John Louk

Don’t stop meeting together with other believers, which some people have gotten into the habit of doing. Hebrews 10:25 As summer approaches and you’re looking forward to plans you’ve made, vacations, and, in general, summer fun, please remember to continue gathering for worship each week. As Christians, we gather every week to worship our God. The book, The Acts of the Apostles , tells a story about Paul on his second missionary journey. Paul was in modern-day Turkey. He and his companions had been trying to go here and there, but the Spirit kept holding them back. Then one night Paul had a dream or a vision. He saw a man from Greece pleading, “Come over here and help us.” Right away they concluded that God was calling them to a new part of the world (the West!) to share the story of Jesus. So right away Paul, Silas, Timothy, and maybe even Luke left for the coast of Turkey and boarded a boat and left the Middle East for the very first time in their lives. They sailed straight ...

It’s been nearly six years since the Flood of 2008 destroyed Salem’s downtown building. On May 18 we broke ground on an 18,000 square foot addition. What a joyous day! After the ceremonial breaking of the ground, it was fun to see the children rush to the shovels to get in on the action. There was opportunity for everyone to move some dirt and have a picture taken. We expect construction equipment to begin moving dirt at the beginning of June. Foundation work should begin about the middle of the month. There will be a very large hole in the ground with fencing around it for safety. It should be fun watching as each step moves us closer to completion. In my sermon that day, I said: “So today we break ground, and yes the building will be a tool that’s very useful for our ministry and life together, but here’s the thing: we’re not building for us. We’re building for the world: for the neighborhoods around us, for this city, for the whole world. Because this new church building will ...