Dear Church,
Recently I have put a lot of energy into looking at the time God told Moses to take the Israelites into the Promised Land compared to when God told Joshua the same thing. Both heard from God. Both sent spies. Both received promising reports of what was in the land. However, only the group with Moses allowed fear to come between them and the fulfillment of the promises God had for them.
I have often wondered why the spies were sent at all. Did Moses and Joshua doubt what God had said? I don’t think so. I think they knew exactly what God had told them to do each time. So why send the spies? Maybe they were looking for a military advantage or just to learn the geography they didn’t know yet. Maybe they just had some questions about what this was going to look like and they wanted to bring any possible clarity to the situation.
Church, we find ourselves now at the edge of a “Promised Land.” We have been given the opportunity to sell this building and find something somewhere else. This book will lay out why the staff and elders are presenting this to you to be voted on in a special called business meeting on May 3, 2026 after worship. However, this book is just preliminary work done by some spies. What we need more than anything is to know what God is saying to his church.
If God is saying to stay then we must stay and know that he will provide every need that we have. If God is saying to go then we must go and it doesn’t matter how easy or hard it will be; it doesn’t matter how long it will take; it doesn’t matter how scary it might be to not know everything for the future. The job of the spies isn’t to confirm the word of the Lord, but rather to help us move forward no matter what the Lord might say.
Please know that I was as surprised as you when I was first made aware of this opportunity. There is so much that we don’t know but there is only one thing we need to know. What is God saying? Between now and May 3rd I am inviting you to pray, listen and discern the move of the Spirit for his church. I believe God will make things abundantly clear and I can’t wait to see what God has for us on the other side.
In Him,
Pastor Tim
From the Staff and Elders:
After the potential buyer reached out to Pastor Tim a meeting was scheduled with the Council of Elders and the staff on Friday, February 27th. That meeting was simply designed to have Pastor Tim share the information and enter into a time of prayer, fasting and discernment. The staff and elders met again on Monday, March 9th to discuss how God was speaking. The favorable unity of that meeting could not be dismissed. Those around the table said things like, “I have peace about this” and “this is the time” and “Yes, Lord.”
We recognize the difficulties held within this possibility. We have wrestled with this in our meetings. We recognize the incredible faithfulness that God has shown this church while being in this building. Many of our own steps of faith have memories in the rooms of this building. Yet at the same time, we also see the time, attention and financial resources it is taking to maintain it.
There is no doubt that the leadership of HFC, both current and throughout the last 50 years, have been outstanding stewards of this building. Almost every room has been adapted to fit the ministry needs that have been required. It has been home, not just to HFC, but to multiple churches, ministries and Jesus-centered events. We have squeezed every penny of ministry use out of what God has entrusted to us. Now we must listen to discern if God would have us steward his resources in a different place. Would that be the most effective way to use his resources? Is that where he is leading us?
We, the staff and elders of HFC are in favor of presenting this opportunity to the congregation and unanimously recognize the move of God in this direction.
Tim Gould, Chair
Helen Jocco, Vice-Chair
Brian Cudnik, Secretary
Bill Wright
Michael Melton
Ramona Colas
Boyce Erwin
Sarah Mathewes
David Rivera
Naomi Dingle