Is this Real Life? Soon!

PINEHURST — Big things are on the horizon for Real Life Ministries.

The church recently purchased the 9-acre property between the Brewed Awakening coffee stand and the Goose ‘n the Tree Cafe in Pinehurst and they have big intentions for the open lot.

Pastor Gene Jacobs, the pastor at Real Life, had been eyeing the property for more than a decade, but the price was just too much at the time.

In the interim, the church made due with the smaller space they had down the road, and from there they grew.

Real Life Pinehurst has been occupying a space at 10 S. Division St. for the last 12 years, but even in their early stages, Jacobs knew it wouldn’t be enough space for how they envisioned serving the community.

“We knew this wouldn’t be our ultimate home,” Jacobs said of their current facility. “We weren’t sure if we were going to be an official church, or how we were going to serve the community. We put in the cafe and thrift store just as a way to serve the Valley.”

Jacobs began holding a small men’s group each week and before long, those small groups grew into a church.

“God made it clear to me during that time that this was going to become a church,” Jacobs said. “So we planted under the eldership of Real Life Post Falls.”

In 2011, the church decided to break free from under the mantle of Post Falls and became an independently governed body.

Around the same time, Jacobs and his church body began looking for a different, bigger space, but didn’t want to act until they felt led in the right direction.

They looked at Kellogg and various other places, but felt compelled to stay in Pinehurst.

To remain in their building, they moved their thrift store to the Fairway Shopping Plaza near Barney’s and renovated their building to give them a little more space.

A few months ago, the price on the property Jacobs had been eyeing dropped, so he asked his church body to pray over the matter and they decided to move forward with the purchase.

“We were just asking Jesus if this was supposed to be our next step,” Jacobs said. “The owners were super generous with us. Cindy Carlson was amazing with us through the process.”

Jacobs envisions the new facility as a place where they can host their many community events, from movies and concerts to a place where families can come and interact through faith, fun and fellowship.

“We want to break ground this summer, or at least that’s what we hope,” Jacobs said. “We want it to be a place where we can worship Jesus together, but we also want it to be a launching pad for outreach and service to our community.”

An amphitheater style building, indoor playground and expanded kitchen area are planned to be apart of their intended 13,000-square-foot building plan.