These Are the Days We’ve Been Praying For
By Ellis White, Senior Pastor
Fifteen thousand churches closed in the United States last year. That’s 41 churches every single day.
That number should stop us.
Each one of those churches was more than a building. It was a well. A place where living water flowed—where people were baptized, marriages were restored, children were discipled, the grieving were comforted, the lonely were welcomed. And now many of those wells sit covered over, dry, or forgotten.
But that is not the whole story.
In Genesis 26, Isaac returns to the land where his father Abraham once lived. The wells Abraham had dug—wells that sustained life in a dry land—had been stopped up by the Philistines. Filled with dirt. Buried. Lost.
So Isaac re-dug them.
He didn’t invent something new. He restored what had once brought life.
That image has been lodged in my heart.
Because while it is true that thousands of churches are closing, something else is happening at the same time.
Last month I listened to David Kinnaman, CEO of the Barna Group, share recent research on faith trends in America. Barna has spent decades studying church engagement, belief patterns, and generational shifts. For years, Kinnaman joked that he felt like the bearer of bad news—decline, disengagement, young people walking away.
But this time, he said something different:
“These are the days we have been praying for.”
Barna’s latest data suggests that there are 30 million more people in the United States committed to Jesus today than in 2020. Most of that growth is among Gen Z and Millennials. Even more striking—nearly half of Millennials and Gen Z say they are open to Jesus but do not identify as Christian. That represents roughly 50 million people.
Think about that.
The wells may be buried—but the thirst is growing.
In John 4, after speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus turns to his disciples and says, “Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are white for harvest.” They saw scarcity. He saw readiness.
We are living in a moment like that.
Here in the Pacific Northwest, one of the least churched regions in the country, the need is clear. But so is the opportunity. There are millions around us—neighbors, coworkers, friends—who are open to Jesus and searching for something more.
We are not called to wring our hands over decline. We are called to re-dig wells.
Chapel Hill has been entrusted with resources, leadership, and a growing congregation. That is not for comfort—it is for mission. We believe the Lord is calling us to be a church-planting church. To see living water flow again across the Puget Sound.
Our Session (Elder Board) has been praying, fasting, and planning toward our next church plant in Tacoma. Lord willing, we are aiming toward a 2027 launch. This would be our second plant, following Kitsap House in Port Orchard—but we do not believe it will be our last.
We are asking God to let Chapel Hill become a source from which many wells are re-dug over the coming decades.
Imagine neighborhoods across our cities. Across the Sound. Across our region. Congregations formed. Worship rising. People tasting the living water of Jesus for the first time.
The fields are ripe.
Now is the time.
So here is where we begin:
Pray.
Pray for revival in the Puget Sound.
Pray for wisdom and courage as we plan.
Pray for those whom God may be stirring even now to help plant in Tacoma.
Pray that the living water would flow freely again across our region.
More details will come. But first—pray.
Let’s re-dig the wells.
Ellis