The 316 Launch: Sep 21, 2017
Wow.
The 316 is officially launched with our first 2 Sunday services behind us. What a wild ride it’s been. There’s so much to share. As many of you know, we moved back to Wichita in June of 2016 with plans to launch The 316 in September of that year. My oh my…did our plans fail. You may also know we were offered the old Grace United Methodist building as a gift with a price tag of only $1. A grand 40,000 sq ft building that had all the accommodations of a ministers dream. After fighting hard for that building and exhausting all efforts of due diligence we painfully, so painfully walked away from that offer. Man. God used that. What a lesson that was. Such a season of stripping us down, humbling us, and giving us an opportunity to trust Him.
When you make the biggest faith jump of your life and abandon everything that makes sense (a good job, financial security for your family, a comfortable life) and dive head first into your calling and meet it with momentum, lots of people excited about what you’re doing, and a building that falls in your lap for a $1, the recipe is perfect for an inflated ego. I have to be honest, we were beaming. We was beat boxing down the street with our snap back on backwards walking with a side step! We didn’t mean to. We didn’t know it happening. But it was happening in those deep places of our heart that only we can see. That’s what we know now. I’m convinced this lesson’s been learned by every minister of the gospel around the globe. The stripping, the humbling, the emptying of ourselves is part of every one of our stories.
1 Corinthians 1:20, “So that no flesh can glory in His presence.” Thank God He’s good enough to interrupt our plans and slow down our progress to deal with our heart. Had he not, the temptation was there to become everything we hate. We are grateful. So very grateful.
After the initial blow of not getting the building we didn’t know exactly what to do. We were totally humbled and decided to surrender our hearts once again. We let go of all our plans. We let go of what we wanted. We just let go. We were searching for some direction. We wanted to stay faithful and also nurture our loyal group, but also start with a clean slate. So through all the inner turmoil we stopped Sunday services and started house church. We began meeting weekly, sharing a meal and taking part in each other’s highs and lows. Spending some time in the Word and working hard at staying in community. We became family. Like, a real family. And it was the best thing that could have ever happened to us.
Slowly but surely we started looking at more properties in hopes to find a home for The 316. We dared not to tell anyone because we wanted to protect them this time from setting their hopes on something. We didn’t want to tell anyone until it was a done deal. This process took longer than expected, but we didn’t mind much this time. We had a weekly routine that kept us all encouraged and we were standing on Psalm 127:1 “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.” We let go of all our expectations and desires and took the back seat. Our priority became people and our desire was to let God build the house.
One afternoon Pastor Loren came down from Salina to offer some extra support and went looking at buildings with us. He took us to lunch, prayed with us, and just spent some time encouraging us. We always wanted to be on the East side of Wichita since before moving here. We felt called to the East side specifically. But after looking at property we soon gave that up because of East side prices. “Oh ye of little faith!” Ha! We almost settled on a small property on South Seneca. Not the area we wanted or the space we had imagined. But we thought, “We’ll just work our way over to the East side eventually.” We were going to give it some much needed TLC and start regardless of it’s lack of curb appeal. But then we called one last property. Low and behold, it was Ginny. Our contact turned friend who worked for the same owner who offered us the church for $1. When she heard it was us still looking for a building she jumped to the occasion and sincerely wanted to help. She led us to our home. When she told us about the property and asked if we wanted to see it, we declined. It was well out of our price range. She then shared with us it had been sitting empty for so long the owner may take less for it. So her idea was to look at it anyway and see what we thought. We walked into a building the same size as the one we almost settled for on South Seneca but much newer and well taken care of. The only problem was, it was full of cubicles. They weren’t a problem for me. My love for interior design and decorating took my eye right past the cubbies and I could already envision a sanctuary. My husband, however, was a bit more skeptical. But we both agreed it was much closer to what we were always looking for. Ginny prayed with us right there in the front lobby and we made the choice 2 days later to make an offer. With great anticipation, the owner accepted. And if that wasn’t divine enough, he gave us the first month free to work on the building and make the necessary changes. The 316 finally had a home. It was a good day. We were thrilled to share it with our team and we spent the next 8 weeks plowing through a massive yet fulfilling project.
Opening Sunday was September 10th, we had a house full of family, friends, strangers, and well wishers! It was an exciting and beautiful day. An anointed time of worship and a piercing Word on the love of Jesus. We’re happy to begin a new season. Cam and I are so extremely thankful for this journey and also for the team of people we share it with. Our lives have been blessed immensely by those God’s put around us.
If this is your first newsletter you’ve read or you’d like to know more about 316, here’s a little about who we are. We’re husband and wife first, parents to 5 beautiful children, and a blended family. And collectively, we’re a community of people who are genuinely in love with Jesus. Cam thinks he’s still a certified pro athlete and I think I’m way funnier than I actually am. Cameron is also the pastor. The last bit often makes people feel awkward. They try not to swear around us, which mostly makes us laugh. And they also think we can’t relate to them. But Christianity is not about not swearing. Christianity is about Jesus. Our mission at The 316 is to help you see Jesus and give you an opportunity to encounter Him in a real way. Discovering the depths of His love has become our obsession, our passion, and our delight. Cam met Jesus as young boy and surrendered his heart to him in college. My mother introduced me to Jesus at the age of 17, and we’ve continued on a journey of joy and discovery until this day. Our greatest desire is to help people find their way out of the religious standard that’s condemned them and find freedom in the grace and life of Christ. Jesus is not your accuser. He’s not your prosecutor. He’s your friend and your rescuer. Don’t hide from him in shame or reject him in self righteousness. Don’t allow the opinions of other people to shape your concept of him. Get to know him for yourself, and let the goodness of God change you from the inside out. Our doors are open and we beckon you as you are. We ask you to join us, in all of the mud you stand in, and follow after Jesus with us.
Please pray with us as we trust God to provide a permanent worship leader. Pray for our team as we establish systems and routines that make things work smoothly and non burdensome. Pray for our hearts and relationships. Pray for our unity. Thank you for your love and support. Thank you for every donation big or small. Thank you for loving us and encouraging us. And last but not least, thank you to the best parents a child could ask for! The 316 would not be standing now if not for Don and Sheena Jackson. We love y’all sooo much!
#weR316
Join the movement.
Author: Stephanie Jackson
The 316 is officially launched with our first 2 Sunday services behind us. What a wild ride it’s been. There’s so much to share. As many of you know, we moved back to Wichita in June of 2016 with plans to launch The 316 in September of that year. My oh my…did our plans fail. You may also know we were offered the old Grace United Methodist building as a gift with a price tag of only $1. A grand 40,000 sq ft building that had all the accommodations of a ministers dream. After fighting hard for that building and exhausting all efforts of due diligence we painfully, so painfully walked away from that offer. Man. God used that. What a lesson that was. Such a season of stripping us down, humbling us, and giving us an opportunity to trust Him.
When you make the biggest faith jump of your life and abandon everything that makes sense (a good job, financial security for your family, a comfortable life) and dive head first into your calling and meet it with momentum, lots of people excited about what you’re doing, and a building that falls in your lap for a $1, the recipe is perfect for an inflated ego. I have to be honest, we were beaming. We was beat boxing down the street with our snap back on backwards walking with a side step! We didn’t mean to. We didn’t know it happening. But it was happening in those deep places of our heart that only we can see. That’s what we know now. I’m convinced this lesson’s been learned by every minister of the gospel around the globe. The stripping, the humbling, the emptying of ourselves is part of every one of our stories.
1 Corinthians 1:20, “So that no flesh can glory in His presence.” Thank God He’s good enough to interrupt our plans and slow down our progress to deal with our heart. Had he not, the temptation was there to become everything we hate. We are grateful. So very grateful.
After the initial blow of not getting the building we didn’t know exactly what to do. We were totally humbled and decided to surrender our hearts once again. We let go of all our plans. We let go of what we wanted. We just let go. We were searching for some direction. We wanted to stay faithful and also nurture our loyal group, but also start with a clean slate. So through all the inner turmoil we stopped Sunday services and started house church. We began meeting weekly, sharing a meal and taking part in each other’s highs and lows. Spending some time in the Word and working hard at staying in community. We became family. Like, a real family. And it was the best thing that could have ever happened to us.
Slowly but surely we started looking at more properties in hopes to find a home for The 316. We dared not to tell anyone because we wanted to protect them this time from setting their hopes on something. We didn’t want to tell anyone until it was a done deal. This process took longer than expected, but we didn’t mind much this time. We had a weekly routine that kept us all encouraged and we were standing on Psalm 127:1 “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.” We let go of all our expectations and desires and took the back seat. Our priority became people and our desire was to let God build the house.
One afternoon Pastor Loren came down from Salina to offer some extra support and went looking at buildings with us. He took us to lunch, prayed with us, and just spent some time encouraging us. We always wanted to be on the East side of Wichita since before moving here. We felt called to the East side specifically. But after looking at property we soon gave that up because of East side prices. “Oh ye of little faith!” Ha! We almost settled on a small property on South Seneca. Not the area we wanted or the space we had imagined. But we thought, “We’ll just work our way over to the East side eventually.” We were going to give it some much needed TLC and start regardless of it’s lack of curb appeal. But then we called one last property. Low and behold, it was Ginny. Our contact turned friend who worked for the same owner who offered us the church for $1. When she heard it was us still looking for a building she jumped to the occasion and sincerely wanted to help. She led us to our home. When she told us about the property and asked if we wanted to see it, we declined. It was well out of our price range. She then shared with us it had been sitting empty for so long the owner may take less for it. So her idea was to look at it anyway and see what we thought. We walked into a building the same size as the one we almost settled for on South Seneca but much newer and well taken care of. The only problem was, it was full of cubicles. They weren’t a problem for me. My love for interior design and decorating took my eye right past the cubbies and I could already envision a sanctuary. My husband, however, was a bit more skeptical. But we both agreed it was much closer to what we were always looking for. Ginny prayed with us right there in the front lobby and we made the choice 2 days later to make an offer. With great anticipation, the owner accepted. And if that wasn’t divine enough, he gave us the first month free to work on the building and make the necessary changes. The 316 finally had a home. It was a good day. We were thrilled to share it with our team and we spent the next 8 weeks plowing through a massive yet fulfilling project.
Opening Sunday was September 10th, we had a house full of family, friends, strangers, and well wishers! It was an exciting and beautiful day. An anointed time of worship and a piercing Word on the love of Jesus. We’re happy to begin a new season. Cam and I are so extremely thankful for this journey and also for the team of people we share it with. Our lives have been blessed immensely by those God’s put around us.
If this is your first newsletter you’ve read or you’d like to know more about 316, here’s a little about who we are. We’re husband and wife first, parents to 5 beautiful children, and a blended family. And collectively, we’re a community of people who are genuinely in love with Jesus. Cam thinks he’s still a certified pro athlete and I think I’m way funnier than I actually am. Cameron is also the pastor. The last bit often makes people feel awkward. They try not to swear around us, which mostly makes us laugh. And they also think we can’t relate to them. But Christianity is not about not swearing. Christianity is about Jesus. Our mission at The 316 is to help you see Jesus and give you an opportunity to encounter Him in a real way. Discovering the depths of His love has become our obsession, our passion, and our delight. Cam met Jesus as young boy and surrendered his heart to him in college. My mother introduced me to Jesus at the age of 17, and we’ve continued on a journey of joy and discovery until this day. Our greatest desire is to help people find their way out of the religious standard that’s condemned them and find freedom in the grace and life of Christ. Jesus is not your accuser. He’s not your prosecutor. He’s your friend and your rescuer. Don’t hide from him in shame or reject him in self righteousness. Don’t allow the opinions of other people to shape your concept of him. Get to know him for yourself, and let the goodness of God change you from the inside out. Our doors are open and we beckon you as you are. We ask you to join us, in all of the mud you stand in, and follow after Jesus with us.
Please pray with us as we trust God to provide a permanent worship leader. Pray for our team as we establish systems and routines that make things work smoothly and non burdensome. Pray for our hearts and relationships. Pray for our unity. Thank you for your love and support. Thank you for every donation big or small. Thank you for loving us and encouraging us. And last but not least, thank you to the best parents a child could ask for! The 316 would not be standing now if not for Don and Sheena Jackson. We love y’all sooo much!
#weR316
Join the movement.
Author: Stephanie Jackson
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Parenting Millennials: March 25, 2017A Husband’s Love: April 19, 2017The 316 Launch: Sep 21, 2017Newsletter 2: January 23, 2017The Perfect Storm: Jan 23, 2020Parenting Adult Children: Feb 27, 2022Healthy Church: Mar 17, 2021“Release Him”: Mar 3, 2021Motherhood Is Not Oppression: Feb 27, 2021316 Fundraiser: Dec 1, 2020On Politics: Oct 20, 2020On Earth as it is in Heaven!: Aug 24, 2019Immigrants, the Innocent, and Other Holy Things : Jun 22, 2018A Tribute to Carmelo: May 9, 2018Re-Thinking Church: Mar 23, 2018The 316 Church NEWSLETTER: Feb 28, 2018Champion Your KidsWho is Initiating?
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