Hello Friends and Family (maybe some strangers),
I write to you with with great anticipation because I have some exciting news. Suzanna and I will be moving to Colorado!!! Wait, what? When? Why?
Suzanna and I are moving to a small town, Clark, to help develop a new church in a rural community. If you have made it this far, I will go ahead and explain how this came about, describe the church and location, as well as share some of the planning and logistics. Here is some of the story...
"How the heck did this happen?"
For me it all goes back to my internship at Grace Community Church (outside Indianapolis). My time at Grace was marked by growth, stretching and amazing community. As my internship began to wrap up in August 2012 I had little idea of what I was going to do. The only thing that was certain was I had a place to stay and I was marrying the love of my life in about a month!! So life was great, yet I was still uncertain about what God had for me. In early August I received a phone call from my friend's mom telling me about a pastoral opportunity in Colorado. I found a link to the job posting and read the description. When I read it, I thought to myself, "ehh, another senior pastor position I'm not qualified for..." and kind of shrugged it off. However, for whatever reason, I felt prompted to explore it further. I found out that Keith Carlson, who is a pastor at Grace, actually had a connection with this church in Clark, Colorado and had been out there to work with them to help develop the church which now goes by the name North Routt Community Church (NRCC). So I went into his office to pick his brain. Little did I know there had been a dream for this church brewing for years, and it was greatly connected to Grace Community Church. He thought I may be a good fit for the position so some exploratory conversations began in later that month. As the conversations continued through the months two more pastors, David Bell (my mentor) and Aaron Elliot (pastor of leadership) were brought into the dialogue to help discover if this was a good fit for me and Suzanna and for NRCC. Over time a job description (explained below) began to take shape and we felt more and more like this was where God was directing us. I talked with the leadership in North Routt, shared with them my heart and philosophy for ministry, and quickly learned that we share very similar visions. Suzanna, Keith, and I flew out to visit the area this past January in order to meet the leadership and the community and finally see if this was what God had in store for us. The trip was incredible. We felt very welcomed by the community and overcome with the sense that, "this is right".We saw how much God had been doing in and through the community in North Routt and we knew we wanted to partner with Him in all that He was doing. So, Suzanna and I have committed to NRCC for the next two years and we are quickly preparing to move out there by May first of this year!
The Church
The founding of North Routt Community Church was a dream of many coming to fruition. Perhaps the greatest catalyst was the purchase of a guest ranch by Jerry Throgmartin and his family, longtime members of the Grace Church community. When they purchased Vista Verde Ranch over six years ago, Clark proved to be a perfect location but they soon noticed a need - the town had not had a church in over one hundred years. Through the years the dream to form a church began to develop and a core community was established. However, in early 2012 Jerry tragically passed away. This was a massive loss for Vista Verde, Grace Community Church, and for the growing church in Clark. Even in Jerry's absence, his dream continued and the church began to grow, which brings us to the present.
The church currently meets every other week with about 40 people gathering for service. They meet in an old restored school house during the summer and the town's charter school in the winter. Right now it is led by a Denver Seminary grad, Ben Martin, who is also the general manager at Vista Verde Ranch. Due to the high demands of his full-time job he does not have the time and energy he knows the church needs to develop and meet more consistently. Despite the limitations, the church is in a good place. The community is eager to gather and worship and hear from God's word together on a weekly basis. This is why they have called in some help (us) to get that started. We are so excited and feel so blessed to be apart of the growth and establishment of a church body in a place that had previously been church-less for over a century.
The Location
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| If you squint real hard, you can see the question mark under population |
Suzanna and I visited Clark January 17th-20th. We went with Grace's pastor of outreach, Keith Carlson. The trip was amazing! During our brief time there we got a taste of what living and ministering in North Routt might look like.When we drove into town we were greeted by a wooden sign welcoming us to Clark (See above). It was like any other town sign you might see, telling us when it was established and the elevation, but we noticed under the word population it had a question mark. Now we knew going in that Clark was small but this was an unsettling first impression. However, throughout our visit we were reassured that there are, indeed, humans that live there. In fact, more than we originally thought and they were some of the most welcoming people we have met. I will try and give you a picture (and some links to pictures) so you can visualize the area in which we will be living and working.
Clark, Colorado is a small "unincorporated" town in North Routt county, tucked away in the mountains of the Routt National Forest, just north of Steamboat Springs. Clark has one store, the Clark Store, which sells most anything you would need. It also houses the town's post office and library. This seems like a great place to meet a lot of the community; we visited there for about an hour and watched dozens of people pick up mail or groceries. Next to the Clark Store is a recently built charter school called North Routt Charter school which is considered the main community center. The school is K-8th grade and has about 75 kids enrolled. Another spot that the community gathers is the only dedicated restaurant in the area, Hahns Peak Roadhouse. We ate there during our visit and it was cool to see so much of the community there conversing and listening to live music. In addition to some lone ranches and homes, there are two good-sized neighborhoods within Clark that are a mix of vacation homes and year-round residences.
The Position
The position we landed on will be defined as a "church-planting residency". Sounds official, huh? Well it also sounds vague so I will explain. It is a two year commitment to come to North Routt and take on the majority of the responsibilities of the church leadership. Although I will be the only paid staff person and take on most of the roles of a head pastor, I will not be the "senior pastor." Rather, for the next two years I will be partnering with the community and leadership that is already established and partnering with the work that God is already doing in this church. Also, I will be receiving continual development from the church that is helping to send me - Grace Community Church. They will not only help to train and develop me before I leave, but will also continue a mentoring relationship via phone, email, and Skype. Most importantly, there will be quarterly visits from one or more of the three pastors that are training and mentoring me during my time in Indianapolis. I will be working full-time to help develop the church, specifically in a few key areas. Though our focus may change as we come to better understand the culture and needs of the area and church body, these are some of the general areas we will strategically focus on.
- Corporate Gatherings: The church wants to start meeting every week. In order to help make this happen we will focus on developing a preaching team that will form sermon series and consistently teach the word of God to the community. We also want to construct a worship team that can lead the community in corporate praise through music, prayer, and other means.
- Community: It is our goal to create environments in which people can figure out how to follow Jesus together, as one body. Small groups can help to create these environments were community is formed and and people are coming together to learn what it means to love God, love others and be the Church.
- Leadership Development: We all have a place and a role in God's kingdom. I believe as a church it is our responsibility to identify gifts and build up leaders so that they can be equipped and launched into the kingdom role that God has for them.
- Discipleship: For this we will focus on intentionally raising up and equipping leaders with a heart for discipleship, giving them ways in which they can practically and effectively walk with others into the life that Jesus calls us to. The church's job is to make disciples and we would like to follow Jesus' example of intentionally walking alongside people in everyday life and relationally teaching them the truth and vision for God's kingdom.
If you would like to see my in-depth philosophy of ministry click here
How you can get involved
Suzanna and I believe that God is going to stretch us, teach us, and use us over the next two years. He is giving us an amazing opportunity to roll up our sleeves and labor on behalf of His kingdom. I have no doubt that God will do extraordinary things during our time spent in North Routt. We have the privilege of working alongside some wonderful and godly people who desire to see God's name be known in their town. Now, I am inviting you to partner with us in this ministry. Just as we have the opportunity to be sent and partner with this church plant, you too have an opportunity to partner with what God is doing in Clark, Colorado. Here are some ways that you can get involved.
- We need your prayers!- This is something that we know God has been putting together piece by piece. With that said, we want to continue to rely on Him and come to Him in prayer. We need prayer for...
- Provision- There are a lot of things that need to be taken care of before our move. We need to find a place to stay, an all-wheel drive car, and raise enough support.
- The Community- Please pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to transform lives in North Routt Community. Pray that their hearts would be receptive to the Gospel of Jesus and his Kingdom.
- Against fears and insecurities- This a big step for me and Suzanna. And although it feels right and we sense God's blessing, there are many changes, unknowns, and lies that can cause fear and insecurities. Please pray that we allow "Christ's peace to dwell in us richly."
- If you want to be added to a monthly prayer email list please send me an email at dbloom2388@gmail.com. I will send out prayer requests, updates and praises.
- You can partner with us financially- This is a unique church planting opportunity because we already have two financial supporters who feel very strongly about this church in North Routt and they are supporting a large portion of our salary. However, Suzanna and I still need to raise a considerable amount of support, $30,000 to be exact. This is the break down:
- Start-up costs: $10,000- There are several costs that are involved in this move. The big ones include a different car (my Mitsubishi Mirage won't cut in mountain country, no offense buddy), moving costs, and a security deposit for a rental. This also covers some of my developmental costs while I prepare and train (through Grace Church) in Indianapolis for the next 2 months. So that is a big way you can get involved, by actually getting us there!
- Salary: $10,000/year for 2 years- Once we get to North Routt, I will be working for NRCC full-time and will not have any other supplemental income (beside Suzanna working part-time). Therefore, I need to raise my entire salary. We have been incredibly blessed to have a good chunk already funded by two sources and we are very thankful, however, we still need to raise the remaining portion of our salary. That is one of the ways you can get involved - by helping us live in North Routt.
- Two ways to give-
- One way in which you can give is by writing a check to "North Routt Community Church" and putting "David Bloom" in the Memo line.
You can send it to this address: 11122 Rolling Springs Dr.
Carmel, IN 46033
- The second way you can give is through a fundraising website we have set up through Razoo. If you would rather use your debit or credit card, then this is a great option. You can access the site here or just click on the Razoo donation widget in the right-hand corner of the blog.
Thank you all so much for your love, prayers and support.
David & Suzanna Bloom
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