Many of you have asked questions about our church, Coram Deo – what is it like, where do you meet, is it growing, etc. So we thought we would try to answer a few of those questions here.
What does Coram Deo mean:
Coram Deo is Latin for “in the presence of God.” To live Coram Deo is to live in the grace of God, under the authority of God, and to the glory of God.
As a church we seek to have 4 characteristics:
- Convinced Minds
- Cleansed Hearts
- Committed Hands
- Captivated Souls
These 4 traits come out of Luke 10:27 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
Where do you meet?
We meet at Jefferson Elementary School in south Spokane.
How do you have church in an elementary school?!
We have trailer containing 7 large rolling boxes (and several small ones) that hold everything we need for a Sunday morning – poles and curtains for the sanctuary, nursery supplies and toys, an entire coffee brewing system (essential in Spokane), projector, screen, sound equipment, pulpit, etc.
Do you have Sunday School?
We do! The children are currently using the Gospel Project curriculum. This semester Matt has been leading them through the book of Genesis.
The adults are studying Covenant Theology, taking a look at God’s plan of redemption for his people.
How many people attend Coram Deo?
Coram Deo made the switch from Sunday evenings to Sunday mornings in September 2015. Since then we have seen many visitors and new attenders. On a typical Sunday we have approximately 70 people.
Two weeks ago we received our first church members! Coram Deo is growing, and God is at work in Spokane!
What are the demographics of the church?
It is a good mix of people – young and old, single, married and everything in between. We have children (a few babies coming this spring and summer), college students, professionals and those who’ve retired. We are praying for more families with school-age children.
What is the style of the church?
Our worship services are about 1 hour and 30 minutes long, and they incorporate prayer, Bible readings, and singing throughout five stages of our liturgy movements:
- Reverence: We are called into the presence of God to worship.
- Reconciliation: God’s presence reveals our sin. We confess and repent our sin, and we are pardoned through Christ’s grace and assurance.
- Revelation: We learn through the preaching and teaching of God’s word.
- Response: We respond to God’s word with our confession of faith and our tithes and offerings.
- Renewal: We are rejuvenated after encountering God with the Lord’s Supper each week.
Do you have bible studies throughout the week?
Yes! We currently have three studies – men on Tuesday morning, college guys on Thursday evening and women on Thursday evening. The men in both studies are reading and discussing the New Man by Dan Doriani, talking about biblical manhood. The women are reading the Envy of Eve, talking about being content in a covetous world.
Let us know in the comments section if you have any other questions!
We love you all and are so thankful to have the opportunity to minister in Spokane!
Adventures of the Bostroms 
Excellent! Thank’s for sharing this. We are praying for you, Matt and Callie, and for Coram Deo. We are excited to hear of the Spirit’s work in your church. – Peter and Kayla
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Thank you so much, Peter!
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Love it, guys! I’m a little bit jealous of the fact that you get to live and work in Spokane. Have you gotten many hikes in lately? Is it warming up yet? Has Matt’s noggin gotten frostbite this winter? Hopefully, that last thing didn’t happen. I’m so excited to see how things are developing for you at Coram Deo!
I’m ashamed to say that I’ve done only a few hikes since moving to China. Between going to Chinese class and eating delicious food, I’ve pretty much been a couch potato. It doesn’t help that I don’t have a car, so I can’t get out of the city on a whim. It’s been a relatively cold winter here for the region, but it makes me laugh when people complain about how cold it is. It snowed three times here which is the most in about 50 years. In a place where anything below 60F is considered cold, having the temperature hover around freezing for a while is a sign of the apocalypse!
I miss you guys dearly, and wish often for a rocking chair on the Reddicks’ front porch. Keep up the good work, and as the Chinese would say, “慢走啊.” Roughly translated: Take care!
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Thanks Luke! It is (slowly) warming up here. This week is going to be beautiful, mid 60’s and sunny. We miss you too and are praying for you… Come on out! We can go for a hike and end the day at the brewery:)
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I hope to eventually! It doesn’t look like that will happen in the very near future, but maybe in a year or two… Who knows?
The beer situation here has been dire; however, recently, two beacons of hope have appeared: Humdingers and The Beer Bug. Both are microbrew pubs. The alternative is basically lots of different types of light beer in the supermarket. I like to think that the darkness is darkest right before the dawn. Bring on the craft brew market in China!
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Great post guys. Miss you both and your ministry at CrossPark. We are thinking of you and praying for you. Also jealous of your NW adventures!
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Thanks Curtis, We miss our Cross Park family! I hope you and the fam are great!
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