Page 8 - Grace150 Devotional

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God
must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6
We called it “Future Grace” in 2006. This was the title we gave to the
campaign to relocate and rebuild the Grace Presbyterian Church campus.
It required the sale of the Dunn Center and the church on Knoxville Avenue.
It would eventually require three separate multimillion-dollar capital campaigns
fondly known as Future Grace, Closing the Gap, and Growing Grace.
The faith lessons for us were many:
Faith that glorifies God is always God-centered. The reality is that it was never
about a new building or relocation; rather, it was about trusting God for the
future. From the beginning it was promoted as “a journey of faith.” Our faith
was not that God wanted us to have a new building, but that God would glorify
Himself in the journey.
Faith in God unites God’s people. My greatest joy in this project was not to see
the building completed (that was more a feeling of relief!), but to see everyone
contributing to the success of the project.
Faith that glorifies God always leads to thanksgiving. Sheri and I now live on the
other side of the world. Perth, Australia is really far away from Peoria, Illinois, but
we still rejoice to hear about the work God is doing at Grace Presbyterian Church.
We continue to thank God for Grace.

Father, we know that You exist and that You faithfully reward those who seek
You. May we draw near to You, as we look in faith to a grace-filled future.
– Ben Johnston

Ben served as senior pastor at Grace from 2000-2012. He and his wife, Sheri, reside in Perth,
Australia where Ben is lead pastor of Subiaco Church.

DAY 1 grace 150