Kingdom Builders

Welcome, Welcome to Venture Church. If you don't know who

I am, I am Brandon. I'm the lead pastor of

the church. Glad that you have chosen to join us

here on what I am calling the first day of

our next twenty years. But you're a part of it.

I want to just express my gratitude on behalf of

Di and I to all of you. We felt so

loved as we celebrated our twentieth birthday. We really do

appreciate how much love you guys showed.

Also to our kids.

It was a great time celebrating everything that God has done.

We had put together a committee that Nicole Butcher very

faithfully led that has been meeting for about a year,

and what they wanted to do is really honor the

people and honor the stories that really told the Venture journey.

And I think they did an amazing job. And I'm

so thankful for everything that God has done. When I

look back at this journey, I just am filled with joy.

Probably the number one thing that I pray is I

thank God for allowing me to be able to be

a part of it, because it's been really fun to

witness all of it. All that to say, I desperately

do not want us to be a church that is

one of those churches that only talks about their past,

that only talks about remember this person in the past,

Remember when this thing happened in the past. What I

really feel compelled to challenge all of us here today

with is let's put a period on that chapter of

everything that God has done, and let's begin to look

ahead to what He's going to do next. I want

to ask everyone to close your eyes. I want to

pray for you, Lord Jesus in the next several moments

as I share my heart. Lord, I asked that you

would speak through me. More than anything, Lord, I need

your help. I want to pray that I'm able to

convey your words to these people in the greatest way possible. God,

I thank you for everything that's brought venture to this.

Moment right here. But Lord, we.

Anticipate and are excited about the moment that is going

to come. We commit it to you and Jesus, I

humbly ask you to help me in your name, I pray.

Amen.

My wife and I are gonna head out for a

four day vacation. We leave after church and I'll sit

on an airplane and in all likelihood someone is gonna

ask me about my tattoos. I always get asked about

my tattoos. This is not me endorsing tattoos. This is

not me suggesting you should get a tattoo. Kids, This

is not the pastor of the church telling your parents

they should let you get a tattoo.

So this is not me doing that. But my tattoos.

I'm quick to tell everyone they share my spiritual journey

that these are my spiritual mile markers that whenever God

does something really significant in my life, I want to

remember it. Because I'm not a big journaler, I journal

on my body, and so I have a these tattoos.

They tell the story of everything that Jesus has done. Specifically,

it's now turning into a full sleeve, but I had

a half sleeve for a while. That reminded me of

probably the biggest thing that the Lord helped me overcome

in the first say ten years of venture. Everything that

God has done at venture is really ironic when you

view it through the lens of who is one of

the leaders that God chose to use. Because I am,

by my nature a very fearful person, I struggle with

fear and now I didn't really how fear began to

manifest itself in me, and it began to manifest itself

for years in anxiety, and I didn't know I had

really bad anxiety until about six years ago. I could

never really define how I was feeling and different things

like that until my anxiety was so bad in one

moment that I got rushed to the emergency room because

they thought I was having a stroke. And these tattoos

on my upper arm, they symbolize the opposite of fear,

and it's one of.

My core values, which is courage.

And I define courage for me as the willingness to

do something that I'm afraid to do. And when you're

a fearful person who struggles with anxiety, that is a

lot of things. It's crazy when you think about the

fact that God told Die and I when we were

in Modesto to plant a church because I'm fearful and

I'm also good at math, which means I can do statistical.

Analysis of things.

And I knew that seventy five percent of church plants

died within their first three years, but God said, years later,

we've survived, and we've made it to year twelve, and

then God says the next big thing, which is plant

your flag in the city of Mill Creek. I want

you to build a hub, flagship campus.

Planting a church.

Is the most difficult thing that any minister can do.

It is the equivalent of trying to start a business

with no money and no product that you are producing

and selling like it doesn't make any sense. It is

the hardest thing a minister will ever do. The second

hardest thing that any minister will ever.

Do is to build a building from dirt.

Here's the stat on building programs. Eighty percent of ministers

resign their church after their building has been built and opened.

They resign within one year because of everything it takes

to build that building, raise that money, and do all

of that. Ministers quit when God says, Brandon, it's time

for you to build a building from dirt. I am

like Jesus. I struggle with anxiety. I want people to

like me. People do not like fundraising campaigns. In addition, Lord,

what if it doesn't work? And when you struggle with fear,

that's what you say, what if it doesn't work? And

then I always come back to you. But God called

me to live a courageous life, which means if I'm

afraid to do something, I must do that something. So

you just put one step in front of another and

you do it. When Di and I in a group

of people in Modesto dreamt a venture church, we never

imagine that this is what it was going to be.

If we knew this was the end result, every single

one of us would have signed up for it without

thinking twice.

But I'll also tell you this.

That if when God said move back to Seattle and

plant to church, if he would have said the twenty years,

those first twenty years, you were gonna fight so many wars,

so many battles. You're gonna have victories, but so many defeats.

You're gonna have wins, but so many losses. There's gonna

be so many people that you thought were your friends

who are going to say just horrible things about you.

You're gonna have all of these bad things happen along

the way, and all of these challenges along the way.

I'm gonna be blunt. If God would have told me.

The cost to get here I struggle with fear, I

never would have done it.

I think that's the way that the Lord works in

our life.

Like when God tells us something, he usually tells us

what's next and to take a step. Doesn't maybe gives

us a glimpse of the future, but he doesn't tell

us about the journey because the journey is not a

straight line. God kind of withholds all of that because

he knows, as humans, at any moment, we're willing to

bail along the process and quit, So he doesn't tell

us everything we're going to go through.

He just promises that it'll be.

With us, and he just tells us to take the

next step. Now, looking back at twenty years, I can

tell you wins, defeats, victories, losses. I would do it

all over again to see what I've seen now that

I've seen the whole thing, and I was praying about

this first twenty year thing. This is the verse that

the Lord laid on my heart, Zechariah four to ten.

I didn't know when the Lord laid this on my

heart if this was supposed to be encouraging or discouraging. Says,

do not despise small beginnings. This is small, like I

thought small was. When I was meeting in the office space,

we didn't have chairs and people were sitting on the floor.

What was that Microscopic says, do not despise these small beginnings,

for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin. I

wrestled with that for a while until I underunderstood what

God was saying to venture, that this is only the beginning,

that what we've seen so far, this is just the

foundation being laid. These are the work that had had

to be built and had to be done so that

God could do what he really wants to do through

this place.

When you look around and you.

Think of this is just the foundation, what is he

going to do next?

When we.

Built this building, we gotten the loan approved. I would

tell everyone this as I was raising the money. I

would say, there's going to come a day twenty years

from now, you're going to drive down thirty fifth.

You know, we know if you live in Mill Creek.

Thirty fifth both Leverett Highway, they're the two main drags

through Mill Creek. I said, there's gonna come a day

people are gonna drive down thirty fifth.

They're gonna drive by all these two.

Million dollar homes in one of the wealthiest areas in

western Washington, and they are gonna drive by this church building,

and they're gonna point at it and they're gonna say,

how did this ever get built?

How did they ever do that?

And then I told you that there's gonna come a

day you're gonna be the person they're gonna ask that

question too, and you're gonna say, let me tell you.

What God did.

I mean, it was impossible. We fought all of Hell.

It was like everything that could go.

Wrong went wrong, But God did this. I remember the day.

This stage was about to be built, we had.

A worship service in here.

I mean, it was just kind of a prayer time,

and I knelt down where I knew my pulpit would be,

and I laid hands on it, and I just begin

to speak and prophesy. I begin to say things like, Lord,

the words that are spoken from this spot, I pray

they'll penetrate the hearts of people. God.

I pray that.

Whenever a call for people to find Jesus is given

from this moment, that there will never be a time

that not at least one hand is raised.

God.

I pray that people's husbands and wives will find you,

that their kids will find you, their friends, their neighbors

will find you. And I wrote literally underneath this spot

Joshua fourteen twelve, and Joshua fourteen twelve was our rally

and cry as we went to build this building. This

is what we told everybody. I think you guys have

the verse. I'll read it from you, guys. He says,

give me that mountain that you promised me that day.

Those were words spoken by an eighty five.

Year old Caleb. He remembered the first time.

That he'd stood on that mountain and he'd looked out

at it. That was the land that God had promised

the people of Israel. They got on the cuff of

entering into the promised land. They sent in spies to

the promised land. When those spies came back, this was

the report they gave. They told Moses and all the

leaders of Israel.

They said, we can't do it.

The city is too large, it's too fortified, the people

are too strong. In fact, the direct quote in scripture

is this, we looked like grasshoppers in their eyes, and in.

Fact that's the way we felt, too.

And so they refused to go into this land that

God promised, and as a result, an entire generation died

and passed away.

And now there's new leadership.

Joshua and Caleb is the only one that's still alive that.

Went into that land and saw it. And now he's

eighty five.

This eighty five year old man comes to that point

again and he says.

There it is that is the dream, that is what

I've been holding on to. This time.

We aren't gonna chicken out this time.

God is gonna give us that mountain that he promised

us on that day.

And that that is the words that are written right

underneath this spot. When I walk out of my office,

that is right there. I walk through this hallway back

here to come on the platform to preach, and the

last picture that I see is this one that has

popped up here, and this is the picture where I

wrote this.

And every time I walk by that, I remember.

That when a group of people are willing to overcome

their fear, that when a group of people are willing

to live fearless, courageous lives, unbelievable things can happen. When

we started the church, when we came together to build

this building, you were our dream. We dreamt that this

place would be full, over and over and over again.

This was our dream. Let me describe last week. This

puts it in context. Remember, we were at church without

a home for sixteen years. We were like the Israelites

wandering in the wilderness. We were nomads. We would plant

our tent for a while, we would destroy that land,

and then we would pick and we would move somewhere else.

But we were homeless for sixteen years.

Last week, to give you an idea, Monday, we do

a dinner for free for people in this region that

are going through recovery.

While that is going on.

In our parking lot, they're giving away anywhere from five

hundred to seven hundred and fifty bags of groceries. We

do that every Monday afternoon to people in our community

who need food. Then Tuesday rolls around and we serve

another free dinner to the community in North Everett.

And then on Wednesday, this place is packed.

There's a bunch of adults in here practicing for our

Christmas concert choir. While that is happening, the youth are

obnoxiously loud in the hub. There's people meeting in classrooms

that are makeshift classrooms all around this building, learning the

Bible and growing in their faith. While all that is

going on, there's a full kids ministry happening that is

Wednesday night. On Thursday night, the Ukrainian Church that's a

part of us has a large gathering that takes place

here on Thursday night. Then the weekend comes and we

have our twentieth birthday party.

Then we lead up to a dinner. Sunday night.

Four hundred people were given a free dinner because sixty

more people showed up than it registered.

That's why we ran out of food. Register next time.

If you were here, how many of you were here

Sunday night, just raise your hand. I'm not going to

ask how many of you forgot.

A register, but.

You remember what this place looked like after Sunday night.

How many of you were thankful you got to go home?

Did you notice that it's not a mess in here anymore?

Somebody came in and cleaned all of this up, So

that was the staff too. Then. Oh, by the way,

I also forgot to mention that we also did drunk

or treat and God decided. This is in the midst

of all this that God decided to illustrate what we'd

been teaching on Sunday about the flood by bringing the

worst weather ever on trunk or treat and still two

thousand sopping wet children showed up at trunk or Treat.

We're only into a week.

Yesterday we had a big wedding because our kids pastor

got married yesterday. Not bad for a bunch of wandering nomads,

is it? What?

That's what's happened.

Since God allowed us to build this building like that's

the typical week in the lives of venture.

I was on my sabbatical.

And people have asked me over and over again, pebe,

what did God speak to you.

On your sabbatical.

You've all hated the answer because I said nothing.

I just had fun. No, no, no, surely he said something

to you. No. I didn't pray the entire time I

was on my sabbatical. Not just kidding. The Lord did

speak one thing to me, and I'm now sharing it.

I wrestled with it because I didn't want to do it.

But the one thing that the Lord said to me

was once you get back, it's time to expand the facility.

I wrestled with that one. But this incredible building.

Is packed.

We need kids space, we need classroom space, we need

office space, we need more space in the auditorium. I

knew this day was coming. I want to share with

you the verse that God spoke to me about our

next twenty years. It's a verse in Ephesians. I quoted

it last week. It's Ephesians three twenty. So when you

put into contexts that this is just the beginning, the

small beginning, that this is the foundation with which God

now wants to build on. I'm speaking this prophetically over

you now, to him who is able to do immeasurably.

I'm a math guy.

If something is immeasurable, it means you can't measure it.

To Him who is able to do immeasurably more.

Then you were able to ask.

And it's Christmas time coming. Your kids are already starting.

To ask you for what they want.

Have you noticed that we don't normally have a problem asking,

But God is able to do immeasurably more than you

ask or imagine? How many of you have a big imagination.

God's words said that He can do more, immeasurably more

then you or I ask or can even imagine, according

to His power that is at work within us. Everything

you've seen, and by the way, if you missed the

documentary that we showed Sunday night. Brandon Greenwal, our media

creative director, did just an amazing job compiling all this

archived footage and pictures and in a narrative story as

best he could, shared the twenty year story of Venture.

You can go on any.

Of our staff's Facebook pages and you can see that

YouTube link and you can watch that and it will

remind you of everything that got us to this point.

But we are putting a period on that chapter. We

are beginning to write the next chapter. And just as

a group of people had to seed into this church

so that it could get launched, just as a group

of people had to seed into this church so that

this building could get built, we are gonna need a

group of people to seed into our next twenty years.

I share this every time I do one oh one.

I say, you are reaping the benefits of seeding and

giving that was done by people that you've never met.

I said, But there's gonna come a time you were

going to get an opportunity to seed into the future.

And this is that moment, just a moment I my

worship team to come back out. They are going to

prophetically sing a worship song over you and your family.

And as they do that, the ushers are gonna come

and they are gonna give you two cards. And we

had decided when I shared with the staff, that our

fundraising was gonna be all of twenty twenty five. Now

here's the cool part. All the plans that we're moving

forward with to expand this facility. The cost is four

point five million dollars.

Because of the growth of.

The church in our current financial situation, we already have

access to three million of it, so we have.

A delta or a.

Shortfall of one point five million dollars. We had decided

that we were going to take all of twenty twenty

five and raise one point five million dollars, which, by.

The way, totally doable. Totally doable. That was the plan.

We were going to talk about it in January.

Have a year to raise the money.

Here's the anxious part about taking an entire year to

be in a fundraising campaign, because that's what you talk

about for a year, and as much as you try

to keep everybody on mission, you're constantly talking about the

fundraising campaign. And us disappointed about that, but it's a

practical reality.

Of what we knew we were going to have to do.

We had a seminar that our church was hosting from

a pastor in Minnesota. The place was full of ministers

from around the region, and it was during this that

the Holy Spirit spoke to our leadership team at our

church that we didn't want to take all of twenty

twenty five focusing on fundraising and shifting off mission, but

that we were going to try to do something that

seems way out of possibility, like that seems so ridiculous

that if it happened, only God could have done it.

And we decided that we were going to take a

miracle offering in December and see if the Holy Spirit

would move upon the people in our church to give

and give generously so that we have all of the

resources that we need to expand this facility, and we

have them before twenty twenty five rolls around. I want

you to imagine, if we come together and give a

million and a half dollars in an offering, we have

all the resources we need to expand this facility, kids ministry,

classroom space, auditorium space, better office space.

The only thing that I can't increase is the parking lot.

Maybe another shuttle.

I don't know, but I begin to imagine what if

we could do that? And then all of twenty twenty

five gets to be focused on the mission of Jesus

building his kingdom. All of twenty twenty five we got

to be encouraged because right after Easter we break.

Ground on the expansion.

I mean, our dream would be, could it be that

if we raise all this money that we have by

the end of twenty twenty five a fully expanded building,

that we.

Get to see it happen? Could that happen?

So I shared that dream with the staff, and the

staff got excited about it. Christian, who leads the staff,

looked at the staff and said that means you're gonna

have to lead the way. So I shared this with

my elder board, and I said, what do you guys think?

Is this too big of a stretch? And my elder board.

Bunch of math guys.

They started doing the math, and one of them said, well,

if one hundred families give fifteen thousand dollars.

We've done it.

If maybe, and then someone else said, well, if two

families give one hundred and fifty thousand, and these give

fifty thousand, and then this and that and everybody does something,

we can do that.

One of my board members said.

Pastor Brandon, we need to share with you what our

pledges are before you share this with the church. So

before we've even officially announced this, between the board and

the pastors, we already know that at least two hundred

thousand dollars is coming in in this offering.

But now it's your chance.

This would be a miracle that we would have to

trust Jesus with and do together. You're going to get

handed two cards, and on the back of the one

that says writing our next chapter, it says, this is

my plan. This is my vision, this is my dream.

By the way, we are not receiving pledge cards back.

This is between you and Jesus.

But I do want to challenge you to think through

this process that this is my plan.

What I mean by that, this is what I.

Know I can do, that my family can do this

by December. Maybe your plan reasonably, Maybe you're thinking I

can be one of those fifteen thousand. It'll be a stretch,

it's gonna mean things are gonna be tight, but we

could do fifteen thousand.

But then the next category is.

This is my vision, and the vision is well, if

some other things fall into place.

If Tesla keeps shooting through the roof in my stock portfolio.

If something happens, well, maybe we could give this instead.

Maybe fifteen thousand is my plan, but maybe we could

give twenty thousand. If this contract comes in, this sale

comes in, this bonus comes in. But then the final

one is this is my dream and my challenge is

every one of you here come up with a dream.

This is where you are testing Jesus. Here's what the

dream is. We all know that all the resources that

we need.

Are in God's hands, right, that.

He has the abundance of the universe and the plum

of his hands.

The dream is you saying, Lord. I don't know how

this would happen. I don't know if.

It's possible, but I think it would be really cool

if our family could give this. So, Lord, I'm asking

that you would take some of what is easily in

your hands.

I don't know how you will do it.

I don't know what miracle is going to fall into

my lap, but I'm asking that you would take some

of what is in your hands and place it in

my hands and give me the opportunity to be obedient

with it. This is you saying, God, I'm believing. I

don't know how it will happen, but my dream is

that we could give fifty thousand dollars.

It doesn't make any sense in.

It is so far beyond what my plan says I

can afford.

This would only be a miracle. But if you deposit

those funds.

In my hands, I'll be obedient with it and release it.

One of the things that I'm excited about is I'm

excited for some of you to learn this spiritual lesson.

In the next month.

You are gonna see when you ask God for something,

He's able to do immeasurably more than you ask.

Or imagine.

Many of you, you weren't given the privilege of seeding

into this building so that it would be built. Now

you're getting the privilege of seeding into the building so

that it can be expanded for the next twenty years.

So I'm gonna pray for you. The worship team is

gonna sing a song over you, and the ushers are

gonna come and they're gonna hand out these cards. Lord Jesus,

all I ask is that everyone here would participate. If

it's a dollar, if it's one hundred, thousand dollars, that

everyone would participate in God, that together we would see

the most extraordinary miracle that we have yet to see.

As a church, I claim it in Jesus' name.

Amen,