For those who don't know, we have sold our old buildings and property and relocated one mile south to a beautiful, brand new facility. We have doubled our square footage and parking, and have plenty of room for expansion. Our first service in the new building (and our public grand opening) was Sunday, October 1, 2006.

We started the day at 9:00 a.m. with a brief "Say Goodbye to the Old Building" service at the old church. It was emotional and touching as we reflected on what God had done in what was an abandoned pool hall when it was claimed for Christ and turned into a church. Following that service we drove in procession to the new building for our grand opening service at 10:00 a.m.

VIP guests included Dr. James O. Combs, Dr. Keith Bassham, Gary Longstaff of KWFC radio, and Christian recording artist Buddy Mullins. Sunday morning the place was packed nearly to capacity. We had over 500 in attendance and the service was electric. I brought the message and when the invitation was given the altars were packed. When the dust had settled, three adults had come to faith in Christ and seven adults joined the church.

Sunday night we had a celebration banquet and concert for the church family. Again we were full to capacity. Jim Combs/G.I. Barber had the audience in stitches as he performed his now famous parody sermon, "The Biblical Doctrine of Hairology." At 80+ years old, he's still got it. Following this, Buddy Mullins did a sixty minute concert that held the people spellbound. What a talented performer and humble servant of God.

All systems (lighting, sound, video, HVAC, etc.) worked perfectly. There were zero visible glitches which is a minor miracle in its own right. (One non-visible glitch was me locking myself out of my office ten minutes before service time, with my Bible, sermon notes, mic, and suit coat inside. A deacon went through the ceiling and over the wall -- problem solved. Thanks, Mike.)

Thanks first of all to our Lord who made it all possible, and for whom it was done. Thanks to the people of Graceway who prayed and worked and sacrificed to make the dream a reality. Thanks to my friend Rick Blue for his encouragement and expertise in the area of capital stewardship campaigns. Thanks to my friend David Stokes who kept me on track during some dark days of staff transition. Thanks to my father in the ministry, Ken Adrian, who has taught me and mentored me and never fails to encourage me and tell me he's proud of me. And thanks to the many veteran pastors who coached me through this process (Pastor Randall Moody and Pastor James Sewell were especially patient and helpful).

The completion of this building marks not an ending, but rather the beginning of what I know will be the greatest time of harvest in the history of this ministry. As we praise God for our new church home we're already looking ahead to our phase-two sanctuary and beyond.

I don't know why God in His grace would choose to use me, or any of us for that matter. But I say with Paul, "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry."