A Brief History

The church in Tacoma  came into being in 1982 as a result of the prayer of some Christians from the Seattle area. They began to meet every week to pray for Tacoma. The Lord soon led some to move to Tacoma, and within a year about 30 believers had come here for the spread of the Lord’s testimony.

After meeting in a number of homes and rented halls for a few years, the believers in Tacoma needed a permanent place to meet. The church became established more practically when we purchased a meeting hall in 1985. Since 1994, when the mortgage was paid in full, the church has had the means to participate in supporting Christian workers on college campuses, in Europe and in Russia; to respond to needs in other countries; to sponsor young people desiring to serve the Lord and to help other local churches purchase their meeting facilities.

The variety among the church members in Tacoma somewhat reflects the variety in the city itself. In our Lord’s Day meetings you may hear any of the following languages spoken: English, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Tagalong.

We have two meetings on the Lord’s Day morning: First, the ministry meeting in which we focus on a particular truth in order to be constituted with the truth (1 Tim. 2:4: “Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the full knowledge of the truth.”) Second, the prophesying meeting in which all are encouraged to speak for the building up of the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 14:31: “For you can all prophesy one by one that all may learn and all may be encouraged.”)

First, on the Lord’s day, we have the Lord’s Table meeting in which we remember and enjoy the Lord Jesus until He comes, and are led by Him in songs of praise to our dear Father.

We love to fellowship and share what we’ve enjoyed of our experience of Christ, of the Bible, and of the rich supply from many of the Living Stream Ministry publications, particularly the ministry of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. On occasion, we meet in smaller groups for more intimate fellowship according to native language. During the meetings, there are provisions for childcare in the nursery and meetings for children of elementary, junior high and high school ages.

We also enjoy other kinds of meetings. We join with other local churches in the region for larger conferences, which have greater impact for the Lord’s testimony. We have small group meetings in various homes for the study of the truth, for mutual shepherding, for prayer, and to care for young people. Our desire in all our meetings is for the building up of the Body of Christ. Like the early New Testament believers, we endeavor to continue steadfastly in the teaching and the fellowship of the apostles, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers (1 Corinthians 14:26: “What then, brothers? Whenever you come together, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation…Let all things be done for building up.”)