Pastor Aaron Olinski

In Nehemiah 1, we find a beautiful and powerful prayer. Nehemiah is preparing to ask the king for permission to return to Jerusalem and rebuild its broken wall. But before he makes any request of an earthly king, he goes to the King of Kings in prayer. He says, “O Lord, please hear my prayer. Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me.” And then he adds, “In those days, I was the king’s cupbearer.”

This tells us something important about Nehemiah. He wasn’t a builder. He wasn’t a contractor. He wasn’t trained for this kind of work. He was a cupbearer—someone whose job was to serve and protect the king, even putting his own life on the line to ensure the king’s safety. That required loyalty, integrity, and deep trust. The king had to believe in Nehemiah’s character, and that kind of trust doesn’t come lightly.

So when Nehemiah gets this burden to rebuild Jerusalem’s wall, it doesn’t make sense from a human perspective. If you were hiring someone to build a wall, you’d look for someone with experience—maybe a construction crew, a general contractor, someone who knows what they’re doing. You wouldn’t ask a cupbearer. And yet, that’s exactly who God chooses.

God Often Calls the Unlikely

This reminds me of a personal story. A few years back, we were having problems with our garage door. It just wasn’t working, and I had a trip to Guatemala coming up. My wife, Pastor Nicole, asked me to fix it before I left. I tried. I really did. But I couldn’t fix it. So I did what every good man would do in that situation—I left for my trip anyway. She ended up fixing the garage door herself before the repair guy even showed up. I came back and had to turn in my man card. Thankfully, I got it back after a successful Wisconsin whitetail archery hunt.

Fast forward to just last week, I was replacing ceiling fans in our home. I was feeling pretty good—up on the ladder, doing the wiring. Then I had to replace the outlet, and when I pulled it out, it looked like an octopus of wires exploded from the wall. I hit my limit. Thankfully, I called a friend who helped me finish the job.

Here’s the truth: I’m not a builder.

But neither was Nehemiah. And yet, God chose him to rebuild an entire wall around Jerusalem. When God wants to do something incredible, He rarely chooses the most qualified. He picks the willing. He chooses people whose hearts are open and who are willing to trust Him with what’s beyond them. Why? Because when it’s all said and done, it’s clear who gets the glory. Not the cupbearer. Not the pastor. God gets the glory.

A Vision Bigger Than Us

As a church, we are stepping into a season of bold vision again. Grace Church has experienced miraculous provision already. From meeting in a movie theater for over 11 years, to purchasing this property, to building out phase after phase of our current facility—it’s been nothing short of a miracle.

We’ve seen God’s faithfulness as we moved from a portable setup to a permanent building. After we built out the main sanctuary, we didn’t yet have the funds to complete the entire space. So we made a plan. We built only what we could afford—then trusted God for the rest. One year later, we built out the Next Generation Wing. Then we remodeled the kitchen and café. We bought two additional parcels of land for future expansion and parking. We even resurfaced our gravel lot this year. All of this has been made possible by God’s provision through faithful people.

Now, we're stepping out again in faith. We are launching the Building a Legacy campaign, believing that God is calling us to expand again—not for comfort or convenience, but for impact.

We are asking God to provide $3 million over the next three years, with faith that we may raise even more—up to $5 million—toward a total project that could cost over $12 million. We’re praying for seven-figure gifts, for six-figure gifts, for whatever God places on hearts. Not equal giving, but equal sacrifice.

This vision is beyond us. It’s beyond me. It’s beyond you. And that’s exactly the point.

Nehemiah’s Burden Mirrors Ours

When God gave Nehemiah the burden to rebuild, He also gave him favor and resources.

Nehemiah didn’t have to manufacture them. He received what he needed through divine provision. Nehemiah 2:18 says, “Then I told them about how gracious the hand of God had been on me, and about my conversation with the king. They replied at once, ‘Yes, let’s rebuild the wall.’ So they began the good work.”

That’s what we’re doing now—we’re beginning a good work. And like Nehemiah, this isn’t about bricks and walls. This is about people. It's about our community. It's about seeing lives transformed. The burden Pastor Nicole and I carry is not for buildings—it’s for the people inside them. It’s for those who don’t yet know Jesus. It’s for families who are broken, for people searching for hope, for lives in need of healing and restoration.

And here’s what we want you to know: God wants to give you that same burden. You interact

with people every day who need Jesus—at work, in your neighborhood, in your family. This campaign isn’t just about raising money. It’s about raising vision. It’s about expanding our hearts to care deeply for those around us and creating space for them to encounter Jesus.

Let God Stretch Your Faith

Maybe you’re reading this and thinking, I don’t have much to give. I’m not qualified. This is beyond me. And you’re right. It is beyond you. It’s beyond all of us. But God doesn’t ask you to give what you don’t have. He asks you to be obedient with what you do have.

If the vision can be accomplished without God, it’s probably too small.

So we're asking you to pray. Ask God what your part is in Building a Legacy. When you received your commitment card, we included an estimator to help you visualize what giving might look like weekly, monthly, or annually. But don’t stop at the numbers. Ask the Lord to stretch your faith. This is a 36-month journey, and we’re inviting you to dream with us about what God might do over that time.

God builds legacy through unlikely people. He builds cities through cupbearers. He builds churches through pastors. And He builds the future through you.