Steve Murray has a different idea about church.

Murray, pastor of Real Life Church which meets at Kentlake High, has been working to make his vision of church become reality.

Real Life, which was established in 1998, bought 90 acres of property near Black Diamond about five years ago in order to make his ideas a reality.

A new opportunity arose in December that surprised Murray and changed the vision he had for the land near Black Diamond.

“From the very beginning I’ve wanted to create an environment, I’ve wanted to do more than just build a building,” he said. “I wanted people to not just hear about God or scripture… we wanted people to experience Him. We wanted to create a place where families could come together, where the community could come together and disconnect from technology and hear God speak to them.”

It seems like the opportunity to purchase Lake Retreat Camp, which is a five minute drive on Kent-Kangley Road east of Four Corners, would fulfill the vision Murray has long had for his church.

And Murray said he and his staff knew church would need to change going forward because people can download worship music from the Internet, they don’t have to go to a service to seek God, so a different approach had to be developed.

“I need to go to church to experience a spiritual community,” Murray said. “When you find people like that, there’s inclusiveness, there’s forgiveness.”

Lake Retreat Camp and Conference Center was established in 1946 by a few Swedish Baptists, Murray explained, who had a vision of their own about using the Christian camping experience as a dynamic way of reaching people about their faith.

Since its establishment, the camp has grown to cover 60 acres and 60,000 square feet, with a number of buildings that can be used for summer residential camp, business conferences, church retreats and then some. There is a boat house, a dock on Lake Retreat, a chapel, a dining hall and more.

Murray envisions renovating the chapel for worship services but also sees the gorgeous outdoor setting to promote other ways for his congregation to connect with one another and God.

“What could happen in this space, the rush of hearing hundreds of voices singing the same song or two people in prayer on a bench or a family going on a hike after church,” Murray said. “I want to create a warm, inviting place where people can pursue spirituality outdoors… I want it to spill out of the chapel.”

Murray and his staff have done the best they can to create that environment at Kentlake, using the Performing Arts Center for worship then heading to the commons afterward to share a meal as well as fellowship, but he wants to go beyond that.

Converge NW, formerly Swedish Baptist Conference, has run the camp for decades. In the fall Converge NW launched Adelphia Bible School at Lake Retreat Camp and have decided to focus on its mission to develop leaders.

As part of the change, Murray explained, the group’s board of directors decided to sell the property.

They approached Real Life leaders in December.

“They came to us and said, ‘We understand you have a vision to combine a church with a camp atmosphere. Our denomination is going in a different direction and we would like to know if you’d like to buy our facility,’” Murray said.

The pastor’s initial reaction was to decline. It was too far away, Murray said, but then one of the church staff members encouraged him to drive out for himself and have look.

He discovered it was five minutes from Four Corners and may even be closer for many members of his flock than the six minute drive to Kentlake.

“Once I realized it could work, I started bringing people out here,” Murray said. “I saw people coming alive. I decided we should at least attempt it. I still don’t know how we’re going to do it.”

Several years ago, Murray said, they had discussed with previous staff of the camp the idea of the property in Black Diamond being an extension of Lake Retreat Camp.

“Now we have an opportunity,” he said. “I’m looking for people who want to help preserve it, people who worked here or went to camp here, I believe they’ll come out of the woodwork to help us renovate it and help us maintain it as a spiritual place.”

The trick going forward will be finding financing.

Thus far, Murray said, two friends of his who are pastors at other churches have pledged to help with donations.

But, owning a property where the church can hold worship services as well as host its other programs and community groups, is also practical.

Murray noted in a document he shared with the Reporter that over the years, Real Life has spent more than $1 million in rent for office space and worship services, in addition to the work it takes to set up and tear down each week.

“The camp has infrastructure in place to support virtually all of our needs,” Murray wrote in the document.

Real Life staff members have done their due diligence, Murray noted, in checking out the camp and the feasibility of the purchase.

The camp would continue to be operated as a separate entity from the church. Groups that currently use it would continue to have access it and Real Life would welcome more groups from the community to use it.

But, Murray added, in the attempt to purchase the camp his church will not be able to go it alone.

“We want to look at all options,” he said. “We’re looking to the community to help us get creative because it’s beyond what Real Life Church can do by itself. We’re exploring financial options and seeking generous donors, people who could finance this for us.”

According to the executive summary document Murray provided, the payment on the camp’s first mortgage is roughly equivalent to what the church now pays in rent, but Real Life will need help for the additional costs that will come the purchase so it isn’t financially overextended.

Real Life staff have delivered a letter of intent to purchase Lake Retreat Camp, sent out requests for help with financing, and an offer on the property which includes finance contingencies sent on March 1.

Converge NW’s board, according to the executive summary, has set a target date of May 1 to close the sale.

And while the purchase of Lake Retreat Camp is attractive because it has all the components Murray has envisioned for his church, particularly when Real Life bought the 90 acres near Black Diamond, that doesn’t mean that land will be abandoned.

Currently, it’s home to trails popular with the mountain biking community in the area, and Murray said the church has made a commitment to the community about providing recreation that the staff intends to keep.

“Someday we could still build a church building on our 90 acres,” Murray said. “We’ll see. We weren’t expecting this. So, who knows what the next surprise will be.”