Vineyard Church | Weekly Update October 23rd, 2024

This week we are going to take a quick break in the midst of our sabbath blog effort (please tell me someone else thinks that is funny!) to highlight our October tradition of focusing on the building and land that houses the church.

1413 Rosebud Lane is a blessing, and stewarding this blessing well is one of the tasks we carry out as the Vineyard family. Having a building and land equips us to be about the mission of God because we have a place to meet and grow together, a place to invite people to, and a place that can serve as a base to launch efforts to be a blessing to the community. At the end of 2019, we purchased this property, not quite 6 acres and 18,000 square feet of building, for $1,100,000. Today, we owe $508,350.78. In nearly five years, we have paid off 56% of the purchase price of our home.

Also in those five years, we have upgraded windows and flooring, repaired and upgraded plumbing and electrical, and added aesthetic touches that truly make this our home. Servicing the debt and maintaining the gift is the goal for our building offering this Sunday. Please be in prayer for the building and land that we call home, and ask the Holy Spirit to help us continue to steward this blessing well.

As we think about this blessing as something to serve and maintain, we also are called to steward it as something to use as a blessing to others. Having the loan more than halfway paid off has helped us to be open to creatively thinking about how this might come to be. I would love to hear your ideas about how, as we continue to make this our home, you might see pathways to using the blessing of the building and land to serve our neighbors. The sign in our lobby says Welcome Home; what do you see as an opportunity to extend that welcome to our community?

I am excited to see how God will use us, through the facility he has given us, to bless Yellowstone County, Montana, and the lands that lie outside our borders.

On a personal note, I wanted to let you know that while you read this (if you are reading it on Wednesday morning!) I am in surgery at Billings Clinic to repair a back injury. I will likely be in the hospital overnight, hopefully I will head home on Thursday or Friday. The recovery seems pretty straightforward, so I am looking forward to navigating the process and finding a pain-free reality on the other side! I would appreciate your prayers for me, and your patience as I get back into the swing of things. Thank you, I look forward to seeing you on Sunday!

Adam Greenwell
Pastor
Billings Vineyard Church | www.billingsvineyard.org