Loan Recipient: Sage Hills Church
Location: Wenatchee, WA
Loan Purpose: Renovation
Year of Loan: 2017
The mission of Sage Hills Church is to RISK its comfort to REACH the community to RELEASE freedom in Christ. As a church that is 110 years old, there is a need to constantly think about how to engage their community and create compelling spaces that enable them to more effectively tell the redeeming story of Jesus. The funds received from the Free Methodist Investment and Loan Fund enabled them to revitalize their worship center, lobby, and children’s wing making their facilities more welcoming and inviting.
Prior to renovation, some of the challenges the church was dealing with included an antiquated sound system, inadequate lighting, insufficient branding and signage, ineffective visual presentations, unsatisfactory handicapped seating, and graphic disunity in telling the story of Sage Hills. As a result of upgrading these systems, people can now easily find where they are going, hear and see what is being presented, understand the Sage Hills mission and discipleship path, and more fully participate in the life of Sage Hills Church.
“Over time, some in our community had developed the perspective that Sage Hills was just for Free Methodists and that to attend one had to contribute to the church at a certain financial level. The reclaiming of the Sage Hills mission, combined with a renewed ability to tell the story through the renovation, communicated invitation to our city and broke barriers. We are currently seeing the highest attendance in the life of the church, the highest number of commitments to Christ, the largest attendance in our children’s ministry, and more involved in relationship and small groups than ever before.” – Rev. Jim Harbour (Pastor of Administration)