It's not every day that we get a front row seat to see how business and spiritual aspects so clearly intersect in daily life. This story is a picture of how God wants to use business to bring transformative good in our communities and to build His kingdom.
For more than twenty years, a dark cloud hung over the church community of Port Trevorton. Once a reputable diner where families gathered and friends broke bread, the diner eventually fell on hard times and was sold to someone with less reputable intentions. An adult bookstore replaced the diner, leaving a stain on the landscape that our brothers and sisters had to pass each time they drove through town.
Susquehanna Mennonite Church was just a few short miles away. Brian and his family, along with others from the congregation, regularly passed by this spot on a Sunday. They averted their eyes and longed for the darkness to be overthrown.
Members of Susquehanna and neighboring congregations felt the same and prayed against the principalities that besieged this part of Snyder County, Pennsylvania. "At first it wasn't that public of a prayer ministry in our congregation," Brian says. "It was more of a grass-roots movement. But the request was brought up at our prayer meetings at times, and specific prayers were uttered on many occasions."
While the believers knew of God's promises to overcome evil, little did they know that their prayers, God's power, and a business transaction would align to bring about the change in their small community.
Just a mile down the highway from the bookstore, Ken of Palace creek Enterprises had been renting a plot of land. Ken is from the Bethel Mennonite congregation of the Nationwide Conference. Palace Creek started almost three decades ago, specializing in sheds, outdoor furnaces, hunting blinds, and outdoor playsets.
Ken was not satisfied with the rented location for his display. It sat too far away from the main thoroughfare, lacking the exposure and access needed to draw customers.
When the bookstore property came up for sale, Ken recognized it as a much more strategic location at a bus intersection. However the timing didn't seem right to buy it, and so the dark business continued to infect Port Trevorton.
Ken wouldn't know until later how God was moving to one day use his business to answer the prayers of the saints and bring about change.
Back at Susquehanna, the church continued to pray. Then in 2019, a Christian Aid Ministries billboard appeared above the adult business. It read, "Lust destroys, Jesus saves." Not long after, an evangelist who also answers calls for the CAM billboard ministry shared a week of meetings at Susquehanna. That week he went out to talk with the owner of the bookstore, hoping to sway him from his evil ways, but the owner was not open to hearing the Gospel.
However, between the evangelist's visit and the presence of the billboard, the congregations became more acutely burdened for the situation. "It made the spiritual warfare more public and brought the specific situation into clearer focus," Brian said. The churches now began to pray in earnest, specifically for the business to be turned into something useful and good.
Less than a year after the visiting evangelist left, a For Sale sign again appeared at the bookstore. Ken felt something different this time and the time seemed right for him to buy it. "Dad had the money to put in it, and I had the ambition to make it happen," he chuckled. Ken hired a real estate agent and went to look at the property.
"I wasn't able to make money at this location," the owner declared. "But I wish you well." Ken wasn't deterred. When the owner knew Ken was serious about buying, he pushed hard for a speedy sale. "I want to get rid of it," he declared. "How fast can you buy it?"
Ken felt the pressure to act fast lest this opportunity slip away. He later learned the owner owed heavy back taxes, further evidence that the business was doomed.
Ken needed a loan for the sale to go through. He had recently had success with Anabaptist Financial and knew their efficiency was what he needed. The loan was approved, and Ken put in an offer for the property, contingent on the former business coming in to clean out and sanitize before closing. The owner accepted, and Palace Creek soon had the deed in hand. The spiritual battle had been won.
A lot of renovating needed to be done before Palace Creek could move into the building. In the meantime, they began the process of moving to the new grounds, setting up the display lot with storage sheds and swing sets. Soon the CAM billboard came down, and the community responded with delight. It was as though God had parted the dark clouds over this part of Port Trevorton and a new light shone there, this time in the form of Palace Creek Enterprises.
Few people are happier about it than the families of Susquehanna Mennonite and the neighboring churches. Brian says, "For our young children, it will leave a lasting impact on the power of prayer and how God does love to see His light shine through."
(Adapted from the Anabaptist Financial newsletter)
