Riverside Real Life Update

Oregon Fires burn down Riverside church, August 2026

Hello ICPA friends.

What a strange last few weeks it’s been for Riverside Real Life and in the

greater Spokane community. Riverside was the only church, and as far as I’m aware, the only

non-residential building burned in the wildfires this month. I am genuinely grateful for the

support we have received from churches all around the country.

At present we are preparing to move our Sunday gathering to nearby Salk Middle School

during cleanup and reconstruction, beginning on September 6th. Currently we are still in

conversation with insurance companies, so no timeline has been established. All in all, the

church is generally very positive and hopeful about the future. We’ve been holding a midweek

service at Spokane Real Life and it’s been a galvanizing experience for those who’ve

participated. We celebrated our 95th, 96th and 97th baptism this past week.

Job 17:9 NLT says, “The righteous keep moving forward...”. And that’s what we’re doing. The

mission hasn’t changed. We still exist to Reach The World For Jesus and that’s what we intend

to do, we’ll just be in a different location on Sundays.

I now believe in the power of prayer more than ever. Individuals and churches all over the

country have been praying for us and we’ve seen barrier after barrier knocked down. Every

tangible need has been met, the school district opened their arms to us, we’ve been given free

office space and we’ve still been able to help families that have been displaced in spite of the

church’s situation. I have never been so proud to be a part of the Church as I have been during

this local crisis. If you’d be willing to intentionally pray for us, we would value it beyond

measure because we are so convinced that it works and that God responds.

• Pray that Riverside would reach more people for Jesus than ever as a result what has

happened.

• Pray for God’s favor with the insurance adjusters and in the reconstruction process.

• Pray for great boldness to tell of how God has come through for us.

One tangible need: We would like to find a church that has built a building in the last 5 yrs +/-

that would be willing to share their building plans with us. Having an existing blueprint to adapt

would be far quicker and less expensive than starting from zero.

Upon reflection, one thing I would encourage every church to do is to ask the question, What

will we do if a crisis hits our community? Have a plan and if possible, resources set aside so

you can respond quickly when crisis comes. People are so open to the gospel during times of

crisis because their weakness is laid bare. I have discovered that in crisis people are looking a

the Church and church leaders to see how they respond, and when it’s done well, it is an

extraordinary thing to see.

We so sincerely value your prayer and friendship.

With Gratitude,

Kelly Armstrong