Colville United Methodist Church

A Message from Our Pastor, Don Swanson

I was a college Theology professor for 12 years and have served as a pastor since 1994.  I am in awe of God’s grace and guiding hand and have often experienced answers to prayer at critical junctures in my life.  I am a devoted, though flawed, disciple of Jesus Christ and have the highest respect for the authority of Scripture as a reliable and exciting guide for faith and life.  I recognize the danger of offering dangerously simple-minded answers to bafflingly complex objections to the Christian faith.  My passion is to help the disillusioned find enough satisfying answers for their doubts to reinvigorate their spiritual quest.

 My sermon preparation begins with the assumption that one-third of my congregation almost decided to sleep in last Sunday.  So in each sermon, I strive to incorporate fresh practical insights into Scripture and memorable stories that bring these insights to life.  My task is to enable the congregation to face the challenges of the next week with healthier attitudes and new strategies for living.  My goal is not just to communicate the truth, but to find the style of communicating the truth that makes the difference.  Needless to say, my sermons do not always achieve this purpose, but I treasure this goal as a motivational focus.   

Theological understanding often provides just enough spirituality to inoculate us against the real thing.  The “real thing” manifests itself through truly life-changing experiences of God’s grace, guidance, and intervention.  My task is to help people become receptive to a vibrant relationship with Christ.  This relationship must be cultivated in the fertile soil of the spiritual attitudes, expectations, and disciplines that enable such sacred experiences to blossom when they are watered by the Holy Spirit.

 Our early service ( 8:30-9:30 am ) is shorter and more youth-oriented than our second service.  The service at 8:30am features high-energy praise choruses with guitar and drum accompaniment.  Careful attention is paid to the quality of the lyrics of these contemporary choruses.  Nursery care is available for both services.

 Got questions that have never been answered to your satisfaction?  We’ll build a whole service or small group discussion around your burning issues and questions.  A complementary small group is available for this purpose for those attending our early service.  This group will also help visitors to make new friends and experience emotional and prayer support for their needs.

 Our second service ( 10:30-11:45am ) blends contemporary praise choruses with traditional hymns and creative liturgy and occasionally incorporates drama and skits.  The joys and concerns publicly expressed during our prayer time demonstrate our status as an intimate family that genuinely empathizes with the trials and afflictions of our members.  We marvel and revel in God’s answers to our passionate prayers.  Come and feel the difference!

 Our church actively supports local and international missions.  But we do not simply strive to save disembodied souls; rather, we are determined to minister to the whole person.  To that end, we maintain a generous Love Fund to meet the needs of the poor and have opened our church doors to several of our community’s social programs:  Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Habitat for Humanity, Senior Citizens, Blood Bank, Headstart, Dogs for the Deaf, Daily Vacation Bible School , Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and Cub Scouts.  In addition, our church has an active youth program.  Our people find spiritual support in Bible studies and other small groups designed to satisfy the varied interests and needs of our people.  For example, about once each month, we have a potluck dinner and movie night.  After a time of warm fellowship, we show an intriguing movie on an important spiritual theme, and then briefly discuss challenging spiritual questions posed by the movie---questions that can be profitably addressed from a biblical perspective.

  In addition to regular prayer groups, we now offer a quarterly healing service and are thrilled by the resulting testimonies to God’s healing power.  Many of our members have deepened their relationship with Christ through an inspiring 3-day retreat called “The Walk with Christ,” known elsewhere as “The Walk to Emmaus.”  Participants in this retreat then build on their joyful experience in about 5 church dinner-and-worship events per year called “Ultreya.”  We welcome your suggestions about an innovative small group.  Visit us and offer us tips on how we can more effectively meet your needs.  

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