HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO “THE WELL CHURCH”

When I think back on the last year of my life, I have to reflect on one of the biggest decisions that I made this year.   When I tell you that I sold a business that was started by my father almost 20 years ago, you might think that was hands down the biggest decision that I made for last year.  Then I would have to tell you that I also switched churches last year.  So you might think, big deal.  I must not have been happy at my church and I switched to one that made me happier.  You would be wrong about that.  I had been attending Destiny Church for almost 6 years and I loved it.  They were my family and I couldn’t wait to get there to see them and celebrate with God.  So are you still wondering why I left a church that I loved?  I would be… if I didn’t know where I ended up and that God placed me here for such a time as this.  So here is the story…. I hope you are ready to hear it, because I am ready to tell it.  Last January I was invited to participate in a Leadership Rogers County Speed Dating for Non-profits panel.  I was representing the Inola Chamber of Commerce and it was my focus to tell people about my organization and they would then tell me a little about themselves.  A young man by the name of Ricky VanPay sat down across from me and told me that he was the pastor for a new church in Claremore that was set to launch on February 22 in … of all places … the B&B Movie Theater. Church in a movie theater?  He had my attention.  From the moment he sat down across from me, I could see Christ light in his eyes.  I knew that I wanted to see him preach and I was so excited about what he was about to do to change Claremore.  I had met Ricky once before but it had been a long time prior and I didn’t really talk to him at that time. It was at an event where he was at the opposite end of the table from where I was so I didn’t have an opportunity to speak with him.  Not long after this encounter with Ricky, I went to Destiny to play Bunco with a group of women from our church and I was still so excited about this new start-up church that I told a lady about it while we were playing bunco.  I told her that Claremore really needed this type of church that was out of the ordinary and that I thought it would change Claremore.   On February 22, 2009, I went to the launch of  “The Well Church” and when I was leaving the theater, I heard someone say my name.  I turned to look and I honestly didn’t know who this lady was but she obviously knew me.  I knew that she looked familiar but I couldn’t place where I knew her from.  She said, “Stephani, I’m Nancy and we both attend Destiny Church.  I am here today because you told me about this church when we played bunco.”  I couldn’t believe it.  I didn’t even remember telling her about it at the time.   I was fired up about this new church after hearing him preach the first time.  I didn’t think that God was calling me to leave Destiny Church but I knew that I was destined to do something for this new church.  I thought at that time that my job was to let others know about it.  I kept telling my friends and my pastor and his wife that I wasn’t leaving Destiny.  I would go to Destiny on Saturday night and then attend The Well on Sunday morning.  I did this alot from February to July.  Nancy and her family left Destiny and joined The Well Church.  When they did, I told my pastor’s wife, I know that Nancy left but I am not leaving.  She told me something that opened the door for me.  She said, “Stephani, if God calls you to another church, then we will understand if you obey that call.”  She went on to say that she would miss me but that I had to follow God’s plan.  I don’t remember the exact day but I remember one Sunday listening to Ricky preach that I knew that God was calling me to “The Well Church.”  It was more than a calling to “The Well”.  It was a calling to help Claremore.  My heart and my passion is for this community.  My passion is so strong that it can only be from God himself.  I love Claremore so much that sometimes it hurts when other put it down.  I want to fix all of our problems and make us the very best that we can be. I know that we aren’t perfect but I know that I can make a difference.  This is my home and it has been since we moved here when I was seven years old.  I have lived in other cities but they never felt like home.  When I bought the house that I live in now, I knew that Claremore was where I wanted to be.  I know that I started out telling you about changing churches and ended up telling you about my love for Claremore and you might think that I got off track but the two go hand in hand.  I am now a part of  The Well Church because we are a church that has impacted Claremore and will continue to change and improve Claremore.  It has been a wonderful year in my life.  On July 26, 2009, I committed myself to his church.  It’s time to celebrate the birthday of a church that has come to life in a theater but lives in the hearts of so many people in Claremore!  We have been the hands and feet of Christ to this community in the past year and we have more plans to do more of the same in 2010.  So everyone is invited this Sunday February 21, 2010 at 10:30 am to the B&B Theater in Claremore to celebrate what God has done through his people with this crazy church that meets in a movie theater!

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