Building relationships

The Vine, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is a second site ministry begun by St. Matthew, Spokane, Wash. The congregation held its launch service on Oct. 1, 2017. Twenty-five members of St. Matthew volunteered to serve as a launch team for the new mission and have been busy reaching out in Couer d’Alene. Members of the Vine have been volunteering in the community and hosting community events (pictured: left) as a way to be involved in the community, show kindness in action, and demonstrate the love of Jesus to their neighbors. They and their pastor, Rev. Kevin Schultz, are also building relationships with unchurched families so that they can share the gospel with them. 

As Schultz shares, “Shortly after moving to Coeur d’Alene, I met a lady at a local hotel who was making the arrangements for our church to have a meeting there. She mentioned to me that her dad died a few days prior and she was feeling kind of down and depressed. I listened to her talk about her dad for a little while and how she was hurting inside, and then I shared with her some words of comfort from God’s Word. A few days later, I followed up by sending her a sympathy card in the mail just to show her that I cared. She called me to say thank you for thinking of her and for sharing words of comfort and encouragement with her. About a week after that, she called me again and started asking me questions about our new mission church and what ‘kind’ of church is it going to be. I shared with her information about The Vine and asked if I could stay in contact, so that she would know what we’re doing at The Vine and I could invite her to be a part of it. She said, ‘I would love that. Thank you for caring.’ God is using our efforts to build his church here—one relationship at a time.”

Did you know? Home Missions oversees 115 congregations, 87 of which are subsidized and 28 of which are unsubsidized. These congregations are located in 33 states, Canada, and two islands in the West Indies.