10 Years of Echo

In 2009, we were planning on moving into our brand new auditorium in July after months of construction. In this transition, we thought there’d be a weekend without an open auditorium. We started asking ourselves what it would be like to take a weekend to worship God not by meeting all together, but by serving the community around us. We looked for ways to share God’s love for our community through compassionate service and constructive support. So we cancelled all our services and held a work day outside our church. Over a 1,000 people turned up to go out, even that first year!

That was the beginning. Group by group, project by project, we were introduced to the needs that schools and other non-profits have on a regular basis. We learned the ways they serve our community year round. Families served together, small groups served together, and once-strangers served together. Some of the projects were sit-down easy, and some were downright challenging. We put up bulletin boards, painted dozens of walls, had parties with kids and seniors, built garden beds and much more.

Through ECHO, we’ve gotten to know each other better as we have sought to grow our partnership with our community. The format has shifted over the years, but through it all, our hope has been that we can indeed echo the grace we receive from God, that we can reflect his love to others, one act of service at a time. When we serve this summer, that’s all we’re really doing. It’s not about us at all, but about His love towards us.

Serve at Echo