Building Update from Patterson

It's starting to get very real! I'll confess that as we were about 30 minutes away from Patterson yesterday morning, my heart started beating quickly and I got butterflies in my stomach. I realized that we were getting ready to take a crucial step forward in the planting of Golden Valley Baptist Church in Patterson. Not only were we getting ready to put some money where our mouth was, but we were also getting ready to make some decisions that would have a tremendous impact on the success of this new church plant. I definitely wanted God's direction and blessing on the decisions of the day. I was thankful to know that so many of God's people were praying for our trip yesterday. It was certainly a profitable trip.

We were able to accomplish five goals for the day (besides eating at String's Italian Cafe!) . . . . . .

1. Get a P.O. Box for the church - P.O. Box 1358 Patterson, CA 95363
2. Get some items for our display table
3. Find out information for advertising Golden Valley Baptist Church - We discovered that there is really one main way to reach the city of Patterson, and that is the local paper. It only goes out once a week, but it goes out to every home in Patterson.
4. Make some good contacts as we had several lengthy conversations with residents of Patterson. They were pleasant, neighborly, helpful and friendly. It was truly a pleasure to visit with them.
5. Check out about 14 possible locations for services

• the conference facilities of the local Best Western (very nice, but pricey and limiting)
• the public school system (application submitted)
• a business park (very nice, but too big in size and cost for getting started)
• three private schools (all dead ends)
• the local Grange Hall (still waiting for information)
• a Spanish Baptist Church (still waiting for information)
• six store fronts (one too big, one two small - three others are pictured below - my camera battery died right before we looked at the last one)

My favorite store front is privately owned by a man in the Bay Area. I was not able to get inside, but had a good talk with the owner. We are looking to meet in Patterson in the next couple of weeks so that I can look around inside. This is about 1,500 square feet. It is basically one large room with two bathrooms in the back and a small office. It has recently been remodeled and we would have the freedom to improve it as necessary. The price is very good. It is right off of downtown Patterson and has great parking. The owner is also willing to go month-to-month.

Use blue arrows to look around area. This is the place that I would really like to meet.
View Larger Map

My second favorite is owned by the same man and is two doors down from the one above. It has the same basic features, but is only 1,440 square feet. It is also configured just a little differently. I was able to see into this one a little better. I have included a couple more pictures of this one below. Also, there are several pictures of the area surrounding the strip mall with these two store fronts. I am going to ask the owner if we will sign a lease if he will allow us to begin working inside during March and begin paying rent in April. Please pray for that.

My third favorite was another store front that is right behind City Hall. It is about 1,600 square feet and definitely the cheapest pricing. It has several rooms that could be used as a foyer, Sunday School rooms, and a nursery. The downsides are that the building is pretty old, the parking is limited, the front entrance is very understated, the whole building is hidden from drive by traffic. The owner also wants a 1-year lease at minimum. The biggest problem is that the only room that would hold a service is not very large.

Entrance at back of Sheriff's car