I heard something about Building 500 being sold or repurposed for a different organization. Can you explain / shed light on that plan?
Great question! Yes, Building 500, formerly known as the New Again Thrift Store, is in the process of being repurposed (not sold). This transition comes after a long season of prayer about the future use of the building.
The End of an Era
For many years, the New Again thrift store provided a way to raise funds for various local outreach efforts. However, a few years ago, it became clear that the church's need for a thrift store was changing. Several factors contributed to this shift, including the high number of existing thrift stores in town and the significant amount of energy and manpower required to manage the store.
With the decision to get out of the thrifting business, the goal became finding a new purpose for the building that would allow the space to continue to be a bridge for outreach in our city.
Pastor Tucker and the Elders prayed for a way to open the doors for people who might not attend traditional church services or gatherings, aiming to use the building as a tool to reach more people for Jesus.
A Vision for Harvest
As Pastor Tucker waited on the Lord, Matthew 9:35-38 became a foundational verse in his prayers for the building.
But when Jesus saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.
“I remember one elders meeting during that season of waiting where I basically told them it's time for us to go on offense. We can't keep playing defense in the culture war. Not every kid can afford a private school education, and not every kid has the luxury of being homeschooled. We need to go into the schools and reach all the lost sheep being indoctrinated by an education system that leaves them feeling confused, hopeless, and lost.” -Pastor Tucker
After four years of prayer and consideration, an opportunity for partnership within the Calvary Chapel family emerged as the laborers we had been praying for.
Meet The Whosoevers
The Whosoevers Ministry is a youth evangelism movement focused on bringing the gospel to the next generation. They do this by organizing concert outreaches, similar to the Harvest Crusade, at public schools during lunch hours. Their outreach includes engaging music, food, and a gospel message, calling young people to commit their lives to Christ. Founded by Ryan Ries, son of Raul Ries from Calvary Chapel Diamond Bar, this movement has inspired tens of thousands of young people to commit their lives to Christ around the globe.
Follow the Whosoevers on Instagram
Check the Whosoevers out on YouTube
Visit theWhosoevers.com
A Divine Appointment
While Calvary Boise leadership was praying about how to use Building 500, the Whosoevers were in the midst of California's strict COVID lockdowns, praying for an open state that would allow gatherings. This led them to Idaho, where they spent a few weeks over the summer of 2021 doing multiple outreaches in skate parks throughout our valley. Unknown to either Ryan or Pastor Tucker at the time, Ryan and his team made their Boise outreach headquarters an Airbnb that turned out to be Pastor Tucker’s house! Tucker and his family were away visiting his grandma in New York and just so happened to list their house on Airbnb for the two weeks Ryan was in town.
Ryan and Tucker had never met, but Ryan felt connected to Idaho and saw a great need for a harvest, leading him to pray about relocating the entire mission. A year later, Ryan visited Calvary Chapel Boise, connected with Pastor Tucker, and they discovered the previous unlikely connection. They began praying for each other and what God was doing, eventually discovering their shared vision for youth evangelism. Ryan had an established evangelism ministry and team, and Calvary Chapel Boise had a building they hoped could be used for outreach. Their divine appointment, marked by prayer, led to a perfect partnership with God's fingerprints all over it.
What’s Next?
In addition to their Southern California headquarters, The Whosoevers team is moving into our old Thrift Store building, transforming it into their local evangelism hub. They will host concerts, worship and prayer nights, and gatherings for youth pastors and campus ministry leaders to support our shared mission of reaching public schools with the gospel. They aim to invade 40 public schools in 2024-2025 across our valley and state. The building will also serve as their workspace for mission planning, podcasting, and team building.
The Whosoevers' presence brings an exciting and purposeful use to the building, ensuring it serves as a place where the next generation can encounter the gospel.
What will happen to the ministries that were using the old thrift store as a meeting place?
During the last few years, while awaiting a clear direction, the building was used for storage and Bible studies, and other ministry gatherings, always with the ultimate goal of replacing the thrift store with a community-focused outreach. We have done our best to find a new place for the ministries that had been temporarily using the space. It takes a willingness on the part of the Whosoevers and our church family to make this partnership work, so thank you for your grace as we step into a new season of outreach and partnership.
Ryan and his family attend our church, along with the Whosoever Team, so you’ll see them around. The Whosoevers have their own staff, that is paid out of their budget and managed independently by the Whosoevers. If this leads to other questions, submit them and I’ll be happy to keep the answers coming.
