Plenty of room at the inn

'Entrepreneurial' church runs a Portland hotel

By CAROLYN PROVENZOLA
CNNW reporting intern

PORTLAND — Showing hospitality is a worthy goal for any church, but a Portland church that also owns and operates a hotel is taking Christian hospitality to a whole new level.

Only three years ago, Pastor Eric Bahme and his wife left New Life Church in Seattle, where he was a pastor for 14 years, and settled in the Portland area with a vision for church planting. By January 2003 they had established a congregation of 60 people that met in a rented space on Glisan Street in Portland.

Then in June 2004, this small congregation — with great faith in their hearts and no money in the bank — unhesitatingly purchased an old motor inn and adjoining facilities at 9727 N.E. Sandy Blvd. This is the location today of their new Mission Hotel, which is part of the Rodeway Inn chain.

However, the purchase of the property was only the beginning of a lengthy transformation. Renovations began in November 2004 when an old Chinese restaurant on the property was converted into a Christian coffee shop, the bar was transformed into a child care area and youth concert venue, and the dance hall became the church’s new sanctuary.

The first church service was held there on Easter of this year, and the coffee shop, cleverly named Sacred Grounds, held its grand opening on June 10.
Although this congregation of Portland Eastside Foursquare Church is still young, it is setting out on a unique journey in “mission-based entrepreneurialism,” according to Bahme. “The Church today needs to be in marketplace transformation,” he said.

Using good business practices to help fulfill the mission of the church, Portland Eastside Foursquare Church is building a self-funding ministry. Rather than using the hotel revenue as an income for the church, the congregation is able to support social programs such as City Help in Portland, which feeds more than 200 families weekly, and My Father’s House in Gresham, which provides housing for low-income families and individuals.

The church holds the potential not only to touch lives through the acquisition of revenue to be donated to the community, but also through its daily operations. Staffed primarily by church members, this Rodeway Inn is “a place of peace, rest and total commitment to customer service that will exceed what is commonly found in the world today,” according to its website (www.eastsidechurch.net).

With 167 hotel rooms, this church comes into contact with between 80 and 100 new people every day. These guests are met with strong Christian hospitality and are invited to attend the Sunday morning and Wednesday night services.

Also, those who clean the rooms — primarily congregation members — pray over the rooms and the guests, fostering an atmosphere of spiritual transformation.

The effects of this new ministry have already had a huge impact on the surrounding neighborhood, said Bahme. Before Eastside Foursquare purchased the hotel, which was operating under another chain, it was a center for drug dealing and was located in an area of spiritual darkness and physical need.

But since the church moved into the neighborhood, Portland police have noted a dramatic drop in the rate of violent crimes and prostitution in the area.

In some ways, this has caused the revenue of the hotel itself to drop, simply by cutting out a vital location for prostitution and drug deals. However, Bahme has faith that this inital drop will level out after a few more transitional years. He has a dream to see the neighborhood changed through the church’s relational ministry.

As he says, the people of northeast Portland won’t be reached through buildings with stained glass.

At the heart of the ministry is the desire to reach people through relationships built in a comfortable environment.

According to Bahme, the Sacred Grounds coffee shop is “a place of relational community.” It is the bridge between the church and the community. Though not blaringly Christian, the cozy coffee shop is decorated with signed posters of Christian bands, creating a contemporary cafe environment comfortable for studying and chatting.

Also, a youth concert venue called The Haven hosts Christian bands on Friday and Saturday nights. This provides an attractive, safe environment for youth from both the congregation and community.

Bahme said the hotel is not a distraction from the church’s duties or his work as senior pastor He believes the church and the ministry are one program, not two separate endeavors.

He said the church is not simply composed of Sunday worship services, but is a community that operates all hours of the day and all days of the year. For this congregation, their Rodeway Inn represents their commitment to fulfilling the mission of the church in an area of Portland with great need.

For more information on Portland Eastside Foursquare Church, the hotel and the various ministries, phone 503-226-4900 or go to www.eastsidechurch.net.