The Country Chapel and Refuge is the result
of a vision
from our Lord Jesus Christ using Isaiah
54:2
Isaiah 54:2 "Enlarge the place of
your tent, And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwelling;
Do not spare, Lenthen your cords, And stengthen
your stakes."
In a prayer in 2001, Meredith said to our
Father about a friend's home 20-30 miles from the chapel-land
(- a short name for The Country Chapel
and Refuge), that the friend's home was not far from town, and
that area was so beautiful ... and could
He ever see Meredith in a place like that? Our Father answered with
"But it's not
beautiful, spiritually." Meredith
said to many people later "that never occurred to me". I was going by
sight, not by faith."
Meredith was told by the Holy SPirit to
read Isaiah 54:2 "Enlarge the place of your tent, And let them stretch
out the curtains of your dwellings; Do
not spare; Lengthen your cords, And strengthen your stakes."
Although that scripture was not well known
to Meredith, he did as he was told ...
That was the beginning of a search for this
land. In Matthew 5:14-16 "A city on a hill cannot be
hidden. In the same way, let your
light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and
praise your Father in heaven."
Many of Meredith's friends accompanied him
as he began to search for this land. "Go, but where?"
Sounds a lot like Abraham, and after searching
many places ... a friend related "I had a dream."
This place was described without even knowing
it was here ... from the sign advertising it, to the land itself,
even to the location. When finally
it was visited unaware, (Hebrews 13:2 "Do not forget to entertain
strangers, for by so doing
some have unwittingly entertained angels."),Meredith and friends knew this was the place.
The possibilities of this land and the vision
were checked for confirmation with both the Bible and many
of our brothers and sisters. One
of the first, was the pastor of Meredith's church (Pastor Bret Stedman
- a
former board member), and messages began to come
in from various parts of the country (some from pastors, some
from laymen), and the world. Some
pastors from Uganda did much praying about this over a period of
several months without saying anything
... then they shared with statements and scriptures that our
Father had shown them.
A board member (prior to 2004), Pastor Dale Shostrom,
(an elder in the church pastored by Pastor Bret Stedman),
also visited the land; and listened both
to our Lord and to Meredith. Pastor Dale was born a few miles away,
his
wife (also a pastor) grew up in another
town a few miles away, and Dale's sister and brother-in-law lived less
than a mile away. Pastor Dale knew
the Lord and this land. The land was purchased in May of 2001.
Work
was begun immediately and construction
began the next year.
One scripture that very well describes this
ministry is James 2:16-17
"Thus also faith by itself, if it does
not have works, is dead."
We do know the primary scripture to be placed
inside at the front of the chapel whether in Isaiah,
Matthew, Luke or Mark: Mark 11:17
"'My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations'? ".
As one board member says, when he sees
"nations" ... he sees denomiNATIONS, too, including Native American nations. This is a
non-denomination ministry, as is The Country
Chapel and Refuge.
As a chapel and retreat for all Christians,
including all weary Christians. Time here is a time of renewal,
reconciliation, restoration, and refreshing
under the direction and instruction of the Holy Spirit. There is
only one requirement for being in the refuge
- be a Christian, and none for being in the chapel.
It is available to use for a period of time
(1 day, 2-6 days, 1 or 2 weeks) to all Christian churches and
Christian Groups ( Example: Ladies’ Bible
Studies, Men’s Bible Studies or Church camps), and Christian families.
At this time (December 2018),
Part of The Country Chapel and Refuge is under construction and not available
for constant use. Expected available
dates are from 2019 and 2020 on.
The Country Chapel is in northern Idaho,
approximately 3-4 miles east of Deary, Idaho on Highway 8 (Northside).
Please come, refresh, renew, restore, and
reconcile yourself with our precious Lord.
Be blessed as you are surrounded by some
of His wonderful magnificence.