Success Stories

Restoration Church was founded by pastor Rob Jacobson in his basement in 2010. Over the next decade the church primarily met in a community and senior center that was operated by the city. That meant that the building was unavailable on Christmas and Easter , two of the most important days on the church calendar. This allowed Restoration to develop relationships with other local churches as they rented space to host these special services.

In 2015, Restoration began their search for a permanent home. Little did they know then that
this search would last years. As they searched, all the spaces they toured were the wrong size, wrong location, wrong pr ice point, etc. Nothing was the right fit. In June of 2019, the church had a budget surplus and voted, on an act of faith, to tithe ten per cent of the surplus to a building fund. Then Covid hit and the community and senior center they were so comfortable renting closed indefinitely. They spent the next two years leasing space from two different local churches.

During this season, a facilities task force team was formed that met regularly and interviewed members about their individual hopes for the building. The general consensus was that they wanted a space they could afford while leaving room to continue providing ministry and mission to the community. In one of these meetings in June 2022, a text was received that a local church building in the perfect location was for sale. Three days later , the team toured the property and made an offer the same day. Although there were multiple offers on the property, Restoration closed the deal. Twelve years after their founding they had a home.

As Rob stated, “We always viewed a building as a tool for ministry, now we’re learning how to steward that tool.” Years of sharing space allowed the team to quickly revision the space and turn offices into classrooms, storage closets into copy rooms, and tear down walls to expand worship space. The first ser vice was held in their building December 4, 2022 when renovations were roughly 90% complete. The following Easter Sunday, all who had helped with the renovation or been connected to Restoration throughout their history were invited. As his voice shook, Rob said the service turned into a true Thanksgiving service. A beautiful, quiet night of praise, prayer and gratitude for God’s provision.

God provided the perfect space in the perfect location at the perfect time. Rob praised Rollie throughout our conversation for his wisdom and calming presence. Rollie was able to help the church navigate the “sticky points” in the final deal and identify flaws they were blind to while they searched. Rob ended our conversation by saying how  thankful he is for God’s provision. For the volunteer contractors, incredibly generous donors, and the congregation who has kept the focus on ministry as long as Restoration has existed.