Friends and family of Soma Spokane,

It has been quite a while since I last sent an update on our endeavor to secure permanent facilities – and there’s some really wonderful updates to give! 

In June of 2025, the members of Plymouth Congregational Church voted to give their historic church building to us! If you’re familiar with the Soma Spokane story, you know we shared space with Plymouth from 2014 to 2019, and throughout our time there partnered to maintain the facility and to serve the neighborhood together. To be given the opportunity to steward this resource into its next phase is an immense privilege and an incredible answer to prayer. Thank you all for partnering with us!

The building is over 100 years old, and was originally built as a Jewish Synagogue (with a Star of David in the entryway and Menorah Chandeliers in the sanctuary!). It was purchased by Plymouth Congregational in the 1950s, and though it has undergone minor renovations since, it is very much in need of tender care, ongoing maintenance, and significant upgrades. 

The most significant upgrades include creating a new West Entrance and Lobby – a place for us to linger together, for newcomers to connect, and for families to check kids into classes (see architect rendering video below). We also need to expand and upgrade restrooms on 3 floors, add offices, and update the sanctuary (audio/visual system and acoustic treatments; seating, flooring, and storage; balcony access and a room for nursing mothers). And finally, we need to re-engineer the HVAC system, determining the most efficient ways to heat and cool the 22,000 square feet of sanctuary, classroom, and gathering spaces. It is no easy feat!

Over the last 6 months we’ve worked hard to get our minds around the upgrades needed to make this beautiful facility fully functional for these purposes. We’re incredibly blessed to not have a mortgage, and by God’s grace and your generosity, we step into this opportunity with $1.25M in the bank. And while we’re still dialing in the scope of the project – an old building with significant needs – our current projections come in close to $3M. We’ll need to secure funding for the full project in early 2026. 

While we did have one celebration service there in September 2025 (see photos below), we’ll continue to rent Sunday gathering space at the Seventh Day Adventist Church until these upgrades are finished. Soma has seen significant growth this year, so we’re planning to begin 2 Sunday services in early 2026, in anticipation of moving to the new building by early 2027 – Praise God!

In Acts 5 we learn that the early church met in “Solomon’s Portico” – a covered porch of the temple in Jerusalem – which became the launch pad for taking the gospel to the ends of the earth. Because our new facility was once a synagogue, and in our desire for it to become not only a gathering place for our church but a strategic hub for disciple-making and church-planting, we’ve named the building “The Portico.” (You can see in pictures the porch and pillars which inspired the moniker.)  Soma Spokane – our church family – will gather at the Portico!

Thank you for all the ways you’ve helped us pursue our vision of becoming a long-term disciple-making and church-planting presence in our region and beyond! Please continue to pray and partner with us as we move into 2026. 

To make a contribution to this important endeavor, visit our GIVE page or mail a check to PO Box 647, Spokane, WA 99210.

Sincerely,

Steve