STEPPING OUT IN FAITH
INVESTING FOR IMPACT
Welcome to the Adventure of IMPACT
Every person wants to make an IMPACT. They want to make a difference, and they want their life to matter. That is also true of churches. A church that never seeks to make a difference is usually a declining congregation. IMPACT is to have influence, to create an effect on people. When we think of what happens at SeaKrest Lodge and on our NorthBlock, we often describe the IMPACT that is being made.
Both SeaKrest Lodge and NorthBlock have been great tools for our church to see lives transformed by Christ, to witness deep and abiding friendships, and to be a place where people meet God. Currently, on NorthBlock we are witnessing God’s gracious IMPACT on our YAM (young adults). In addition, other groups like Boy Scouts use the facility. In both locations we envision people gathering together, developing deeper roots with each other and with God. We are praying for divine IMPACT.
As you make your way through this booklet it will explain the scope of our project, you will be challenged to seek God’s face in regard to your participation, and you will be called into a season of prayer where together we will ask God, “How can I be involved in IMPACT?” It is our prayer that during this season God will make a significant IMPACT on our faith. To God be the glory.
The IMPACT team
WHY NORTHBLOCK?
Developing quality space to serve our church and our community.
Young Adults Ministry
Boy Scouts
Men's Bible Studies
Secure parking for church vans
Church event parking
Picnic in the Parking Lot
CURRENT USAGE:
UPCOMING PLANS:
New interior layout and design
Additional restrooms
Church outreach - including recovery and support groups
Group meeting space
Community meeting space for downtown businesses and residents in downtown Salem
Develop quality space to serve our church and our community
To expand the IMPACT, we need to improve the tool.
WHY SEAKREST?
Seeking not only rest but spiritual growth and deep community.
Since the purchase of the property in Newport, OR in 1967 for $55,000, our retreat center, dubbed SeaKrest Lodge, has served our church and community far more than imagined. The lodge and the bunkhouse with the boys' and girls' dorms have been used by various ministries and community groups over the years as well as for other churches and family reunions.
Recent updates to the kitchen (2016) and the great room (2019) have been followed by an ongoing clean-up of the parking lot to make room for future improvements. As we move towards the next phase of remodels to the bedrooms in the lodge, we are excited to see what God has in store for this property on the Oregon Coast.
SeaKrest Construction Updates
January
February
March
April - Vlog
May
June - Vlog
2 CORINTHIANS 9:11
"You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce
thanksgiving to God."
June - Final Update
MILLION
6-month goal
THE IMPACT STORIES
These are a collection of stories about pivotal moments in the lives of some of our church members and how God used both SeaKrest and NorthBlock to make an impact in their lives. From salvation to deepening meaningful relationships, these are just a few of the many stories of growth that have happened at these locations. We would love to hear your stories! Submit them above and share your IMPACT stories about SeaKrest or NorthBlock.
Salvation at SeaKrest
"The year was 1971. I was 16 years old and my parents grounded me for a month, I could go to school or they suggested I go to church, they didn't attend church, but thought it might be a good idea for me. My buddy and I decided going to church on Sunday was better than being at home so we went to First Nazarene, sat in the back row of the balcony with our baseball hats, sunglasses and laughed our heads off that we were in church. We went every Sunday that September, a few of the ushers noticed us and welcomed us, after the month of being grounded we continued to attend and the youth pastor invited us to go on a retreat at the beach in October.....a weekend away from our parents sounded really great. The retreat was at SeaKrest. God's Word was shared with us and in one of the rooms off from the main meeting area my buddy and I knelt down and accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior. A hole was filled in my soul and my life changed forever. I'm so thankful for the men who welcomed us, the youth pastor who showed an interest in us and for God's forgiveness. Thank you Jesus!"
- Duane O
Inviting the Next Generation
"Within the past 3-4 years, I’ve had opportunities to invite people that I’ve met to church. Most of the people have been young adults. The Young Adults group is a great way to invite the younger generation to church. I tell the people I’m inviting that they’re not meeting in the nicest space, but it’s still growing. I look at that space and I think that they need something better to meet in. It’s a good investment for the church."
- Jeff K.
Planting Seeds of Salvation at the Coast
My first exposure at Seakrest was as a struggling teen. My parents had stopped going to church for a lot of reasons, but they still encouraged my sisters and I to go. A friend of mine invited me to First Baptist and she picked me up often to go to church with her on Wednesday nights, and soon my family followed and began to attend on Sundays. At the time, Bob Rhoades was youth Pastor and he was not married yet at the time. He really challenged us to be authentic in our faith and he did not have sympathy for whiners! He also had a heart for service, and he pushed us to engage and to be a missionary where we were. I was invited on a Seakrest retreat as a freshman. On that retreat, many of the friendships I had already begun to make grew a lot. We spent a lot of time praying together, and braiding hair and singing songs, not to mention going to the beach. God grew my heart in big ways.
God used that little retreat center in big ways to plant seeds in my heart. They didn’t grow right away, but I would never be the same without the time I spent there. And I’m so thankful to hear that First Baptist still has the property and wants to preserve it for more ministries. It is a gift, and I believe God is in that place.
- Celeste G.
Belonging Found at NorthBlock
"Before Covid and even during most of 2020, I remember considering not coming anymore because I didn't really have deep community with anybody even though we were friendly and stuff on Sunday mornings. I still wanted that and did enjoy the few events outside of Sunday mornings. And when I heard we were cleaning out and painting the 5 bay, I definitely wanted to help. What we did may not have been professional level and certainly isn't the prettiest place but it gave something I think even more important that we didn't have before: permanence. When we were in the gym pre-Covid we had to set up and tear down every week. There were so many chairs and tables and the ridiculous floor mats so we wouldn't scrape up the court. We couldn't hang things on the walls or really make the place our own. We were borrowing it and for mostly college and young adult workers living very transient and unsteadily, it means a lot to have something of your own, something not as easily or quickly changed. That's what the 5 Bay gave us, our own space. And from what I've gotten to witness, by taking that step of faith to claim a space as our own, God provided a handful of amazing new people. These people came in around the spring of 2021 and just injected a new energy, a new drive into YAM. There was suddenly this desire to be together, to do life together, and outside of Sunday mornings. So many of these new people have become leaders in the group, creating opportunities for growth and fellowship. And they've rejuvenated some of the older people too, like me. YAM changed so much in the span of about a year, for the better. I found myself not only wanting to stay but to get deeper with the people and find ways to lead too. And this community is infectious in bringing in new people, some are new college students but many have been around the church or at other churches and just are looking for that community of people their age, in their similar sphere of life who love Jesus and are trying to follow Him. I've watched incredible friendships blossom and marriages begin to happen. Even the newer people who've been around for maybe six months are beginning to get invested and desire to learn more and go deeper with the people around them.
And we're still going, writing devotionals, planning new events, wanting to make an impact in downtown and at Willamette. I have hope for the future of YAM and of the church because of those who will stay and those who will bring the same hope to other churches in other cities. It's been amazing and an honor to watch what God did with a step of faith, with a handful of people cleaning and painting an old garage that used to just store chairs and power tools. It may not be the prettiest, but it's ours and that gave us a place to become something more. YAM was good before Covid, but since, with the 5 Bay, it's growing, it's exploding in ways I never could have imagined it would. I only know that God works in small steps of faith, in taking ownership of what He has given you, and then get out of the way because He'll completely blow your mind with how He blesses.
- Tasha F.
