A Story of
God's Provision for
Three Rivers Church

Three Rivers Church has been looking for ground since before it began in October 1996. On October 30, 2002 God provided for us in the fashion of Ephesians 3:20, doing "immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us." Or in the words of some of the excited members, "God's finger prints are all over this property."

We have been circling around this 36 acres for three years. One real estate agent was unable to get a response from the absentee owners who live in California, so we looked at lots of other property. Then a local resident, unwilling to sell us his land at a reasonable price, pointed out this same piece as "the one your church needs to buy," but no one could get the P.O. Box in California to respond. So, we looked elsewhere. Knocking on doors on the other side of the DuPage River, Mrs. Gjerke said that a realtor friend could help us. (We had a realtor so we didn't bother calling.) Her realtor friend called us. Imagine our surprise when we found out that he had the unadvertised listing for the 36 acres on the DuPage we had been investigating.

Through a series of events we ended up getting an approved offer on the ground in April, 2002 for $540,000. That's a great price until you realize that 31 acres are in flood plain. But we were looking for that in order to get cheaper land on which to build ball fields for recreation and outreach. We became discouraged when the required annexation fee of $90,000 would not be waived as requested. In addition, the village of Plainfield was also requiring the church to reconstruct and improve the 1300 feet of Rolf Road on the northern perimeter at the estimated cost of $300,000. The cost of the land was now approaching $1,000,000,000. It was getting out of the question. Except…it was the perfect location to fulfill the vision of the pastor: 25 acres of land on the DuPage River with good visibility. (The western boundary of the property is Illinois State Route 59, being widened from two to five lanes.) Coincidentally, one our members, an engineer, had intimate knowledge of the property because he and his firm had engineered a 10 feet wide regional bike path that crossed the property. That path would cross the river in the middle of the southern property line, the DuPage River, and continue along the river until it connected with Joliet in the south and Naperville in the north.

A number of dynamic circumstances converged in the few weeks preceding the October 30 closing. The congregation went on an emotional roller coaster ride with week-to-week announcements of success and failure, until the leader of the Long Range Planning Task Force, Carl Hauert, announced that unless God did something we were going to walk away from the property. On October 1 we had no contract. The deal was dead, but God was alive and working.

The first break along the way was a concession from the village board, at the recommendation of the village administrator, to apply the $90,000 of annexation fees toward the reconstruction of Rolf Road. That helped, but the combined costs were still beyond our projected budget. Next, at a Saturday "chance" meeting with a local state senator, several of our members told our church's tale of difficulties securing the property. He offered to help if he could, and suggested the pastor come see him. The next Monday the pastor, unannounced and without appointment, showed up at his office at 9:00 a.m. asking for 15 minutes to tell his story. Two and one-half hours later the pastor walked out with renewed hope. The state senator had awarded the village of Plainfield a $150,000 grant from his personal initiative funds for the reconstruction of the intersection of Rt. 59 and Rolf Road. The church became incidental beneficiaries of the grant. (Plainfield would get the grant regardless of who owned the property.) We went back to the owners to renegotiate the price of the land because of the burden of "real costs" associated with its purchase. They let the contract expire. The next day, the state senator called to get an update on the property. He was interested because his "moral compass" told him Plainfield needed an Evangelical Free church with the vision we had to reach out into the community. The pastor said he was glad the senator had a moral compass, and that he used it. However, the contract had lapsed and the property was back on the market with two interested buyers. He asked if the pastor could come to his office the next day. He thought he could help.

The next day, the pastor was there promptly to witness the director of the park district receiving a $500,000 grant from the state of Illinois, from a languishing fund in the 2001 budget, ear-marked for the "purchase of open ground on the DuPage River." (That precisely described the land we were pursing.) After the award, the senator asked if the church would be interested in selling part of the 36 acres to the park district which would now have sufficient funds to purchase extra land. The pastor said he favored the arrangement but would have to go through the proper church channels to get this approved. (Several months prior to that, the church had already come to verbal agreement with the park district to have joint-use of the ball fields in exchange for their capital investment to develop and then maintain the fields.) The elders and the Long Range Planning Task Force met and agreed. We agreed to sell the eastern nine acres encompassing the two soccer fields for enough to cover the estimated cost of the finishing what the state grant doesn't cover of the Rolf Road reconstruction. Our attorney and realtor were also present at that evening meeting. We quickly put a new contract together for the full price of $540,000 and faxed it to California. It was accepted. The congregation unanimously approved the purchase at a special meeting on October 13, 2002. On October 30 we closed on the property. By God's grace and provision, it will be paid for by the end of 2004. We hope to begin construction of the first phase of the building in 2005.

We had a tremendous day of celebration and dedication on November 3, 2002, the Sunday following the closing. Three newspapers covered the "heady day", giving great credit to God, Our Provider. The congregation is still "pumped". What do we say about this, as we smile and catch our breath? "…to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." (Eph.3:21)