needy families were invited to an Easter Day brunch and egg hunt on the C.B.C. campus. Those who needed transportation were accommodated. Three hundred fifty people, including children, attended the brunch.

Then came March 3, 2004. The Multnomah County Commissioners decided to begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses and before long over 3,000 gay weddings had been performed. This was a difficult moment for the churches of Oregon, and especially of those in Portland, one of its counties being Multnomah Country. City Bible Church had reached a fair number from the gay community in Portland and was committed to communicating the gospel and the love of Christ to them. Yet the need to make a biblical moral statement about marriage seemed to be called for. So the “Defense of Marriage Coalition” was formed by a group of C.B.C. pastors, including Pastor Frank. The relationships that had been formed with pastors in Portland led to a very rapid unity on the issue of marriage in the state of Oregon and a strategy for defending its traditional definition.

Churches from around the state gathered for prayer and decided to offer a constitutional amendment on the November ballot. Oregon’s friendly, tolerant (if not libertarian) culture seemed to doom such a ballot measure, but when the votes were counted, 59% of Oregonians chose to defend the traditional definition of marriage. For City Bible Church, being salt and light involved serving the community in a variety of creative ways, but it also involved a prophetic witness to righteousness in the midst of declining morals. For some, being a redemptive, transformational presence in the city is either compassionate deeds or moral advocacy. For C.B.C. it is clearly both.

The Story of the City Church

Wendell and Gini Smith had served as youth pastors in Portland, Oregon for twenty years when they were sent to plant a local church in Seattle, Washington in 1992. They went out with 21 members of their church plant team, including their daughter Wendy and son Judah, and began conducting public gatherings in August. They rented a facility in a hotel in Bellevue and 40 people were in attendance at their first service.

From the beginning, The City Church had a vision of being “a city within a city.” They saw themselves as a community of believers gathered in the city for the city. They sought to be a place of refuge for people of all races, ages and economic levels, “preaching a message of good news and building a church for the 21^st century.” Pastor Wendell stated his vision this way: “Our vision is to see a New Testament local church proclaiming the good news about Jesus Christ to young and old, rich and poor, red and yellow, black and white. Extending the kingdom of God by building people, families, and leaders—first in our city and then in the ends of the earth.”

They defined themselves as “a multi-denominational congregation,” an “evangelical charismatic church,” identified by Dr. C. Peter Wagner as a “new apostolic church.” They have maintained an apostolic relationship with ministries outside of the congregation and are governed internally by a body of elders. Their historical roots are in the holiness movement, the Pentecostal heritage and the evangelical tradition.

Their openness to every community in Seattle resulted in rapid growth. One month after their first public service they had to move to larger facilities, renting space in an office complex. By their first anniversary, their number had grown to 300 people from every background. By 1997 they were serving 1200 believers in their weekend services and purchased the campus of Overlake Church in Kirkland.

One of the works of the Holy Spirit among them was a powerful youth revival in 1996. Having been youth pastors for many years, Wendell and Gini had a clear vision for reaching young people. Their son and daughter along with other anointed youth ministers saw a significant harvest among the youth of Seattle and the birth of Generation Church. But that was just the beginning of their “city within a city vision.” Ultimately they wanted to serve and impact their community in a variety of ways, including youth and children’s outreaches, food and clothing distribution, ministry to the needy, facilities for compassionate care, training, education, recreation, and a daily ministry to people in need from all walks of life.

As a result of their “multi-denominational” identity, The City Church and Pastor Wendell have been able to actively engage in fellowship with a variety of churches in the Seattle area, including pastors from the Church of the Nazarene, the Assemblies of God, the Foursquare Church, Baptist churches, Open Bible churches, Presbyterian, Church of God In Christ, and many others. Their functional ecumenism has enabled them to effectively network throughout the city in the process of serving the city.

This overarching vision for the city resulted in the birth of City Ministries. At a certain time a couple in the congregation began distributing food to the needy in their area. Their goal was very simple: to provide immediate help to those in need, and to form relationships based around Christ-centered values. At first they distributed food from the back of a pick-up truck. Before long they were serving literally hundreds of people. It soon became apparent that they had identified a clear need that required the expanded involvement of more people in the congregation—and City Ministries was born.

As it developed City Ministries was committed to supporting people in need from every social and ethnic background. They began distributing food and clothing to low-income apartment complexes, retirement homes, homeless shelters and missions. Eventually their distribution included day care centers, grade schools and other local churches. Partnerships were formed with companies such as Associated Grocers, Safeway, Rite Aid, Top Foods, QFC, Starbucks, Cannon Fish, Toys for Tots, and others. Every day volunteers collected and distributed bread, pastries, produce, dairy products, and non-perishable food items from over 35 vendors. Within a fairly short time they were operating three refrigerated trucks, employing five staff members coordinating 80 volunteers, distributing 2.2 million pounds of food per year out of a 10,000 square foot warehouse located in Redmond. Over 20,000 people in the Seattle area were being fed every week.

According to Director of Operations, Joel Pike, City Ministries has developed a three-fold strategy: 1) Distributing to individuals and families, personally touching lives; 2) Networking and partnering with area churches with a common mission to help the community; and 3) Training other organizations to establish practical community outreach. “This threefold strategy . . . serves as a platform for the power of God to transform lives, communities, cities and nations.”

The stated mission of City Ministries includes:

• Encouraging growth in unprecedented and previously unexplored ways as God directs, reinventing themselves and adapting quickly to change.

• Recognizing that God’s enablement is expressed through partnerships with other people, resulting in a high priority being placed on relationships.

• Showing spiritual and practical support for people in need characterized by dignity and respect.

• Facilitating ongoing discipleship and training of volunteers in the various areas of ministry.

• Working to build trust and unity with other local churches and ministries.

Pastor Gini Smith sees serving the community as salt and light to be essential kingdom ministry. “Reform in the American welfare system, threats of natural disasters, and social and political upheaval give the church an unprecedented opportunity go serve the natural needs of people through the demonstration of the power of God and good works.” Demonstrating the love of God in the midst of a sick world is the only thing that can bring healing and transformation. As Gini testifies, “The ministry endeavors of the local church are a means of demonstrating the love of God to individual lives for the purpose of redemption.” However, the essential task of preaching the gospel is never far from view. “In the pursuit of good works, we must never lose sight of the goal that people know Christ, the real answer to all their needs. As Spirit-filled believers we not only embrace the means to meet people’s immediate need for food, clothing, and shelter, but also know the power of God which is able to bring deliverance to their lives.”

Perhaps one of the most significant ramifications of the work of City Ministries has been the need to network with area churches. The work grew so quickly it was impossible for any one congregation to provide enough resources and volunteers to meet the need. The City Church quickly realized the need to facilitate cooperation among other congregations. As a result, a network of 150 churches in the greater Puget Sound area came together to extend the work of City Ministries. Forty of the churches received direct distributions from the Redmond warehouse. Eighteen of these churches served as ministry hubs in their city. Three clothing and home furnishing distribution centers have also been opened. It seems as though the shared vision of serving their communities has served to unite the local congregations in visible and effective ways.

In fact, the growing unity of the churches has become central to the vision of The City Church and City Ministries. The vision to serve their “ministry partners” has grown to a clear commitment:

• They are committed to supporting their partners with prayer, encouragement and practical training.

• They are committed to working to empower their partners to take active responsibility for the welfare of their communities.

• They are committed to encouraging their partners to further extend the network by forming working partnerships with other congregations and ministries.

The vision for an effective network of local congregations serving their communities has become their passion. Pastor Gini explains it this way: “Reaching a city requires a comprehensive biblical strategy and the cooperation of networking churches. A single church with limited resources cannot meet all the needs of a city. As a local church we are only one expression of the Body of Christ, with a limited ability to serve a community. In unity, networked together with other churches, we multiply our capacity to attain the common goal—people reconciled to Jesus Christ and established in a local church. Unity enables us to truly be effectual in reaching our city.” In this way, the work of transformation not only touches a city but also a region, a nation, and beyond.

The Story of Salem Christian Center

Oradea is a beautiful city in northwest Romania, close to the Hungarian border. In ancient times it was part of the Roman province of Dacia. Later the areas around Romania were devastated by the Mongols and eventually became a part of the Turkish empire. It was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire until 1919 when modern-day Romania was formed. Oradea is considered the main gate from western Europe into Romania. It has a population of 230,000, and is the marketing and industrial center for the region. There are also popular health resorts in the area. Almost half the city’s population is Hungarian.

Teodor Ciuciui grew up in communist Romania. He was born into a Christian family, his father spending time in prison for his faith. Ted had a personal conversion experience at an early age and began to preach the gospel as a twelve-year old. As a member of a Pentecostal church he was baptized in water and in the Spirit. He had another life-changing encounter with God at the age of 14, when he made a commitment to ministry. As he said, “I was so touched at that time. My cousin and I were in a forest where we encountered a heavenly atmosphere, including angelic visitations.” That same year the Ciuciui family moved to Oradea.

The Christian community in Oradea was about 60% Orthodox, 12% Reformed, 8% Roman Catholic, 6% Pentecostal, and 4% Baptist. Under the communist regime even the Evangelical and Pentecostal churches became very traditional, struggling simply to survive. After communism, many of the older churches seemed somewhat irrelevant to a new generation. To reach the children and young people a new way of doing church would be necessary.

In 1990 Teodor, his wife Zamfira, and their four children decided to move to Portland, Oregon to prepare for a new chapter of ministry. Ted completed the Church Leadership Program at Portland Bible College and then went on to complete a Masters of Art at Multnomah Biblical Seminary. While in the U.S. they began to network with churches and leaders who would be a source of relationships and resources in the years to come.

When the Ciuciui family returned to Oradea they had a passion in their hearts to see a new generation of believers formed into a company of overcomers in Romania. They had a vision to see a local church that was Spirit-filled, culturally relevant, and effective as salt and light, both in Romanian society, in the city of Oradea, and among the other Christian congregations.

From the beginning, Salem Christian Center (Centrul Crestin Salem) sought to attract the hurt and the rejected, non-Christian seekers, and young people. The name “Salem” means peace, and communicates a vision to provide a place where people can experience the peace of God in the presence of God. Their first meeting place was the Cultural Hall of the city. This unusual location sent an immediate message to the community: S.C.C. was not going to be a traditional congregation. In fact, during their first few months as a church they were fairly controversial:

• They chose to be an unaligned, nondenominational church. For that reason, the other congregations didn’t know how to “label” them.

• They broke out of traditional worship forms and encouraged “free” worship, including things like clapping their hands, raising their hands, etc.

• To be sensitive to the real lifestyles of the people they were trying to reach, they chose non-traditional times for corporate services and other events.

• They emphasized church “membership” as a relational process in building community rather than the traditional forms of official membership.

• They targeted unchurched people in the community.

They were not content to stay inside of any one building and sought ministry opportunities in community parks and neighborhoods. They used drama, pantomime, and music to communicate the gospel. These practices made them so controversial some of the evangelical churches in town did not even consider them to be Christian.

Salem Christian Center had clear spiritual goals from the outset. First of all, they wanted to see people in the community come to Christ. They also wanted to help facilitate relationships among the various local churches in Oradea, encouraging partnership and unity. In the end, S.C.C. hoped to build a strong local church that would be a model for other churches, including new church plants, in Romania.

Their founding vision also included certain social goals. They wanted to build bridges between the church and the local community. Romanians tended to view the church as isolated and irrelevant. S.C.C. sought to engage the community, including the local government, with social projects, and to take on some of the social problems facing the community. This would include the problem of the many orphans in Romania, seeking to help care for them and see them successfully integrated into Roman society. Their work with children would include children’s clubs and a Christian school. They also sought to reach out to young people with things like an internet café. Ultimately, the S.C.C. congregation planned to facilitate foster care for seniors and to provide medical services to the poor.

The families of Oradea also have significant needs. The Ciuciui’s are committed to serving the families in a variety of ways. They seek to provide relationship training, counseling and mentoring to young people. They work to provide training classes in parenting skills. They do all they can to foster better communication between husbands and wives.

After serving the community for a time Ted approached the local government for permission to buy property and build on it. The officials were surprised at the scope of S.C.C.’s vision—pleasantly surprised. Usually the city only allows a local church enough land to build an auditorium on. However, in this case they made an exception and gave the church five acres on which to build an auditorium, a school, a clinic, and an orphanage. The Lord had given the church great favor in their city.

As a result, the church has a growing impact on the city. People in the community look at S.C.C. as an open place for all, a place where everyone is welcome, a place of refuge from the pressures of life in Romania. They are also beginning to see the church as a place where God is, a place of miracles. Not only are the corporate gatherings filled with visitors, so are the prayer meetings.

The congregation of S.C.C. has gained an entrance into the local public schools, serving them with a variety of children’s programs. They hold public Christmas and Easter plays that are well attended by the community. The congregation is also actively engaged in providing clothing, medical services and counseling to the poor in the community.

Now Salem Christian Center is conducting a Friday night event for young people, attended by teens from non-Christian families. Some of the youth have begun Bible clubs in their high schools. Every Saturday a children’s program is offered for the kids in the community. About 80% of those coming are from non-Christian families. In these ways the congregation is having a profound impact on a new generation of Romanians.

Even though other churches in Oradea questioned the “orthodoxy” of Salem Christian Center in the beginning, they are now responding to the new vision with increasing openness. This can be seen in the worship patterns of the local churches, singing many of the same songs with the same freedom. An atmosphere of unity and fellowship is growing between all the churches in the city.

In the future, S.C.C. would like to influence the business community. They want to build a Business Center that will offer help with start-up businesses and will provide jobs for people in the community. They have plans to build an auditorium that will seat 3,000, and a Christian school that will serve 300 students. They also plan to launch a Bible college to train a new generation of pastors and church planters. Future plans also include a sports center for the young people in the area and a retreat center.

A truly healthy congregation ultimately reproduces itself. S.C.C. has plans to plant ethnic churches in Oradea for the Hungarian community and the Gypsy community. They also have plans to plant five local congregations in the region.

What would it be like to have an overcoming congregation in Romania that serves as salt and
light and leaven in all aspects of society? The Salem Christian Center is impacting Romanian children and youth, education, local government and business. The light of the gospel is shining through them, bringing transformation to a new generation, bringing hope to a land so often devastated. They are redeemed transformers in the midst of the world.

The Story of Father's House

Every major city has a variety of communities and ethnic groups, representing a variety of mission challenges. This is certainly true of Portland, Oregon. One of those communities is the downtown district. Several congregations have been planted in the downtown area--with an average life-span of two years. With that reality in mind, Steve and Deborah Trujillo were sent to plant a mission-specific GenX congregation in downtown Portland known as “Father’s House.”

They were well aware of the challenges facing them and their young church plant team. As is true in many cities, downtown Portland is the center of both local and county governments, as well as most social agencies. It is a regional center for the arts, containing art galleries, performing arts centers, museums, artist repertory theaters, and many clubs. It is an educational center. Portland State University, the largest university in Oregon, is located in the heart of the city. The oldest churches in Portland are also downtown. However, most of them have become centers of new thought.

Their mission was simple: “Touching downtown through serving.” Their ministry philosophy was also straightforward: “Small things done with great love will change the world!” Their strategy is to promote community transformation through acts of service. They began by identifying congregations and service agencies that were already there and finding meaningful ways to serve them. They painted the home of the pastor of a youth church called “The Bridge.” They packed lunches for homeless youth on behalf of the Love Drop-In Center. They did yard work for the Portland Fellowship, a ministry to gays. They also helped start the downtown House of Prayer, a prayer center in the heart of Portland. In this way they not only served ministries, they also began to network with them for even more effective ministry.

The downtown district is the cultural and business center of Portland. The poorest of the poor also “live” downtown. Steve described the heart of Portland as being like a third world country, “where the poor and rich live side by side. The downtown has the largest concentration of homeless people. In fact, Portland has the largest homeless youth and young adult population per capita in America. But just blocks from the missions and heroin alleys are new, beautiful and very expensive lofts and condos that attract the upwardly mobile. It is an eclectic mix of the artistic, professional, socially active post-modern generation next to those who have the least.” The need seemed overwhelming, but the Lord had given Father’s House a plan.

Both Steve and Deborah Trujillo grew up in excellent Christian homes. Steve’s father is a pastor from Cuba, who moved his family to Portland as refugees in the 1960’s. Growing up in a sheltered Christian environment did not seem to prepare Steve and Deborah for the challenges of downtown Portland. However, God had given them a heart of compassion for the outcasts in society. They are also motivated to see miracles, to see the glory of the Lord revealed in impossible circumstances. They needed that faith when they accepted the challenge of church planting in the heart of the city.

When studying the history of Portland Steve discovered deep roots of fatherlessness. When the California gold rush occurred, a large number of men left Portland and only two occurred. The largest pre- Roe v. Wade abortion center in American was located in downtown Portland. This deep fatherlessness and abandonment seemed to be feeding into the high number of homeless youth and even the prominence of the gay community. So Father’s House began to focus on serving homeless youth. Service evangelism with this displaced, mobile population had to be out-of-the-box to be effective. They wanted to find a way to communicate to street teens that they valued them, so, as Pastor Steve reported, “armed with back packs and boxes full of colored hair spray bottles, make up, nail polish, glitter and temporary tattoos, they went to the places where street kids hung out and offered them free make-overs.” These kids try to find personal worth by looking unique and different. Make-over teams would come up to kids and say, “Hey, how would you like to try poke dotted hair today, or camouflaged nails?” Most of them jumped at the opportunity. What they didn’t know is that the Father’s House team was praying for them as they served them. The tattoos they applied were Japanese or Chinese characters for “loved,” or “beautiful” or “free.” As the team served them and prayed for them the young people often opened up about their lives and become very honest. As they experienced the presence of the Lord some wept and hung on to the team members. Others were frightened by it and ran away.

Steve proved to be particularly adept at hair coloring. After awhile the teens began to relax and trust him, and would even introduce themselves with their given name rather than their street name. They felt safe. Although they seldom found their way to worship services some considered themselves a part of the Father’s House community. Steve said, “They associated Father’s House as their church because it was the church that came to them, that prayed with them on the streets, that gave them socks, toothpaste, band-aides, or anything else they needed. It was the church that did not judge them, but came to them in love.”

From the beginning, Father’s House clearly understood their redemptive role in the city. According to Steve, “Father’s House believes they are the caretakers of the downtown community. They believe that whatever happens there, it is their job to bring it under the authority of Jesus Christ. As a result, they involve themselves in public intercession on behalf of the community.” In fact, prayer evangelism is another large part of the mission of Father’s House. They spend a significant amount of time “prayer walking” the streets of downtown Portland.

Steve told me a story that illustrates their commitment to prayer evangelism. Every year the city of Portland throws a huge New Year’s Eve party at Pioneer Courthouse Square, “Portland’s living room.” One year there were many problems at the party, including vandalism, assaults, and overall chaos, resulting in several arrests. This was an unusual experience for Portland, so in preparation for the following year’s party, the Father’s House congregation felt the need to provide “prayer support.” Before the actual event members of the congregation gathered on the square to pray. They decided to walk around the square seven times and then pray blessing on the downtown area. At the end of that time, Steve lead them in prayer and declared, “In Jesus name, I speak peace to this square. All chaos is bound, all darkness is bound, let there be peace on New Year’s Eve.” Later during the party city officials noted there was not even one disturbance, not one arrest made. The local media reported how calm and peaceful the crowd was. Although no one knew of the church’s “prayer support,” they believe they were able to serve the city as salt and light in that situation. “Culture was impacted, even though the church received no credit for it,” Steve said. “It is small acts done with love and obedience to Christ that can bring change. In the end God comes through and you are just glad you where there to see him do His wonders.”

At one point Steve felt the need to engage the infrastructure of the city more intentionally. One of the distinctives of Portland is the prominence of neighborhood associations. Through the Office of Neighborhood Standards and Involvement the associations work with the city in deciding what takes place in their neighborhood. Becoming involved in the downtown association seemed to be an important step. At his first meeting Steve noticed that the business community, gay community, law enforcement and social activists were represented, but there were no pastors. So he committed himself to participation in the association and was immediately given responsibility. As a member of the Safety Committee he advises the association on the needs of homeless youth as well as crime problems in the surrounding neighborhoods. As a result, it’s not uncommon for members of the downtown association to refer people with needs to Father’s House.

Father’s House continues to focus on serving the city in small ways. They state their commitment this way: “Transformation and cultural change will not come about if we only focus on building our community and having good services for us. We must get out there where we can impact people’s lives with the love of God.” Their neighborhood strategies include:

• Surprising employees of nearby businesses with a basket of candy and a card saying, “We appreciate how you serve the community with your business.”

• Giving away bottles of chilled drinking water on hot days around the park blocks and the water front park.

• Escorting people on rainy days from parking garages to shopping areas such as Pioneer Place, using large golf umbrellas.

• Setting up tables where they can apply nail polish, have a conversation and make a friend.

Recently the Father’s House congregation has moved onto the P.S.U. campus. Pastor Steve told them, “Going to PSU is a logical part of our journey. As we continue to build proper foundations and return the church to its original purpose, the Lord is leading us towards the campus.” The Campus Ministry building had been dedicated to the Lord for many years but was largely unused. When that building became available to Father’s House they jumped at the opportunity. They now have a specific campus strategy:

• Open the doors for other ministries to have access to the campus.

• Engage in spiritual warfare to bind the strongholds that blind the hearts of men to the gospel.

• Penetrate the campus and become a presence on campus through servant evangelism.

• Target strategic prayer on campus.

In many ways Portland State University, at the heart of the city, represents the city and the spiritual issues of the city. From that center the Father’s House congregation is determined to see the grace, love and presence of God released in the city.

The Story of Life Center

During my years at Portland Bible College, a number of things were placed in my heart – one thing in particular was a love for the local church. Having grown up in the church, I always loved being involved in its ministry efforts, but I never really understood the church as the final instrument of God to fulfill His purpose in the earth as I do today. As my understanding of God’s intent (see Ephesians 3) deepened, my love for the body of Christ increased. As my love for the church increased, my passion to plant and pastor a local congregation became stronger and stronger.

During a prophetic gathering in Portland, Oregon at City Bible Church in May, 1996, God spoke specifically to me that I could have what I wanted. I knew in my heart that God was speaking of a city to pioneer a dynamic work in. I went to a map and began to circle communities in southwest Washington that I knew needed a good church. As I circled various towns and cities, one thing became apparent to me – we needed to plant a community-oriented church with a regional focus, not just a little inward focused group of believers.

With over 20 towns and cities circled on my map, I noticed that “Centralia” was right in the middle of all my little dots. As I began researching the city more, I realized it was called “Hub City” in its early days, and is known for its central location. As far as I was concerned, the course was set and the vision was clear – we would plant a church that would reach an entire region, not just one town.

Many circumstances ensued, including graduation from college, marriage, full-time employment at CBC, and gaining eldership approval for this new venture. On August 17, 1997, we launched what is now a thriving church in Centralia, WA. With just over 25 people from the community present on that first Sunday, we began to worship, celebrate and proclaim the breadth of our vision for Southwest Washington. I had a strong burden from the Lord that I was not only to pastor Life Center, I was to pastor our city.

Centralia was known for its low economic status and high divorce rate. The attitude we encountered regularly was, “Why Centralia?” It quickly became our passion to change that attitude. We received a word from the Lord that “money would never be a problem, and we would be used to raise the economic standard of the city.” We also believed that in time, we would turn the tide of marriages in our region. It was a large vision, but we knew we had a word, so our faith was strong.

The little group began to grow in numbers and in understanding of God’s purpose and vision for the local church and its part in this region. We preached about God’s plan for the body of Christ, His future return for a spotless bride, and the work of the five-fold ministry today. We established ourselves as an equipping house with a passion to REACH the hurting and the lost, RESTORE them by the washing of God’s Word, and RELEASE them to fulfill their God-given destiny.

In the first year, we purposed to make ourselves known to the area with name recognition. We advertised in the newspaper, prayer-walked every major neighborhood, and hung over 3,000 door hangers, offering prayer for any need that anyone had. We prayed regularly over the city and region in both our corporate services, and special early-morning prayer meetings, which were attended by nearly 1/2 of the church family.

Purpose-filled outreach was one thing we did and continue to do. Our first free oil change day for single mothers turned out to be a huge success. Over 40 moms were served lunch, kids enjoyed clowns & fire trucks, and cars were serviced by the people in the church. All supplies were donated from local businesses, and the church was able to experience hands-on community ministry for its first time collectively. This first major outreach took place within the first 12 months of the church’s birth. After that, these oil change days took place at least yearly.

One Sunday, while preaching through Ephesians and looking at the house of the Lord in Paul’s great epistle, we took a check for $2,000 (which for us was like $1,000,000) to another local church and presented it to them at the end of their service. The church clapped and shouted, and the leaders responded very well, believing God was truly up to something big in our area. The statement we were attempting to make was, “We want to work together as a team, and we will put our money where our mouth is.”

Our strategic outreach efforts have included neighborhood clean-up days, work on people’s homes, various community service projects, grocery drop-offs at holiday times, giving a significant contribution of finances to every local church building project that we’re aware of, leading community worship events that have drawn hundreds, and focusing on prayer for other churches during our corporate worship and prayer time every week.

Our philosophy of outreach is based in the parable of the sower. Scripture declares plainly that seed must be sown – that is the job of the one who has seed. We believe that in due season we will reap, so we must “sow now” what we hope to reap in the future. We have built a mindset in our church that every door-hanger is a seed, every dollar is a seed, every kind act is a seed, and every prayer is a seed. We are truly convinced that the church in the community will have significant impact in time, and we are daily seeing the fruit of this effort.

Over the years, our strategy has also been to meet different needs at different times. More recently, we’ve begun ministering to a different sub-culture within our city through Friday concert nights. We have seen hundreds come to hear various types of music in a concert venue we call “theRift.” This place is a safe place for teens to go one Friday a month and hear local Christian bands and ultimately find a message of hope and life. The concert year culminates with one large event called “Mountain Dew Float Fest” which draws hundreds from the Northwest to a day of music, gospel presentation, and free Mountain Dew Floats.

We have sought to address the problem of dysfunctional marriages and families in a variety of ways. We have formed marriage groups in the Life Center congregation we call “Couples Relationship & Accountability” groups. These groups meet weekly to discuss communication, conflict management, family values, etc., and are meeting an important need. We are also offering a variety of parenting classes for the community. One couple in particular is very gifted in this area. These classes are having a significant influence in our city, forming a new community standard for parenting and relationships.

Recently we networked with 15 area churches to host the “Celebrate the Family Rally.” An organization called Families Northwest partnered with us to conduct an outdoor worship and prayer rally focused on the sanctity of marriage. There were over 1,200 people from the area in attendance. An older man from the congregation and I are also teaching a class for fathers in our local college. The director of the Family & Parenting department of the community college visited our church and observed the relationships between parents and children and asked us to teach a parenting class for fathers. There has been a very positive response to our class.

Our future outreach plans include free music lessons for kids, after school tutoring programs, and a transitional shelter for the abused, battered, and drug addicted. Our vision is to meet the REAL needs of today’s families by “Building a family-friendly community relevant to the 21^st century.”

The equipping ministry of the church continues to expand regionally as well. We have seen people coming from several surrounding communities. Many drive over ½ hour to be here multiple times each week.

Our strategy as a regional church is to develop satellite campuses in 6 surrounding communities. These locations will be focused on leading recovery groups, pastoral care ministry, and outreach ministry into various neighborhoods and communities. Sunday morning, we will continue to have a large hub of dynamic worship and word which meets together in one location, but all mid-week activity will take place in various locations around the region.

We’ve currently laid the groundwork for this by splitting up the region into six districts and appointing a prayer captain over each region. This person is equipped and responsible for praying for the people in that region, taking care of any prayer needs, and alerting others in that region to pray for any pertinent needs.

In phase two of our development, we will train care leaders who will serve the ministry and pastoral needs of each of those regions. Those leaders will begin to draw that region together for fellowship and prayer and outreach ministry. As that group grows, we will purchase buildings in those communities to house the ministries which focus on that community. These community centers will be called “The City of Refuge.”

After just seven short years, we can say we have seen dramatic change in the atmosphere of our community. The churches are more unified than ever before. The passion to reach the lost is very evident in many local churches. We are continually seeing economic growth with additional industry coming to the area every year. The Word of the Lord has been true to us – we have never lacked financially, and the economic standard of the city is changing.

This story is told in the first person by Pastor Derrill Corbin.

The Story of Mt. Zion Ministries

The economy in the Mohawk Valley in upstate New York was in transition. The needs of the poor seemed to be growing exponentially. In Utica the number of needy families was increasing while the resources available to food pantries were decreasing. By mid-year, 1999, the feeding centers in town were all out of food and the poor had to simply go without.

Mike and Barbara Servello had been Pastors in Utica for almost 20 years. The congregation of Mount Zion Ministries had been growing steadily and Pastor Mike was praying about new ways to serve the city. As he testified, “I have always had a deep burden to see our city and region won to Christ.” As he was praying he was also reading the local newspaper and became aware of the crisis facing many poor families in the community. He said, “My heart broke as I heard the story of family after family being turned away because there was just no more food to give. I knew we had a mandate from the Lord to do something about it.”

During the next several weeks Mike and his pastoral team became increasingly convinced they were to serve their city by serving the poor of the city. They became convinced they had a biblical mandate to do so. In prayer Mike meditated on Job 34:28: “The cry of the poor comes to God; He hears the cry of the needy” (NCV). Their study of Scripture highlighted the need to actively embrace ministry to the poor. “I am commanding you to share your resources freely with the poor and with others in need” (Deuteronomy 15:11). “Share your food with everyone who is hungry; share your home with the poor and homeless. Give clothes to those in need . . . . Give your food to the hungry and care for the homeless. Then your light will shine in the dark” (Isaiah 58:7, 10 CEV).

Their first assignment from the Lord was, “Get a large warehouse, fill it with food and feed every needy person in your city.” It seemed like a daunting task for a local church, one that all the social services in town together were not able to accomplish. Yet it was impossible to deny the mandate from the Lord.

In early 2000 they found just the right building with over 30,000 square feet of floor space. Through a series of supernatural events, the owner of the building ended up donating it to the church for $1.00, and the Compassion Coalition was launched. This was a sure confirmation that they were heading in the right direction. Pastor Mike and the Mt. Zion Ministries congregation had been praying for miracles, and now they were beginning to see them as they served the poor. “I have never been involved with anything as consistently supernatural as this ministry of helping the needy.”

They took possession of the building and set their vision. Their first goal was to distribute one tractor-trailer load of food every two months, or six loads per year. They met that goal quickly, and within six months they were distributing one load per week. By 2004 they were distributing ten loads of food to the poor every week.

It wasn’t long before the local government began to take note of the work of the congregation. Mike made an appointment with the Mayor and simply asked for input on how to best serve the poor of the city. They were amazed that anyone actually cared. Soon a close, personal relationship developed between Mt. Zion Ministries and the various local government agencies, resulting in far-reaching influence in the city.

Transformation in the community is now the natural result of consistently serving those on the margins. To Mike Servello the key was tapping into God’s heart for people. His conclusion was clear: “God promises to bless those who will carry out His desires. He promises to bless those who bless the poor (Ps. 41:1-3; Pr. 22:9; 28:27; 19:17). God will help them out of their troubles (Ps. 41:1; Job 5:20). He will protect them (Ps. 37:19). He will destroy the power (plans) of their enemies (Ps. 41:2; Job 5:1). God will heal them (Ps. 41:3; Is. 58:7-8).” God places such a high priority on serving the poor and powerless, identifying with his heart simply results in the blessing of the Lord. And that has certainly been the experience of Mt. Zion Ministries.

The members of the congregation have been newly energized by their compassion ministries. The church did well before, focusing on the usual congregational goals. Now they are aware of a more important focus outside of themselves, on the community around them, and as a result, they have far more spiritual passion and motivation for ministry. They are learning what it means to be a New Testament church.

Mike Servello gives specific words of advice to pastors and local churches who may want to embrace ministry to the poor in their area:

1. Begin by praying. Ask the Lord for a burden and a vision to help the poor.

2. Realize this is a ministry the Lord desires His church to embrace. It is a biblical mandate given to every local church in every city. It is central to the purpose of God for the church.

3. Learn how to discern needs in your area. Read the local newspaper. Prayer walk the streets of the city and ask the Lord to open your eyes to the needs around you.

4. Contact your local government and social service leaders. Ask your government officials about the needs of the city as they see them, and ask for their advice in how best to meet them. They will be shocked!

5. Don’t despise small beginnings. Start where you are able and grow from there. Let the Lord bring increase according to his purpose and timing.

6. Enlist the help of local businesses and suppliers. Communicate your vision to serve the city. Offer the help of volunteers from the congregation. Ask them to donate goods, services, and finances. You might be surprised at their response.

7. Have faith and be generous. The Bible says that God “will take care of the helpless and poor when they cry to him; for they have no one else to defend them” (Ps. 72:12 TLB). Pastor Mike advises, “Jesus used five loaves of bread and a few small fish to feed 5,000. He will use your efforts to bear abundant fruit in your city.”

During 2004, Mt. Zion Ministries laid the plans for a children’s feeding center. A couple in the church encountered very needy children in a housing project and began bringing them boxes of juice and snacks. It wasn’t long before the vision began to spread in the congregation. At one point Mike and members of his leadership team met with the Mayor and the Commissioner of Social Services. They were so supportive the Mayor turned a building owned by the city over to the church for use in feeding children. The Commissioner immediately helped to get a financial grant for the service.

As a result, the food center, Compassion Kids, was opened in July, feeding 30-40 children per day. Within two weeks they were feeding over 100 children every day. As of 2005, Compassion Kids is feeding over 1,000 children every day in seven schools.

It soon became apparent that the compassion ministries launched by Mt. Zion Ministries was too big a task for one congregation. This realization led to the promotion of a growing network of various congregations in the area, resulting in new expressions of Christian unity. They have also begun to serve the business community by sponsoring training events and marketplace consultations.

It’s one thing to have a vision for transforming a city. It’s another thing to see practical expressions of the gospel that will result in transformation. If Jesus was a Pastor in Utica, New York, how would he work for community transformation? I’m sure he would do so in the same way he did during his earthly ministry; by showing the love of God to those inhabiting “the highways and byways” of the city. Community transformation is possible, not by seeking power but by serving the powerless. That is the lesson of Mt. Zion Ministries, and many other like-minded congregations.

The Story of New Covenant Community

On the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is a “squatter camp” made up of illegal immigrant families. This community called Sentul is tightly packed with substandard housing units occupied by the very poor who came looking for work. They are from Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and beyond. They are Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists. Not able to find work many of the men have resorted to crime, drugs and alcohol. Many of the children are being raised by their mothers without access to basic human services.

Into this quagmire Elisha and Petrina Satvinder planted a Christian community. Elisha grew up in a Sikh Punjabi family and Petrina in a Buddhist Chinese family, both in Malaysia. They met as young Christian believers, married and attended Portland Bible College in the U.S. After graduation they returned home to plant the New Covenant Community.

If you were going to plant a new congregation in the beautiful city of Kuala Lumpur, where would you locate it? There are many upscale neighborhoods in the city. Although Malaysia is a Muslim country, there is a large Christian population in K.L. A church could have easily been planted in a friendly environment that would have guaranteed rapid “success.” Instead, the Satvinders chose to start in a very needy part of town.

Part of the reason for their decision was their vision for the church. As Elisha said, “For too long the church has remained a community within its community . . . as a segregated entity. For us, to be involved in caring for the poor as a Christian congregation is not just a matter of choice but a mandate from the Bible.” Elisha and Petrina viewed the local church as a redemptive representative of Jesus in the community, and that meant serving the least and the lost.

For them, “the church must present the gospel as good-news. Good news to those who hear it. Good news because the oppressed are being liberated. Good news because issues of injustice are being effectively addressed. Good news because God’s standards of righteousness are being restored in the land.” The gospel of Jesus Christ is not just relevant to personal faith and spirituality. It has clear and concrete implications for the lives of human beings. Elisha comments, “Sad to say the gospel therefore continues to be a strange message to many.”

The needs they faced seemed overwhelming. Poverty and the injustices that cause poverty seemed insurmountable. And beyond that, there was the question of how to break the generational cycle of poverty? And where to begin? Their conclusion was to focus on the children of Sentul. Their mission: “breaking the cycle of poverty by educating the children.”

Why children? Elisha and Petrina say it this way: “We focus on children because they are at their formative years, and regardless of their difficult situation, they are highly resilient, making our interventive efforts highly successful.” The Satvinders sought to address social problems before they take root. It was also simply true that a great majority of the people in developing nations are children, and that means the majority of the poor are children. It seemed natural to focus their ministry efforts on the poor children of Sentul.

The Satvinders also chose to focus on the education of children. Elisha said, “Education is one of the most powerful tools in helping the poor to come out of the rut of poverty, changing the face and characteristics of any community.” While a whole range of services are offered by N.C.C., the core of their vision is education.

In the process, the Satvinders have had a thorough education about poverty and the effects of poverty on children. They have discovered that poor children have higher rates of illness and disabilities. They inevitably have lower IQ scores due to slower cognitive development, lack of family support, malnutrition and disease. They come to school less ready to learn and therefore do less well in school than more privileged children. They are twice as likely as non-poor children to repeat a grade and are less likely to go on to college. As adults, they are more likely to be poor, thus continuing the cycle of poverty to another generation.

As a result, Elisha and Petrina and their team have focused on preschool education. Their goal is to not just address cognitive problems but also issues such as the formation of healthy habits, the prevention of malnutrition, the cultivation of healthy social relationships, and the formation of godly attitudes. Their method is compassionate and simple, but also a great deal of work. They began with house-to-house visitation. They brought parcels of food with them as well as items of clothing. They also offered community medical services. Eventually, they made known their long-term plan of establishing an education center for the children. In the process they established personal relationships with the people in the community leading to an attitude of trust.

When I visited New Covenant Community I walked the bi-ways of Sentul with Elisha. Everywhere we went the people called out, “Pastor, Pastor.” All of them--Muslims, Hindus, Buddhist and Christians--consider Elisha their Pastor. To them, he is not only the Pastor of New Covenant Community, he is the Pastor of the community of Sentul. I went with Pastor Satvinder as he was invited into neighbors’ homes to council young people getting caught up in drug use or children who simply needed a father figure. Over time he had become a prominent, unofficial leader of the community.

The Satvinders are passionate about offering quality educational opportunities to the poor. They report, “For the first time in the history of Sentul, the poor are not discriminated against or kept from a high quality of education. The children especially are given an equal opportunity to receive an excellent education.” And the results are becoming obvious. The community of Sentul is benefiting. In addition, the Christian believers in New Covenant Community are being benefited.

Not all of the believers at N.C.C. are from poor neighborhoods. In fact, many are young professionals who share the vision of the local church as redemptive salt in the community. They don’t view their ministry in Sentul as a “department” of the church, but rather as the biblical mandate for the congregation in their city. Their involvement in Sentul has provided all of them with an education. There are now a variety of ethnic groups in the congregation. The Sunday School has been transformed. There are both Christian and non-Christian children regularly involved. The children from Christian homes have begun to catch a vision for the world outside of their four walls. Elisha reports, “They have been awakened to the issues of justice and righteousness. They have become strong prayer warriors and active advocates for the issues that impact their friends living in poverty.”

The children from the Sentul community are now hearing the gospel and receiving teaching from the Word of God on a regular basis, and their lives are changing. In fact, as Elisha says, “They have become carriers of the principles of God’s Word into their families and their community.” These children are themselves being transformed into change-agents. The community as a whole is beginning to see a clearer vision of God, of the Bible, and of Christian faith.

As a result, a great door of opportunity has opened up to N.C.C. Everyone in the community is more open to dialogue about the gospel. The Satvinders have been included in various government projects aimed at serving “at risk” children. Even foreign embassies have begun to take note of the exceptional work of N.C.C. and are providing financial support.

The long-term vision of the Satvinders is to see a full-service community center established by N.C.C. in Sentul. This would include a youth center and expanded educational facilities. They have a vision to see a full range of educational opportunities for the poor, as well as other services that will enable them to permanently break the cycle of poverty. They are also working to increase the awareness of the other Christian congregations in Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding areas. They also serve as trusted advocates for the poor in the nation of Malaysia.

Elisha and Petrina Satvinder state their mission this way: “Community transformation by raising a whole new generation that knows the purpose of God and lives by His principles.” In every way they seek to penetrate the community with “redemptive acts of kindness.” They’ve earned the trust of the whole community. Now they are in the process of serving the community as salt and light and seeing it transformed by the power of the gospel