Our Journey To Plant a Church

About a year ago, Cathy and I began to sense that God was making some major changes in our lives. With our daughters raised and gone, we felt God asking us to take a new step of faith. It was rather unsettling, sensing that God had something different for us; we had grown comfortable in our home, our church, and in Las Vegas. We had no idea what that change was going to be, but we quietly began praying and seeking God’s Will as He gently tugged on our hearts.

We visited Boise last fall for what we thought was a visit to check out Boise State University for our youngest daughter, Emily. The last thing on our minds was packing up, leaving the rest of our family in Las Vegas and moving to plant a brand new church! It caught us completely by surprise; but God used that initial trip to plant a seed in our hearts for the people and community of the Treasure Valley. Honestly, we didn’t know what to do with our desires at that time. Neither Cathy nor I discussed it openly with each other. We both thought it was just a silly idea in the back of our minds. But as we prayed and committed to seek God’s will, the desire continued to grow intensely. When we moved Emily into the BSU dorms in January, we drove the entire ten hours home talking excitedly about the strong pull we both had for the community. We still didn’t know what to do about it, honestly it confused us greatly. We knew we had a wonderful church family in Las Vegas that loved us dearly and that we loved ministering to.

Beginning last January we prayed, fasted, and sought the prayer support of close friends, pastors and family to help us discover what God’s next steps would be for us. Immediately after Easter, I sensed God very clearly telling me: Dave-go plant a church in the Treasure Valley!

Why? Idaho is currently the third fastest growing state in the United States. The Treasure Valley is the fastest growing area in the state and is expected to grow by 40% in the next ten years, to over one million plus. According to the Southern Baptists, nearly 90% of the people in the Treasure Valley do not have a personal relationship with Jesus. Statistics continue to prove that new church planting is the quickest and most effective way to reach people with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

In an exploratory trip to Boise last Fall, Cathy and I met with several pastors, most notably Bruce Young of First Baptist Church, Mark Traylor of East Wind Community Church, and Jim Steinert of Second Baptist Church. God had already been preparing them for our meeting. Each shared that they, along with some other pastors, had been praying about planting a new church! God bound our hearts together and each pastor committed their support. They next question was where would we plant a new church? I met with business people and pastors and every single one agreed the place with the greatest opportunities and need was Eagle! I went back to my church in Las Vegas and shared God’s new call for my life and began making plans to move to the Treasure Valley.

We rented a house in Eagle and moved in it on June 23rd. We have had our house on the market in Las Vegas since April. Knowing that we are trying to sell it during the worst housing market downturn ever in that area we decided to move to Idaho on faith leaving our home in God’s hands. We have it listed as a short sale and we are praying that God sells it before we lose it, but whichever way it goes, we are at peace. We trust that God is in control. We raised partial support before we left Las Vegas and we are living on that and our savings until we get the River started and it is able to support us.

We are excited about the opportunities to further the kingdom of God here in Eagle. God continues to open doors, but we cannot do this alone. We are asking you to partner with us, as your pastors have, through prayer and support.

Specifically:
· We need your prayers! If you will pray for us we will send you a weekly “Prayer Mail” email. It generally comes out the end of every week.
· We need your financial support. Church planting costs money! There are many needs that are unmet right now and there are even bigger needs in the near future. Here are several ways you can help meet those needs. You may support us on a monthly basis or you may choose to donate towards specific needs; i.e. office expenses, advertising, health insurance, rental space… If you are interested in financially supporting The River let me know and I will show you how.
· One of the greatest ways you can support us to join us! Again there are several options available to you: You may choose to make a commitment to help us in the start up phase. You may choose to make a one or two year commitment to The River or you may choose to make the River your new church home!
· We need God’s people to fill vital leadership roles for The River. Specifically we need leadership over connections/small groups, Worship/Youth, Children, and Administration. These are all key and vital roles that need to be filled if we are going to effectively reach non churched people and minister to the whole person and their family.


God bless you!
Serving our Savior,

Dave and Cathy Griewe