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.
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