Thank the Lord, ECC has completed the purchase of its third campus in Edmonds and the transfer of property rights on June 7, 2024.
Looking back on a past nearly 60 years, God has blessed our church to serve the Chinese community in the greater Seattle area for His Kingdom. More than 10 years ago, as the pastoral staff worked together to seek God’s direction for the future of the church, the vision of ECC being a “Church with a Mission” gradually came into focus. After starting the Redmond campus and at the end of 2019, God moved the elders to develop a new campus in the North District (the area north of Seattle and Redmond) by combining with ECC - Snohomish County as part of our church’s One Church Multiple-Campus (OCMC) model and church structure. Throughout the entire process of purchasing the new campus in Edmonds, we have witnessed the guidance of God’s gracious hand and His abundant provision and blessings. James 1:17: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights…” In the process, we have experienced that “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain…” (Psalm 127:1). May all the glory be to our God!
I thank God for preserving the unity of our church. As early as 2001, the Long-Range Planning Committee (LRPC) established the spiritual principles regarding future church site planning. It stated that the Facility Project is God’s work and its purpose is to establish a base for spreading the gospel and a ministry home for His people. It will build up our church and support the OCMC model. It will need the support of the whole church with one heart and in unity. Thank God, with the two earlier purchases of church facilities on the Eastside in 2005 and 2010, and the recent purchase of the third church facility in Edmonds, we have witnessed the support and unity of the church. We are praying for God’s wisdom after we move into the new church campus: in-time adjustments, coordination of speakers, venue management, maintenance, security, etc. Your prayer support and participation are needed. With the increase in the number of campuses, it will also bring more complexity and new challenges. We need to reconsider the overall ECC church governance, coordination, division of labor, discipleship training, and how to use the spiritual gifts available to us to build up a healthier church body. The church venue is just a tool that can be used by God for His kingdom. Two weeks ago, Pastor Cui reviewed the history and vision of the Kindred ministry. He talked about our having to rethink the functions of the church. He reminded us that one of the important functions of a local church in the Great Commission is to be one of its supply stations, and mature Christians are the highest quality assets of the church. May God continue to use ECC to build up mature disciples who can be used by Him. Amen!