DOWNTOWN FRAMINGHAM MINISTRY OPPORTUNITIES ?!

“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.” (Matthew 7:6 New King James Version)

“But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (I Corinthians 2:14 New King James Version)

I start with those verses because this piece will surely cause a lot of misunderstanding. Some people who read this will conclude that I’m mentally ill and in need of psychiatric intervention. Others will be a bit less critical but will wrongly believe I’m opposed to the selling of First Assembly of God of Framingham’s 32 South Street, Framingham property, OR that I do not want to see it sell at fair market value. (None of that is true!)

For those of you to whom this piece will make absolutely no sense, please keep in mind that John the Baptist of the First Century was eccentric and weird. He wore camel’s hair and ate locusts and wild honey. He went out into the WILDERNESS proclaiming the coming of Messiah; and he said some very offensive things in his preaching. Despite his weirdness, he had an important and special calling from God, and through this “different” prophet of God, a mighty work was done.

My friend D.C.M. used to constantly proclaim from the Book of Amos, “I’m not a prophet nor the son of a prophet”. Well, in the eyes of THIS world, I am quite an unsuccessful guy, and an inconsistent guy, yet frankly God has used me as a prophet several times. After my last few blog postings about First Assembly of God of Framingham having its last service and closing I had determined that I’ve beaten that topic to death and that I’d give it a rest. BUT, after reading the main headline in this morning’s (March 10, 2010) MetroWest Daily News (Framingham, MA), this is a piece that HAS to be written!

Please check out: ‘FRAMINGHAM COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER SCRAPS $24 MILLION EXPANSION PLAN’ at

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/highlight/x497924650/Framingham-Community-Health-Center-scraps-24M-expansion-plan

This will be a LONG read but please stick with me ‘cause it’s truly worth reading this STORY!

In 2004, Great Brook Valley Health Care purchased the property at 380 Waverley Street (corner Waverley and South Sts.) in downtown Framingham. It borders our 32 South Street First Assembly of God of Framingham church property. Their plan was to build the “Framingham Community Health Center” there.

Almost from the beginning, the health center began pressuring us for use of our parking lot. The director at that time (who is now long gone) was very pushy. She left a very bad taste with us. I began receiving phone calls, e-mails, and visits from all sorts of key people from various Framingham human services agencies and from some local politicians. There was enormous pressure to use our lot. I don’t know how many times I said “NO”. At one point I met with several Framingham leaders and several of our church leaders and again we said, “NO”.

The health center took their project before the Framingham Planning Board and there was session after session about this project. My poor bored family had to endure me watching numerous Planning Board meetings about this project on cable TV. Finally, in 2006, the Planning Board voted “NO” to the project. Great Brook Valley charged they were treated improperly and were victims of discrimination and actually took the matter to court.

Going back at least to 2005, I began to be strongly led of the Holy Spirit to PRAY AGAINST this project. I have nothing against the Framingham Community Health Center. They currently meet in rental facilities in downtown Framingham; BUT in my spirit, the Lord witnessed to me that this SITE was wrong and this PLAN was wrong. God showed me our church was to have the 380 Waverely Street property and that there was to be a great church and ministry center on the sites of the proposed health center and the church property. Admittedly that seemed absurd. The health center had paid over a million dollars for that property. We couldn’t even afford to buy toilet paper. We were barely afloat. Our church was seriously “under resourced” as Chicago’s Bill Hybels would say. Yet, I kept praying against the health center being built on the 380 Waverley Street property. AND, I kept declaring OUT LOUD that “only the Word of God and the Will of God and the Plan of God and the Glory of God” be done on that piece of property. I would walk by the lot and pray that out loud. I would stand in our church’s parking lot and face the health center property and declare that right out loud.

A couple of times, the health center made offers to buy our property. Some of our church leaders thought it would be a good idea to sell to them. Some of them thought it would be a bad idea. At one point, I spoke pretty strongly to one of the representatives of the health center and really “put the kibosh” on them buying our property. Several of our church’s leaders, including my wife, were furious about this. I have paid dearly in relationships and respect for my actions. But I’d do it again! I’d stake my LIFE on this one, and in many respects I already have!

In March of 2008 the court found in favor of the health center. The matter went before the Framingham Planning Board. Once again, I continued praying against it and praying my declaration prayer about the 2 properties. In May of 2008, the project was approved. Initially, I felt like a fool, but (many of you won’t understabd this) God told me to KEEP up my prayers and declarations. He told me the project would NOT be built and that the Town’s approval meant absolutely nothing. So, I kept up my prayers and declarations.

I will admit that maybe my faith was weak. I was keeping up the prayers and declarations but the reality was that the Town had approved construction. I kept looking for them to break ground and start building. It never happened. Never.
They never built. A project they’d fought SO hard for and pushed so hard for. They never built.

Last spring the lot at South and Waverley was a mess- covered with growth. God told me to complain; to go to the Town and really make a big issue about it. I did. This also cost me dearly with several folks at our church, and I took some serious criticism and disrespect from them, but I was following God. I went and spoke before the Board of Selectmen. It was all on cable TV. The Town made a big issue of it, and the health center owners were forced to clean up the property.

About 6 weeks ago, I was walking along South Street. I hadn’t spoken out my prayer and declarations for several months. God spoke SO clearly to me that day- almost an audible voice. “Bob, you need to go back to your prayers and declarations about the 380 Waverlet Street property. Trust me. That health center will NOT be built. I have a higher purpose for that property.”

At least twice, shortly after that, I DID go out on the stoop at our church building’s back door and OUT LOUD speak my prayers and declarations about the property at 380 Waverely.

Many of you know that on February 21 I was informed by the Southern New England District of the Assemblies of God that our church would be shut down in the very near future. March 7 was the last day. I am no longer pastor there and thus no longer drawing a salary there. The District is selling the 32 South Street property.

For a guy who had the above experiences, that news was like opening up a treasure chest and finding out it was filled with old animal feces.

That’s why I was so jolted when I read today’s headline.

Listen, there are churches and ministries that have access to multi-millionaire donors and also have access to skilled grant writers and grant money.

At this point, First Assembly of God of Framingham is closed and the Southern New England District is selling the property.

I can’t help but wonder if there’s some ministry with access to the kind of funding I’m talking about that wouldn’t want to investigage purchasing the 32 South St. property and then also investigate purchasing the 380 Waverley St. property.

That 380 Waverley Street property is PRIME downtown Framingham frontage. We never had the resources or the workers...not really...but for some church or parachurch group that’s able...there is the potential for a dymanic urban ministry center at these locations. There is the potential for something like a “mini dream center” here. There is the potential for large, successful suburban church to set up an urban ministry satellite church here.

Let’s not drop the ball, here. Whatever happens to me, per se, is not so much the issue. The issue is the prophetic word I’m praying and speaking...the prime real estate here, the urban ministry needed, the prime opportunity...the opportunity for Believers with “big bucks” to make a big investment for eternity.

There could be some mighty downtown Framingham ministry opportunities.
Spread the word. Pray pray pray...