This period of reconstruction climaxed in "The Road Home," an Easter production Bridge City presented as an outreach to the community. The production was done in collaboration with Harvest Christian Center and featured ninety minutes of contemporary music, compelling slice-of-life drama, moving multi-media and video footage. The drama centered around a young corporate executive whose heart was hungry and it followed him as he wrestled with spiritual questions and ultimately with who Jesus is. Over 500 people attended the two showings of this production and several people gave their lives to God for the first time. It was a heady moment for many at Bridge City.
But the next Monday, the Bridge City staff received a fax announcing that Harvest Christian Center was terminating the lease. Two weekends later amid confusion and uncertainty, the church packed everything in a rented moving truck and took it all--children's ministry equipment, little tables and chairs, games and toys, worship ministry equipment, the sound system and musical instruments, and everything else it takes to run a church program--to a storage unit because Bridge City was without a home.
The staff and leaders frantically looked for another facility to rent, but the move had happened too fast and nothing could be arranged in time. Bridge City was a church without a location. Fortunately the church had opened up offices at a separate location so the staff's work could easily continue, but everyone was unsure of what would happen next. Arrangements were made last-minute to rent the Milwaukie Grange for the next weekend and phone calls and postcards went out to keep everyone informed. The rest of spring and nearly all of summer passed with Bridge City moving from week to week. The Milwaukie Grange as well as the Ed Benedict Park served as regular locations and for several rainy Saturdays, 3 10' x 20' awnings from Costco served as the portable "tabernacle."How could a church operate without a physical location?
Throughout the short history of Bridge City the pastors had been trying to teach the congregation that "the church" wasn't a building. The church was the people. But as the weeks passed this abstract bit of theology became more and more concrete as Bridge City continued with no physical address. Bridge City members became accustomed to bringing their lawn chairs, blankets and sunscreen to worship. But even through this period of extreme inconvenience, people not only continued to come, but they brought their friends. Even more new people joined at the invitation of the now infamous sandwich-board signs--"All Are Welcome."
But there were some members who were truly afraid that Bridge City would cease to exist. After all, how could a church operate without a physical location? But the faithful still attended and God used this experience to develop a deeper and stronger sense of community, purpose and dependence on Him. The community held together and as each week passed we knew more and more clearly that God needs none of our resources to grow the church. Through the summer the pastors continued searching for a suitable facility to rent. But too many of the available churches were too small and too many of the larger churches were far too expensive. Finally, Bob Kavanaugh discovered Clackamas Park Friends Church.
Finding a Home & Losing a Pastor.
From the very first there seemed to be something special about Clackamas Park Friends Church. Its pastor, Dayton Durly, was gracious and welcoming. The ministry leaders were open and interested in working together. And the facility itself was a Godsend. A large-enough sanctuary, a lavish fellowship hall for social activities, many classrooms and a convenient location just a few blocks off Interstate 205 made this Quaker church seem like heaven to the members and staff who had been setting up and tearing down everything for months, never able to put down roots, never knowing with certainty where the church would meet the next week. Volunteers moved everything from the storage unit into Clackamas Park with an increasing sense of gratitude for God's provision and a brewing excitement about this next phase of the journey. Shortly after moving in, the staff discovered that the Quaker pastor was retiring. It wasn't very long until the Quaker board of Elders invited Bob Kavanaugh to join them as their Senior Pastor. This development was met with a mix of amazement, praise for God's providence and sadness. Bob had been a critical part of Bridge City for almost 3 years. He had built AXIS into an active youth ministry. He had continued to remind Bridge City of her call to reach the world and share the simple message of Jesus' gift of salvation. He had been a God-appointed catalyst for bringing Bridge City to a place of spiritual diversity. Many of the church members and participants had significant connections to Bob and his family. But it was also clear that Bob was ready to test his own wings as a leader and step into the role of Senior Pastor. And so with tears and many hugs, Bridge City presented Bob and his family to Clackamas Park as a gift.
The next year sped by as the ministries, the staff and members of Bridge City rested from the months of nomadic wandering and put down roots at Clackamas Park. Again the ministries were able to try things they hadn't been able to do for a long time. Harmon Hall, the large fellowship hall, provided a place for AXIS as well as for many church-wide social gatherings--Thanksgiving dinners, monthly fellowship meals, special parties and many opportunities to invite friends and neighbors. Again, Bridge City was able to provide community-wide opportunities like the Harvest Hoe Down and Easter Celebrations working in conjunction with Clackamas Park.
Soon Bridge City had been at Clackamas Park nearly 18 months and in that time both churches had stabilized and grown. Many weeks it was increasingly difficult to find parking and sometimes even a seat. The increasing numbers of both people and events inevitably lead to schedule conflicts and "bruised elbows" between Clackamas Park and Bridge City. When the lease expired in December, 2001 Clackamas Park re-evaluated the cost of renting as well as their own facility needs and during negotiations Bridge City's Board of Trustees decided it was time to move to a larger facility. That decision began again the long process of looking for a new "home" facility.
Over the next two months members and staff alike spent hours visiting and evaluating churches. Due to the length of the process of locating a new facility, Clackamas Park graciously extended the expired lease through the end of February. Finally--on the 25th of February, 3 days before the final deadline, the staff announced the next "home" for Bridge City: Northridge Community Church in Milwaukie. This was a return to an area the church had spent almost three years in and the initial reception by the host church was very positive. The outlook for a collaborative ministry together was good...
Where Next? Even without a building of our own, we are confident in God's provision. After all, the church is the people God has called together in community, not a building. And while Bridge City does not have a building, it does have community and a clear sense of God's blessing and direction. What will come next in the journey? That's hard to say. But no matter where we move, we know that with God's help, our friendly, accepting congregation and the "Everyone Welcome" sandwich-board signs, we will continue to connect people to God and each other through Jesus Christ.
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This history is a continuing document that will be edited and added to periodically as our story continues. It was last edited on March 20, 2002. Edited by Marc Schelske. Contributors include: Vicki Ballou, Duff Gorle, Denise Busby-Smith, Betty Josi and Marc Schelske.