From January through May 2026, EDV has made meaningful progress toward its grant goals while learning hard and honest lessons about what it actually costs to plant an intentional Christian formation community in an urban neighborhood! Bellwether House has begun hosting community-facing events—a fundraiser for a local refugee service organization, a foot-washing service, and a Sabbath workshop. Alpha, a course specifically for skeptical but curious people to investigate faith in God, launched this spring with people from walking distance, and several weeks ago a young woman said yes to Jesus!
In addition, EDV was invited to participate in a Steele Village (a tiny home community) memorial service, a significant moment of trust from our neighbors. We’re launching Bible study and pancakes this summer. We’ve also continued our Pilgrim Way salon series, with our René Girard salon our largest attended salon to date, with over 40 people crammed into a living room–a disarming and important on-ramp for neighbors who wouldn’t walk through a church door.
At the same time, we’ve hit the unglamorous realities of piloting something new: an unanticipated accessibility ramp cost, and the slower-than-expected work of building shared rhythms of prayer, service, and storytelling among residents.