The story of God and his people is inextricably linked to the places where the divine and the mortal meet. Act 1, scene 1 (Genesis 1), is set in a place, a garden. In this very ordinary place a very extraordinary thing happens; the eternal, immortal, Creator, descends to breathe life into dust, creating man and woman in his very image. The place - the dirt, the trees, the fruit, the sun, all of it shapes Adam’s experience. To be human is to be embodied. To be embodied is to dwell in a place.
Fast forward, and the story of God with people always involves places. In one sense, all places are sacred, because they are created by God for his people. In another sense, not all spaces are equal. Some places have particularly intensive meaning in the story. Think of Mount Sinai. It’s really not much to look at -a high place in a desert filled with scraggly underbrush. Then one day a man, Moses, wanders onto the heights, drawn by the strange sight of an oddly burning bush. As he approaches the flame, God speaks, “Take off your shoes for the place you are standing is holy ground.” The presence of God in that place made it set apart. It was an ordinary mound of rock set apart for an extraordinary purpose.
We know that eventually all places will become once again “holy ground”. Every square inch of the new earth will be reclaimed as a set apart place where the every holy God dwells with his chosen people. (Revelation 21.22-27)
We live in the story space between Eden and the renewed earth. On this side of resurrection life, our mission is to make disciples. We know that this work involves reading, teaching, relationship, and prayer. What we often forget is that the work of discipleship also involves place.
Think about your own story with God. The events that led to your life with Jesus occurred in a physical location. In my own story, two places stand out in my memory: a beach house in Ocean Isle and the basement youth room at my church. Both of these places were very ordinary in some ways. They were made with brick and mortar by human hands. They served various purposes over the course of their existence. But for me, they are holy, sacred places because those rooms were the physical place this side of eternity where my early journey with Jesus happened.
At East Mountain, part of our work is to co-labor with God to create set-aside, special places for people to meet Jesus in South Africa, the UK and in the US. In Greenville, we have a 19 acre farm and 6 bedroom house. Our dream is that these acres and rooms would become holy places in the stories of thousands of people in the years to come. We want East Mountain to be a place of beauty, quiet, and rest where people can leave the noise and busyness of the world to meet with one another and the Creator God whose heart is to draw people to himself.
We want East Mountain to be a special place in the stories of people.
AND
We want you to be part of East Mountain’s story.
You can be part of the East Mountain story by giving to cultivate a beautiful places for people to meet King Jesus, regardless of their ability to pay. Some of those ways are through your:
Treasure: Money for furnishings, planting, and farm equipment. You can also rent the house for your own group gathering. All proceeds help us offer the property & our program offerings to those who cannot afford to pay. You can give to any East Mountain location through our website or if you have other creative ideas you want to explore just email us.
Time: Volunteer in Greenville for our monthly workdays or join our Monday morning maintenance meetups, by emailing Billy. To volunteer at one of our other locations, use this email indicating which location you are interested and available to serve at OR contact the location director directly.
Talents: Gifted in leading retreats, raising funds, lending expertise to build and cultivate spaces or something else!!?? Email here and let us know your interests and the best way to reach you.
For the King,
Gabe Smith
Executive Director, EM Carolinas