Antioch Tempe is on the Move!

So we just finished our second service in our new space.  We were meeting in our home for the first 9 weeks but we had more than outgrown the house.  We desperately needed a new place and God opened the doors for us to meet right across the street from campus on Mill Avenue in the Tempe Woman's Club building.  It's perfect for what we need right now and it's been so fun to be in a place where we have more room!

One fun testimony from the move was this...in the house, we were so packed in that there was never any room for anyone to respond (go to the front for prayer, get on their knees, etc).  So we really felt like we needed to move even if just to give space for that (though we also were starting to need more room for people to sit as well).  Anyway--during our first service in the new place after Trav preached he explained the response time...and the front was flooded with people who wanted prayer or just wanted to respond to God in a more personal, demonstrative way.  We were so encouraged!!

A couple of people asked me if it was bittersweet to be ending the first "season" of our church by moving out of our house...and as much as I loved opening our home and meeting here, there was no "bitter" in the move!  It was all sweet!  I will always love and cherish those early days...but I don't know that I'll forget how crazy those Sundays were trying to get everything ready to roll for church.  (especially since we did dinner here for everyone every week...it was crazy.)

I tried to document our last service with pictures but didn't do a great job...mainly because the oven caught on fire at the end of the service with dinner in it!  (it was ok...we used my neighbors oven and everyone got to eat.  yikes!)

prayer before the service

getting the food ready

worship practice

sending reminder texts about church tonight

the first antioch kids "room"

our friendly greeters! (canela,,,and emily at the door)

this pic was actually taken at our first service in the house...
this shows this front half of the room

what's left of the food!

 my girls have really loved having church at their house,

but they were excited for the change too.
tonight we pulled up for church at the new building and
Gracie said, "my church!"

sarah grace, ellie, and their friend ellie grace

And here are pics of the new place!  We're believing it to be a place where we see God meet us and radically change us.  A place where students can easily find us.  A place where community is established and lifelong friends are made.  Lord do it in our midst!  We can't wait to see it unfold!

ellie and shelly greeting

So here we go!  From Riviera Dr to Mill Ave...and from here who knows?  But we LOVE this next location God has called us too.  And are expectant to see what he does here!