After nearly nine years of holding church services at Sultan High School, Crosswater Community Church is finally home.
The congregation took possession of the former Sultan Community United Methodist Church property, at 212 Birch St., in Sultan, in February. The corner lot includes a church and a parking area, plus the house that formerly served as the church parsonage. The buildings were a bit worse for wear, so Crosswater members have been busy the past five months, painting, cleaning, repairing and renovating ' all with the goal of breathing new life into the space and making it their own.
Associate Pastor Jon Merwin said it's been a gradual transformation. Their first priority was to remodel the former parsonage, which now serves as office space and a conference room. Up until now, church operations were managed out of a modest suite of offices on Sultan's Main Street.
Once they transitioned into the new office space, they were able to go to work on the church.
So far, they've painted walls and ceilings, installed new carpet, created a new children's area and outfitted the space with new lighting and sound systems.
"It's very exciting,GÇ¥ Merwin said. "We're very excited about the opportunity to do ministry all week long and have a spot to do it in.GÇ¥
Crosswater Lead Pastor Aaron Day said the work has been representative of the church's mission in the community, which is to help people restore their lives through faith.
"We're trying to help people come back to life. I think this building is a good picture of that, because it looked all bad and it was falling apart and we've been able to fix it,GÇ¥ Day said. "We're going to use it to help fix up people.GÇ¥
The first event held in the new space was Crosswater's Cave Quest vacation bible school July 11GÇô15, which served around 85 kids with worship, snacks and activities. The church followed that up with its first Sunday service in the building on Sunday, July 17.
It's still a work in progress, Day and Merwin said. In addition to continuing to work on the inside of the building, they plan to paint the exterior in mid-August, create an outdoor patio area and improve the parking lot. They hope to be done in time for the official, grand unveiling of the new facility Sept. 9GÇô11.
The grand opening coincides with the church's nine-year anniversary in Sultan.
Day lives in Sultan with his wife, Cathy. The couple has 11 children, seven of whom still live at home. The family is well-known for its community advocacy, and was honored in the 2014 Sultan Summer Shindig Parade. Residents of the Sky Valley for 19 years, Aaron and Cathy were among a team of around 70 adults who came to Monroe with Pastor Nate Hettinga to start Cascade Church in 1997.
"That was my first full-time ministry,GÇ¥ Day said.
The Days led the youth program for the church, which Aaron transitioned out of after about seven years to focus on outreach. Eventually, Hettinga and other leaders started contemplating the need for a church in Sultan, which intrigued, but also scared Day. He struggled with the decision, but chose not to let fear overshadow his underlying desire to honor God. After discussing it with Cathy, the two agreed to move their family to Sultan.
They brought Merwin and his family along for the ride.
"I begged Jon to come with me,GÇ¥ Day said. "If he wasn't my co-pastor, I wouldn't make it.GÇ¥
Day and Merwin make up Crosswater's pastoral team, along with Josh Moser, the worship pastor.
The name Crosswater was partly inspired by the bridge coming into Sultan, which crosses over the confluence of the Skykomish and Sultan rivers. It was also inspired by the Bible, said Day. Jesus walked on water, the Red Sea was parted by Moses and the Jordan River was parted at flood stage by priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant.
"In the Bible, anytime water's being crossed, it's miraculous,GÇ¥ Day said.
Initially, they planned to have services at Sultan Elementary School, but that fell through. They used the Sultan Boys & Girls Club as a temporary placeholder before settling in at the high school, where they worshipped for the past nine years. Now it is a season of change for the church, as they seek to grow and reach even more people.
The transformation has been recognized with a new logo that includes the image of a bridge, a literal and figurative symbol. They strive to be bridge-builders, Day said.
"We want to build bridges between people, but most of all between people and God,GÇ¥ Day said.
Crosswater Community Church members give back to the community exhaustively and are involved in numerous community events throughout the year. They volunteered all weekend during Sultan's Summer Shindig festival, collecting garbage and keeping the streets clean. They are involved in the FLAME Mission, a multi-congregational program for families that performs outreach.
They have sought to help the homeless, by providing food, showers and offering encouragement.
"We want people to remember that they're precious to God,GÇ¥ Day said. "We believe that everybody's an image bearer of God, and we want people to know that. We want people to know that he loves them ' he doesn't hate them.GÇ¥
Serving the disenfranchised will continue to be a priority for Crosswater. Day and his pastoral team have witnessed transformation, and hope to experience more.
"If you help somebody remember that they're human, remember that they're valuable, that actually might help them,GÇ¥ Day said.
In addition to being able to serve more completely, the new space will allow Crosswater to hold classes and take a more comprehensive approach. Day is excited to work with those who are looking for more in terms of their faith.
"There's people who want to go deeper in their faith,GÇ¥ Day said. "They feel like Sunday morning is good, but they want something more, and so now we can actually do that too.GÇ¥
Crosswater is grateful to the Sultan School District, the maintenance staff and the school board for allowing the church to operate there for nine years.
"They loved having us in there and we loved being there,GÇ¥ Day said. "They did an amazing job of making it affordable for us.GÇ¥
He is hopeful that the new space will help more people find, cultivate and grow their faith.
"We need it so much,GÇ¥ Day said. "Not just this community, but our world.GÇ¥
Crosswater Community Church is hosting a free community movie night 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, at the Sultan Gazebo. "ZootopiaGÇ¥ will be shown, and there will be free food, games and inflatables. For more information on Crosswater Community Church, visit www.crosswaterchurch.org.Photos by Chris Hendrickson Sultan's former Methodist Church still looks a bit worn out on the outside, but its inside has undergone a complete transformation.
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