Destiny Update: Services and Facilities

“ESTABLISH THE WORK OF OUR HANDS”

We want to encourage you to set aside 10-minutes to watch the above video, where Pastor Shawn shares some pretty exciting news about some missional movement we see being birthed in the church and gives some updates about our properties. If you prefer, we’ve also included the transcript of the video below.

TRANSCRIPT OF IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO THE DESTINY FAMILY:

Greetings, 

We’ve got what we think is some really great news to share, regarding our properties, and some missional movement we see being birthed in the church. But, before we share that, we want to have a conversation about a coming shift we will be moving into starting Easter weekend: 

After lots of prayer and communication with our staff and other area pastors and leaders, we are going to make a move to a joint, combined-service at 10:00 a.m. for a season. The plan is to start on Sunday, April 4. There are several reasons, but number one on the list is: this is where we feel God leading us. 

We feel moving to one service is the right decision, for a season, because: 

1. We believe it is missional. We want to come together with a theme of “One church. One family. One cause.” On-site or online, all of us attending one service together — at the same time — will support our core value of the unity of believers. It will be good, for this season, for all of us to worship together, learn together, and grow together as a family.
2. We believe it is safe. For those who are comfortable with meeting in-person, we have been blessed with a large meeting space and plenty of room to social distance. We will continue to be diligent in sanitizing our meeting space before gatherings. Our staff is monitoring local and government guidelines for gathering and the county and state numbers for COVID.
3. We believe it will be more engaging. The emptier rooms have been for a reason this year. We understand that. And we will continue to do our best to keep improving the online live stream of our services. Keeping it of equal importance for on-site gatherings. For those of us who are gathering on-site, we know that having more people in the room helps to make the gathering feel more energetic, alive, and exciting. That’s just the reality. And when you invite guests, we want them to experience a church that is fully engaged and energized!
4. We want to support our volunteer teams. Like many non-profits and churches, volunteer teams have been depleted during this pandemic year. And thus, team leaders are having to use the same volunteers over and over, and on some teams, they are serving two services. This will relax the pressure, somewhat, on both our team leaders and on-site volunteers.
5. We believe that this move will be like an arrow pulled to tension for targeted release. We want to encourage our church family that we feel there is a coming swell. A growing reformation and revival coming to the church. And that this transition will help prepare us for the coming launch and release.

So, that said, know that our plan is for this change to be seasonal. We don’t know, now, how long this will be. But we want for us all to think, pray, and plan like we are in a church plant, right now. Getting poised and prepared for launch. That we would ask God for the gift of evangelism, to walk in boldness, roaring loud the sound of the Lion of Judah that the world is so desperate to hear. And that, when the time is ripe, that we would willfully jump, with enthusiasm, at re-engaging in an additional service, however God leads us, with an intent to reach and touch more lives and more people. 

We are reaching out to you because you are the church! You are Destiny. And we want you to pray with us as we make this turn and step into this season. 

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We also want to give an update on our buildings and facilities. Until papers are signed, everything is fluid and uncertain, of course. But we wanted to give you an update on what is happening so that you can continue to agree with us — a little bit more specifically, now — in the movement that is happening with our properties. 

Our 1011 E. Philadelphia Street property, located behind the Destiny office building, is now on a 3-month paid hold to take it temporarily off the market. A 3rd party investor’s group is partnering with Hope Center to move them from their current downtown location to that warehouse facility. The 3-month hold was put in place so that this group could work with the city and contractors to establish all that would be needed to bring the building up to code for this type of use. 

Many, many conversations have taken place between several different parties leading up to this place. We have talked with the current church neighboring Hope Center, local law enforcement, and our staff has toured the current Hope Center facilities to learn more about all they do and what it would mean for them to move into our backyard. All in all, all parties involved think that this would be a favorable move for Hope Center, their clients, and Destiny Foursquare Church. 

Hope Center, if you are unfamiliar, is a Christ-based day center whose goal is to build relationships with their clients and help provide a pathway for their clients out of poverty. They are one of the most missionally practical and impactful ministries operating in Rapid City. They help clients obtain identification cards, provide mailing services for them, provide phone and messaging service, shelter during inclement weather, with free access to computers and the Internet, free laundry services, storage services, free clothing/shoes and home and kitchenware, one-on-one personal advocacy and referrals to community resources, and give away thousands of hygiene kits. And they do all of this for anyone — of any age, ethnicity, or income level. They serve with Christ’s heart to reach those in need.

We have been praying for God to lead us into a focused missional heartbeat, even with the use of our facilities. And we think that this might very well be His answer to our prayers! Not only would this agreement be a long-term lease for our property, but this would also put us in a place where our Destiny family could very easily partner in ministry with all that God is already doing through the ministry of Hope Center. 

Additionally, our 901 E. Philadelphia tenants, who currently run a detailing business, are in discussion with us to either purchase or sign another long-term lease for that property. Praise God! 

With all of this, the transition to one-service gatherings, and all the discussions and decisions that are going on with our properties, we are asking God for favor. And for Him to “establish the work of our hands” for His glory. Contact us here if you have any questions or concerns.

Much love and respect, 

Pastors Shawn and Deanna
Lead Pastors