All the way from Pullman

This group of students were talking about wanting to do something to help the homeless but just did not know what to do. One of the girls saw the article in the Spokesman Review about our Superbowl Party and shared it with her group. They called us and said they wanted to come all they way from Pullman to  help.

Well the came, they worked hard in the kitchen and some of them even ventured out among the homeless in the big room. Way to go Pullman Group! 

Rob shared with them how what they were doing really was making a difference for the Kingdom. Each week seeds are planted, watered and tended with love and respect. You just never know from week to week what conversations will happen and who may have a heart that is ready.  Each week we are creating a safe place, providing a good meal and are there to care and listen and encourage. It is a long road to freedom in Christ for most of these folks and they come to us very jaded because they have heard the gospel or parts of it over and over again.
We have had some of them share with us statements like how many time do I need to get saved to get a blanket or a warm meal. In our house no one is beating them with the gospel - we are living it before them as we demonstrate the love of Jesus in tangible ways.

Thank you Pullman Group you were a blessing!

Chicken Soup for 200

Chicken Soup, Cheese Bread and Salad - Yumm!

Chicken Soup for 200

First You Need a Really BIG pot

This meal was yummy!
You will notice the really Big pot that we have added to our kitchen to make cooking these Big quantities of food a little easier.

Rachael Reaches Out

 by Rachael Grafmiller Swanson on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 7:48am

About a year ago, my husband and I had just finished the book, A Hole in the Gospel by Richard Sterns who is the president of World Vision. For a long time now I have always wanted to be a part of Gods kingdom in a big way I just need to get off my butt and do something! Reading this book is just what we needed! Anyway for those of you who don't know World Vision is an organization that helps orphans mostly in other countries. I have felt that there's a big mission opportunity in our own country and it's in our streets and neighborhoods.



We thought we'd start by trying a little church downtown on the corner of Division and second (First Covenant) and we have been there ever since. Our humble little church is doing big things for the Kingdom through the downtown poor. We have witnessed restoration and healing first hand amongst the poorest and forgotten on Spokane’s streets. On Sundays about 3:00 pm the church feeds somewhere between 100 to 200 homeless. When I am in the gym eating with the homeless and listening to their stories with compassion, I feel closer to Jesus than at any time in my walk.



We have also witnessed not only emotional healing, but physical as well. The pastor’s wife had felt that the Lord was telling her, for about a year that she had a kidney for a lady in our congregation that had been suffering badly. She really did not want to do it and the chance that they would even be a match is very marginal since one is Hawaiian and the other is European. It got to the point where finally the pastor’s wife had to obey, she knew God wanted her to donate her kidney, so she went for all the tests and there is quite a procedure just make sure that they were a match and they were.

She is now short one Kidney and the recipient has a normal healthy life back. Praise God!



We don’t have a full band and worship team to offer, our pastor has an amazing voice and sings with soul while strumming his acoustic guitar accompanied by bongo drums, reminiscent of Bible camp….

Sometimes the sanctuary is cold because we lack the funds to repair our heating system so we worship in winter jackets and see our breath as we sing.

Homeless people have been known to wander in looking for shelter and someone to care. The occasional repentant prostitute sits in our pews.

We are raw, we are real, and I will say that this is one of the most authentic churches I have attended, but few visitors stay for we lack a stage show or a fancy children’s program.



Our church has a rich history with 120 years of ministry, "thank you Lord." Over the years times have changed, what once was a thriving church is now struggling. Our members are mostly downtown poor with little to tithe. But Lord is working on the corner of 2nd and Division, because in the last year I have seen it myself, healing from drugs and alcohol to physical diseases, the homeless getting jobs and back into homes. There are few workers and thin finances but we truly feel that the Lord is working in this ministry.



If you have been seeking more than just doing church service and Bible study, and you feel the Lord is speaking to you the way he was us about moving on and seeking a smaller close knit church that is also working hard to be the hands and feet of Jesus in a broken world and ministering and loving the poor and forgotten. If you feel this message is speaking to you for a reason, we welcome you to join us on a Sunday and see what we are about. Service is at 10:30 am on Sundays I hope to see you there sometime. We just need more help, if the spirit leads you, please come and shine the light of Jesus in a place that needs all the love it can get, time is running out for us and I would hate to see such an amazing ministry come to an end.



Mostly we are requesting that you please pray for our church and direction for us in these uncertain times.

Also pass this along to your Christian friends, who knows who the Lord has in mind for our church…



Yours in Christ,



Dusty & Rachael Swanson

This Ain't No Hell's Kitchen

This Ain't Hell's Kitchen

Don't ya just love that title. If you have ever watched Hell's Kitchen it is the extreme opposite of what you will experience in our kitchen. I'm not saying you won't work hard and that you might not be a bit stressed to accomplish your task on time or that we don't expect to serve great food.
You will not have an ego maniac chef or anyone in the kitchen screaming at you, or putting you down. We operate our kitchen with love, respect and a lot of fun.