Help us get to Pilot Mill in 2021

(Choose Blount St. Building Fund from the drop-down menu)

What a journey it has been for Emmaus in 2020! In January the congregation of Pilot Baptist Church voted to close their doors and gift us their property at 1012 North Blount Street. It took nine months to work through all the technicalities, but in September everything was finally settled, the closing paperwork was signed, and Emmaus Church had our first permanent address - in downtown Raleigh no less! In honor of our new neighborhood, we rechristened ourselves “Emmaus at Pilot Mill”, and stood amazed at God’s goodness.

As we reflected on that goodness, we were reminded that Emmaus Church has been the vision of many people. God spoke in the mountains of Hawaii, called people to “interest meetings” in Portland, gathered a new congregation through outdoor services in Cary, and finally gave Emmaus a beautiful temporary home in the Cary Arts Center for the past seven years. He used neighborhood prayer walks with dogs, visions of steeples, words about “free” buildings, and brought it all together even in the midst of a pandemic. With God, all things are possible.

While we are thankful for this gift of a permanent physical home, the most precious thing that God has given us besides Jesus Himself is you - the extended Emmaus family. (2 Cor. 3:2-3). It is your prayers, giftings, participation and unselfish giving that have brought us to this point. We recognize that God has already given each of you as a gift, and He will be faithful to supply our needs through you.

Looking forward, we now stand at the cusp of a new chapter in the life of Emmaus Church. It is amazing to see how God has stitched Emmaus into a story of faithfulness that began over 100 years ago in the Pilot Mill neighborhood. We are humbled by the story of those who have gone before us, and we recognize the privilege God has given us to partner with Him to extend the Kingdom heritage in this neighborhood. That privilege is both weighty and joyous.

Now the fun part. We are getting very excited as we begin to meet new neighbors and we look forward to beginning our weekly worship services in our new home. Unfortunately, as is so often the case, we have some significant work to do before that can happen. The buildings are old, the roof leaks, we need modern bathrooms, there is asbestos in the hallway, and many windows were covered over for security in the 1980s. While we have an address and a place to do ministry, there are simply some things we *must* take care of in order to love our brand-new neighbors well. The bottom line is that we need to make our new Emmaus home as inviting as possible so that everyone in our new Pilot Mill community feels welcome.

To that end, we have been working hard for many months and our phase 1 renovation plans are almost complete, a general contractor has been lined up, and we have a lender ready to work with us to make it happen. That is the good news. The less good news is that we have already spent $95,000 to get to this point – architects, engineers, and lawyers are expensive – and we estimate we need more than $125,000 more to cover all the other stuff not included in the architect’s plans, but necessary to have our first service. For example, we will need chairs, A/V equipment, furniture & toys for Emmaus Kids, landscaping, parking resources, and new signage just to name a few categories. In addition, we are going to need some good old fashioned “sweat equity”, and to that end, we will prepare a list of projects that our people can undertake to make this new property our home.

Just as God birthed a vision to plant a church in Raleigh, called some to leave Oregon, and supplied every need along the way, we are confident that he will finish His good work (Phil. 1:6) God has provided this property, and so we know that He will be faithful to provide for these extra expenses too. The wonderful part is that He is stirring us all to join Him in what He is doing in Raleigh and throughout the Triangle.

There are many of you who have done a lot of heavy lifting in the life of Emmaus. You pulled up roots, tilled the soil and planted the seeds, but it is God who has been growing the harvest this whole time! (1 Cor. 3:6) Just like the life of Christ in Matthew's gospel, we have our seasons of obscurity, calling, wilderness and ministry--we know we are moving into a new season and so we invite you to partner with us as He expands His kingdom in downtown Raleigh.

If you would like to continue to partner with God in and through Emmaus we would ask you to do 3 things:

Pray with us--We are seeking his face for a generation of faithful impact through our church family in our community.
Participate with us--We would love to have your gifts, abilities, and dreams for our community.

Through November Emmaus donations are down $30,000 compared to this time last year, so the need is real but expected - this percentage of giving shortfall is in every sphere of our world right now. Let us reiterate that the timing of launching into a project like the Pilot church remodel is completely God’s timing. We would never have chosen the timetable for how God has worked in our midst for the last 2 years, yet we know a God who sits outside of time and sees the end from the beginning and the beginning from the end. Therefore, we supernaturally trust his timing and simply ask you to seek his face and give according to his abundance as you discern your year-end giving as a family.

We are fully aware of the awkwardness of asking for “extra giving” at the end of a year like 2020 and know that “make sacrifices” has been a subtitle for many of you throughout this difficult year. So even as we make the needs of the corporate Emmaus body known, we want this to be a two-way street and ask that you let us know if there are specific needs for your family this holiday season. We want to help!

We thank you all for your part in the Emmaus story, past, present, and future.

God bless you.

Micah, Ken, and Erik

P.S. Some of you may have the option to donate appreciated stock. If so, we can accept these donations through our Etrade account. Please contact ken@emmausrdu.com if you want transfer instructions.