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Northview Beyond the Walls

The Northview church family did not just GO to church, they were a testament to all they encountered that they WERE the church...

During our Faith in Action weekend many members of the Northview family did not just GO to church, they were a testament to all they encountered that they WERE the church. Ordinary people stepped out of their routine, moved beyond the walls, and allowed God to use them in a mighty way.

Many lives were touched, more than we may ever know…

Ms. Cora ~ she could tell you many stories of life in her little frame house on Lone Oak. Most recently though, tears filled her eyes as she told of the terrible things that she witnessed every day simply looking out the window of her home. The love she felt from total strangers cleaning up her property, taking her lunch, and simply visiting with her was overwhelming.

Mr. Greenway ~ from tales of his days as a bullrider, to the still fresh loss of his beloved wife just two weeks before…Mr. Greenway had a story for all of us. Over and over through the day, he would say “I never saw such a hard workin’ bunch of people…and I can’t believe they are doin’ this for me”.

Steve from Chicago ~ he tried to give Jeff a donation and when Jeff refused saying “we are just doing this because we care”, the man broke down in tears and said he had never seen that in Chicago, that if that was what our church was like, then maybe he needed to rethink church.

The families at Spirit Horse ~ broken spirits from years of adapting to life with a special needs child are healed at this place. The owner Mr. Fletcher said “we like to keep it as pretty as we can because it is an encouragement to the parents”. Our people worked mending fence, painting, and general maintenance to help “keep it pretty”. The smiles on the faces of those precious children, and the expressions of gratitude on the faces of their parents, were God’s special gifts to us that day.

The members of Bethel Church ~ we arrived to find one of the members boarding up broken windows, the church had been vandalized just hours before. When we started cutting back branches, hauling off garbage and clearing away a drug hideout directly behind the church we heard the man calling his wife. He said “Brenda you got to come see what these folks have done”. Thinking it was more vandalism she became very upset and then he said “No Brenda, you have to come see! This is a GOOD thing, a really good thing!”

Veronica ~ we met her when she drove up for the car wash. We asked if she would like to have her oil changed and tires rotated at the car check as well. She agreed, tentatively at first..not quite trusting us. In the hour or so she was there she began to open up and visit with some of our ladies. She began to tear up as she was leaving, repeatedly hugging them and saying, “you don’t know what this means to me, I work six days a week and I have three babies, I know I need to but I never have the time or the money to take care of it. I can’t believe you would do this for me, you don’t even know me!”

The many families at the apartment outreach ~ they drive by our building every day, never realizing the people inside are really no different than them. As we visited with them we heard so many stories. Single moms, grandparents raising children, dads who had battled alcoholism and lost their families…many said they would like to start coming now that they knew we wanted them to…sadly to most, it was such a surprise that someone cared about them.

The recipients of the 500 pounds of food collected in the food drive…

The 150+ Senior adults that we visited and sang for…

The Firemen and all the others that we fed…..

Now where do we go from here? Doors have been opened to us now that have been closed for a long time. The evidence of change in the hearts and minds of the Northview family is overwhelming. God has set us up perfectly to do great things in His name and for His glory, are you ready?