How could we ever say enough thanks for 25 years! How could we even begin to thank THE GOD who has been Faithful, Povider, Healer, Waymaker and more! On September 16, 1985 Indian Creek Community Church took her first breathe of life in the form of a public worship service! And God began writing His Story of life transformation all over Olathe!
So on Thursday night, September 16, 2010 we rolled out the red carpet for all of those who were participating in A Night of Thanks!
So 25 years later to the date we wanted to honor God by honoring His Story in every story of life transformation!
What a fun and life-giving time! We invited as many of the original Indian Creek founders as we could. And thankfully some are still in the area and close enough to be here!
We were all much younger then!
Many returned to enjoy a night of food, fun and fellowship!
Three different rooms were set up with many interesting pictures of eras long since gone! Along with the pictures there was delicious and gorgeous food all around!The evening climaxed with a worship service purposefully designed to tell God's Story in His Body!
Many special guests came just to help celebrate, a wonder filled God! What a grand celebration it was! Lots of praising and shouting and telling of His goodness as He supplied in so many ways!
Before and After testimonies written on cardboard were moving expressions of people's gratitude for His narvelous work in their lives!
Only God! Only God could create SOMETHING from nothing! Only God!
I was delighted to share praise for God's incredible provision over the years! Here is my talk:
Good evening Indian Creek
What an awesome opportunity to welcome you on this 25th Anniversary to the date of the very first service at Indian Creek Community Church! 25 years ago the doors were swung open for the very first time and people were welcomed in! I welcome you here to share this evening together!
God tells us in His Word that He will do more than we can think, hope, dream or imagine and this place and His Body here testify to the overwhelming truth of that!
Ephesians 3:20 (The Message and New Living Translation)
20-21God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.
Wow! Only a God like You!! Only God could take 27 people and in 25 years multiple their efforts to more than 2500 families!
My name is Belinda Kendall and it is awe-inspiring to me that 26 years ago a small group of people dared to believe that God would provide a body of people who would be a place of grace, love and acceptance in their own community so that they might bring their families, friends, neighbors and co-workers to a place where they could come to know of such great love and provision for themselves!
It is amazing to me that they dared to believe that they could BE the Body of Christ and God would create a place of hope and healing for so many! They dared to believe that God wanted to provide through them healing for the broken hearted, freedom for the captives and life for death!
Tonight it is my pure pleasure to welcome you to a time of thanksgiving to God for His miraculous incredible transformation work in the lives and hearts of thousands! Indeed He is the One who did it and He is the one who deserves all the praise and glory!
Would you help me to give it to Him?
Truly Indian Creek’s story is His Story and His Story is our story! Tonight we will share in some time and tell just a few of the thousands of stories of God’s transforming power and work! The stories will not be in any particular order, chronological or otherwise and will be snapshots of glimpses of a few of the attributes of God! Truly God has proved Himself to be more than faithful and has provided all along the way for His people here at Indian Creek for 25 years!
Personally, for me it has been a joy to have had a front row seat for all these years to God’s continual display of Who He is—Provider! Why wouldn’t we trade our lives for a cause that would outlast us! Our family has been on this ride and witnessed God’s faithful provision for 25 years.
A story that goes way back to the beginning before there was ever a single service is the way God provided the property this building as a future home for His people!
One day Gary Kendall, my husband and Gary Burrell were having breakfast, as they often did, and eagerly anticipating the day when the small group that was meeting in a home in Olathe would become a Body of believers who would be housed in a facility that they could utilize to glorify God. The two like minded visionaries were looking for land. Afterwards Gary Burrell went out to drive some of the outlying areas in search of available property. He saw this property on Black Bob road and he thought it was the right space in the right place. He was thrilled when he learned that the owner was a good friend of his wife, Judy.
Gary investigated the land and discovered that it was a seven acre piece of property and that it was available for a very reasonable price. Gary Kendall and Gary Burrell went to look the prospective land on Black Bob road. At that time the road was a two lane road narrowing to a one lane bridge across the creek south of 127th. Across Black Bob was pasture land with cattle. Gary Kendall loved the land but was unsure if it was right because he believed God told him not to settle for less than 10 acres.
When Gary and Gary actually saw the plat for the land Gary Burrell said the property looked larger than the seven acres it was listed as. Gary Burrell felt so confident that he volunteered to pay to have the land resurveyed. And so it was! How big do you think the acreage was? Absolutely, it was NOT a mere seven but actually TEN acres! They learned that it was listed as seven because three of the acres were in the flood plain. Those could not be built upon but they could be used for a parking lot. When the owner, Leroy Ellsworth, learned about the difference he said he would sell the ten acres for the price of seven. And then Leroy decided to give seven more acres he originally planned to give to the city of Olathe for a park. All total we received 17 acres for the price of 7! Definitely a provision of God!
And the story isn’t over yet! The city decided to upgrade Black Bob road from a two lane to a four lane road. So they served Indian Creek a $52,000 road assessment fee. YIKES! There didn’t seem to be any way that this new church could pay it! Mr., Ellsworth, the owner, stepped up and gave a gift of $26,000 to pay for the extra land he gave in the first place. His reasoning was that we were a brand new church and he didn’t want the church to have to pay an assessment on the gift that he gave! He didn’t want it to cost us anything but it did cost him...
Leroy then revealed that during this whole process that when he first bought the land years earlier he imagined creating a development to the north which became Foxridge North and a development to the south which became Foxridge South. He thought to himself at that time—and right here in the middle would be a great place for a church. Over time he developed both of the other properties and even specked out this property for homes because the original purpose slipped his mind. But when Indian Creek entered the picture it all came back to him, he was moved to tears and desired to be a part of making it happen.
God has provided for Indian Creek from start to finish. God is the Provider and He is perfect in His provision. Will you join me in giving God a clap offering for being the Provider!
Oh, what a night of giving thanks to many who played a part but most of all to THE ONE GOD who transforms lives and hearts and does MORE than we can think or imagine! To HIM be the Glory forever and ever, AMEN!