They lost everything. After years of effort and offerings to buy land and build and maintain a worship facility, they lost it all when their pastor began teaching false doctrine, leading a majority of members to side with him. The 27 remaining members were left without a church building. But in the midst of hurt and loss, they faithfully gathered in a home for worship just days later and were reminded that they still had everything. God was still with them. In Christ, they still had God’s grace and peace and a heavenly home—and no one could take that away from them. Even as wanderers, they still had the same mission of growing in God’s Word and working together to share God’s saving love.

Twelve years, a vacant house, and two leased facilities later, many of those who attended that first service can still be found worshiping and working together at Cross of Christ. And God has added even more. By God’s grace, and the generosity of his people, the congregation now owns a piece of property along a major road in the fastest-growing part of Las Cruces, N.M., and is working toward building a permanent facility. But that hasn’t come without its challenges either, including a prolonged property trade and months of waiting for a flood zoning redesignation.

As we now begin working with an architect, many questions we’ve been asking for months don’t have clear answers yet: Exactly what kind of a facility will we build? In what ways will we use our new facility to expand our gospel ministry and outreach? How will we fund our project with current increasing costs? When will we even be able to break ground?

Nevertheless, the reason for our project is clear: We’ve been so blessed, and we want to use God’s gifts to us to create more opportunities to share the saving message of Christ with more people, both now and in the future. We want to bring the good news of Jesus to those wandering through life without the certain hope and peace that we have. We want to reach more people who are at a loss as to who Jesus really is or are growing weary in their faith without a church family to build them up in Christ—like Cat, our newest member, pictured above on her Confirmation day.

She lost everything. Her husband’s stroke left him as a quadriplegic for six years before taking his life. Medical bills left her bankrupt. Lupus later damaged her strength and mobility. Then this summer, a wildfire destroyed her home and belongings. But through these losses, God led her to meet our member Hilda, who showed her the kindness of Christ, invited her to join us for worship, and even gave her a ride.

“I was scared and alone and felt very far from God,” Cat says. “Now I see that God has used all these storms to bring me to the next step in his plan for me, bringing me closer to him than ever before and connecting me to my new church family. I have a deeper understanding of Scripture and of how God has used the challenges and tragedies in my life to bring me to a place to glorify him. His light can shine brightly through all my broken pieces.”

Despite the continuing questions and new hurdles that are sure to come for our congregation and in our building project, we remain both confident and excited. No matter what happens, God will be with us, and he’ll keep doing what he always does—turning challenges into opportunities, tragedies into blessings, and loss into gain.

And in him, we have everything.

Written by Rev. Nathanael Jensen, home missionary at Cross of Christ Lutheran Church in Las Cruces, N.M.

As a mission congregation with no permanent facility, Peace Lutheran in Gilbert, Ariz., has had to adapt.  We have worshiped in a number of different locations—member’s homes, school cafeterias, classrooms, etc.  In 2022, our Sunday morning services were being held in a high school auditorium.  But that Fall, we were notified that some renovations were going to be taking place and we would have to find another place to hold our services.  Our leadership came up with the idea of setting up a tent on the land we had purchased for our future church home.  The property already had an older barn structure on site.  We poured a concrete pad, extending off of the barn and set the tent up for services, with the barn acting as our “fellowship hall.”  The members instantly loved it!  Despite the fact we had heavy rain the first few Sundays, God’s people gathered around Word and Sacrament.  Despite the fact at times it got windy and chilly, God’s people invited their families and friends.  “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’” (Psalm 122:1).

By the Spring of 2023, the renovations in the high school auditorium had been completed and we moved back inside due the Arizona heat.  However, it didn’t take long before people started to ask, “When are we going back to the tent?”  So in the Fall of 2023, we did just that—we went back to our church home.  And it has been a wonderfully blessed experience!

Over the course of the past two years we have been working on the building project for our permanent church home.  Our building plans have been completed and submitted to the county for approval.  God’s people have been incredibly generous. We’ve raised enough money to put a shovel in the ground.  We are excited to finally have a permanent church home and during this planning process we have decided that we will incorporate outdoor services as a regular part of our Sunday services because people loved them so much.

This entire experience has highlighted for all of us at Peace that church isn’t just a building or a structure. Church is God’s people gathering around his means of grace. Church is God’s people celebrating and sharing the news of Christ’s empty cross and tomb. Church is God’s people proclaiming the forgiveness Jesus brings to souls aching for peace. And that’s something we can do, wherever we are.

“Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9

Written by Rev. Mark Schroeder, home missionary at Peace Lutheran Church in Gilbert, Ariz. 

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