Pelzer Campus Update #1

Author: Pastor Mark Tolan 

Hey ALIVE Family! It's great to be back. My name is Mark Tolan, and I'm the new Campus Pastor for our Pelzer Campus. I am thrilled to be a part of ALIVE and can't wait to see what God is going to do here in Pelzer through ALIVE. It is truly amazing to see how God works. My wife Erin and I were privileged to be a part of ALIVE at its beginning. Erin was a Freshman at Southern Wesleyan University and new to the area, and I was a High School Senior who had grown up at Central First Wesleyan when the ALIVE service started. Now, God has brought us full circle, and here we are again!

I wanted you to know that not only are Erin and I thrilled to be part of the ALIVE family, but the rest of your church family here at the Pelzer Campus is also thrilled! Our family was able to come down and visit in July for Pelzer's first Sunday as part of ALIVE. You could feel the excitement in the room as people began to gather for worship. God did not disappoint! The Spirit showed up unmistakably throughout the worship service. Even the nursery workers told me that they could feel that something special was happening in service. I walked away from that experience with a deep sense that God had just put his stamp of approval on this new adventure.

Since then, a lot has been happening. Plans are already rolling for a major remodel. We've painted the outside of both buildings, and they look great. These external changes have caught the attention and excitement not just of church members but of the community as well. The painters have told us people have come by to ask them what is happening. We even got recognized by a local Facebook group called "I'm from Pelzer." The community is noticing the changes happening. 

With renovation plans underway, we moved out of our worship space and into the adjacent Fellowship building for our Sunday services. Last Saturday, we had a fantastic group of people prepare one building for renovations and retrofit the other building for a temporary worship space. We even had a few who couldn't make it Saturday come out during the week to work. We have an excited and committed group of people. They worked hard and did a great job to make sure our first service in the Fellowship building was successful.

This week we had some much-needed roof repair work and brand-new shingles. Next week, we will start to see changes happening inside the building as well. There are so many exciting physical changes happening to the church. However, the excitement goes much deeper than just the outward changes. For example, a couple of weeks ago, I met a first-time guest. She shared how she found her way to the Pelzer Campus because she believes in the mission and vision of ALIVE and heard that Pelzer was joining ALIVE, and she wanted to be a part of that mission. This woman's testimony is just one of many as folks are excited about being a part of this church community. 

The folks at the Pelzer Campus have a catch phrase that they say often and believe deeply. They say, "The best is yet to come!" And we are believing and praying for God's best. Will you pray and believe with us? 

I look forward to sharing more of how God is working in the near future! It's great to be ALIVE!