God is using ordinary people, every day, to perform His signs and miracles but the world is looking for that super spectacular experience. God does not approve of the arrogant and loves those who are humble. Christ chose ordinary workers to spread His Gospel. The problem the world misses, they are looking for signs in the wrong places and from the wrong people.

Even Christians miss the miracle of receiving the Holy Spirit into their lives once they accept Christ as their Savior. We then ask God: How could You use anyone of us? There are more people with more talent and abilities than us. To prove my point how God uses ordinary people, in 1962, 26 people, very ordinary, met for the first time in the Odd Fellows Hall in Las Vegas, NV to worship God. It immediately grew to 43 attending. Who would ever have envisioned that this small group, over the years, could affect over 100,000 people for Christ? Keep in mind; these were not hand-picked super humans capable of gigantic personal powers for spreading the Gospel. In fact, it has been told that no one was Biblically qualified to be an Elder and on the board. Yet, a board was selected.

Why would God start a church in a city supposedly run by mob bosses having access to the city from behind the scenes? The city believed to have radiation fallout from Area 51, a rumored base for UFOs, a shortage of water with not a too promising future. The spreading of casino gambling around the country threatened the city’s growth.
It is nothing short of a miracle that Central survived the first few years. It went through a number of self-induced calamities that might very well have brought about its early demise. But it survived and grew. There were times of unity and times of turmoil. What charter members will tell you is the fact that God could do so much with so little.

This was a time when many were proclaiming God was dead and the Bible was a myth. Noah and the flood were not true and the Old Testament was declared a fairy tale. Some also believed that the miracles committed by Jesus were not true. If something could not be explained it had to be untrue.

In 1970 the church moved into its new building at Mojave Rd. It was surrounded by desert. They were not there long until they had out grown the new church. In 1977 they voted to build an additional church of 12,860 square feet estimated to cost $394,320 across the street from the present building. Getting a bank loan was almost impossible. The small group had to raise, from members, $300,000 to start building and they did. November 1980 the building was completed and dedicated. In 1989 an additional 45,000 sq. ft. was added to the present church and the gym was used as the new sanctuary.

I became an Elder in 1983. We had approximately ten on staff. I was surprised to hear the staff was told not to cash their checks until Monday so we could make sure adequate money was given in Sunday’s offering to cover the checks. In 1987 I was asked to become chairman to change our church’s bylaws. We went from a traditional church to a seeker friendly one. We reversed centuries of tradition and had it pass with no more than a whimper of protest. Do you realize there are people who despise change?

I was board chairman in 1988 and 1989 when we added to our building. We did not have the money to build it and if we did, we could not afford to maintain its upkeep. We learned it was not about how big our problem was; it was how big our God was. By 1991 we had a staff of over 40 and ran out of space. We had out grown our building and parking area and had to consider moving again. I was asked to chair the Relocation Task Force to purchase 80 acres and again, we did not have the money to do so. We purchased the land and it just happened that a member loaned us the money. In 1998 we began building a 150,000 sq. ft. building and we didn’t have the $21 million to complete the building, but God did.

Every problem that could happen seemed to occur. Contractor problems, problems with the city and church members who seemed to know more than the contractors, all had to be addressed. We had a prayer group that we asked to pray and surprisingly, every problem got solved. It happened so many times that we began saying: “It’s a God Thing”.

The church has always had financial problems since I have been a member. We never had enough to pay for what we believe God wanted us to do. We finally learned that God did not step in and correct financial problems until the very last minute. How else would we have realized that it was God that was making things happen?

We also learned that God seems to mostly use just ordinary people who He can bless without it going to their head. When everything was completed and it was good; everyone involved realized that it was God Who made it all happen. We kept wondering, why we were selected; we are just a bunch of ordinary people who love serving God. We guess it was because of faith and trust that it was what God wanted done and we were willing to do it.

We are presently expanding again. I am sure those involved will witness the supernatural signs that God provides. I write this hoping that you will look for and realize that God is in it. When you finish, your faith will have increased tremendously!!! For everyone else, don’t miss the signs that God is giving you possibly daily. Be sure and continually look for God’s signs. He wants to increase your faith too.