That afternoon, a call was placed to Harold Nash with whom Mark had discussed the possibility of partnership. Soon Harold, together with his wife Dena, committed to the work as did a young man named Philip Lamar. Philip’s gift of evangelism and heart for all people led to Mosaic’s earliest contacts with the Latino community here in Central Arkansas.

Prenatal Development
Throughout the month of June 2001, meetings were held with those expressing interest in the emerging work. Near the end of that time, some 100 people gathered at the home of John and Joy White to further consider the vision of Mosaic and their own potential involvement. As a result of such meetings, the first members emerged.

Approximately 45 people assembled for worship and prayer on July 8, 2001, at Markham Street Baptist Church in Little Rock. That day in a small classroom adjacent to the fellowship hall, Karen Mason led worship and a very intimate time of prayer ensued. Such foundations are still evident at Mosaic.

Over the next four months, a growing number of people drifted from week to week and from church to church meeting wherever welcomed. As the group began to grow, so did the leadership. In this season, Treopia Bryant, Alison Clinton and Ines Velasquez joined Mark and Philip to complete Mosaic’s initial staff team.

By November 2001, the emerging congregation landed at Faith United Church near the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Finally, there was a place to call home and a measure of consistency began to emerge. Most encouraging at this time was the conversion of Amer Chami of Saudi Arabia, Angelikka Rumpler of Austria and Jesus Tobon of Mexico, some of the first to respond to our witness of Christ-like love for all people. Over the next two years, nearly 50 other individuals would also be led to Christ through the people and the passion of Mosaic.
Delivery

Mosaic was officially born in a service at Faith United Church on Easter Sunday, March 31, 2002. By the summer of that year, additional space was provided for our children by Lakeshore Baptist Church. In those days, it was with grateful hearts that we recalled Paul’s words, “Faithful is He who has called you that He will do it.” (I Thessalonians 5:24)

First Steps
From the beginning, however, Mosaic has not been defined by facilities but by the collective heart of those who call themselves one with us. In fact, the only building currently owned by the church was purchased in August of 2002 – a trailer in the B & B Trailer Park in Alexander – from which we envisioned the physical, material and spiritual transformation of an entire community.

After first improving the condition of the trailer and then surveying the community to identify needs, Mosaic hosted a Thanksgiving meal in November, 2002, at which we purposed not only to serve but also to eat with our neighbors. In addition, winter clothes were made available to the residents that day. It was from these humble beginnings that the people of this community have become one with us; our friends, fellow members of Mosaic and most importantly, followers of Christ.

Around this same time, we were blessed with the addition of Harry Li, his wife Melanie and their children. Like Mark and Linda, Harry and Melanie embraced a journey of great faith and sacrifice, leaving a wonderful home and position at the University of Idaho to share in the development of all that is and would become Mosaic. The miraculous provision of this godly couple was another confirmation of the fact that God was with us.

Since his arrival, Harry’s primary responsibility has been the development of community and relational connections within our body. Acts 2 Fellowships had been established to help do just that. Relationships are essential to the development of our community if we are to truly know and care for one another beyond the distinctions of this world that so otherwise divide.

In the fall of 2002, Joanne Pelant also joined our staff as Mosaic’s first children’s director. While funding was minimal, Joanne made a big difference and her hiring at this time expressed the essential nature of Mosaic’s emerging ministry to children.

In March 2003, Mosaic celebrated its first anniversary. Highlights from that day included the appointment of Harry Li to serve alongside Mark and Harold as an elder and a visit from Ken Hutcherson, the senior pastor of Antioch Bible Church – our mother church - in Seattle, Washington. “Hutch” brought greetings from Antioch and encouraging words of affirmation citing the faith, courage and sacrifice of so many to date that had made Mosaic a reality. In addition, Mosaic commissioned Gordon and Shawna Blocker to the work of establishing our first daughter church – the Church at the Village – in Dallas, Texas.

A Place to Call Our Own
After nearly 16 months at Faith, we had completely maximized the space and were in desperate need of a place to call our own. Numerous efforts to relocate to other facilities near the University – an area to which we felt sure we had been led – had consistently failed. There was nothing else for us to do but pray and wait.

Specifically, we were asking God for the miraculous provision of a facility as a testimony to the fact that He was, indeed, with us and so that God alone would be glorified. In obedience to the Spirit’s prompting, Mark placed a call in April, 2003, to the Wal-Mart Corporation. By the end of May, and with the help of fellow Mosaic, Gary Perritt, an agreement was reached: we would sub-lease nearly 80,000 square feet of abandoned facility near University and Asher for the amazingly low price of only .10 cents a square foot – a mere $650 a month - down from the original $18,000 a month we were originally told would be required!

With a great sense of awe and wonder, Mosaic first entered the facility in June, 2003, and conducted a prayer walk giving glory to God and dedicating the abandoned space to His purposes. By July of that year, Mosaic held its first service in the old Wal-Mart – from a place that once sold goods to all people, we would now share the love of God with all people!

God’s Provision of Staff
Such love hailed another miraculous provision of God in the arrival of Cesar and Elizabeth Ortega, who joined our staff and church family in the summer of 2003. Like others of our staff, the Ortega’s embarked on a journey of great faith and sacrifice, selling all that they owned and leaving their native country of Honduras to come to Arkansas in obedience to Christ. Their love for Christ and desire to expand His Kingdom was immediately evident, as was their gift of evangelism. Within the first six months of their arrival, nearly 25 individuals embraced Jesus Christ as their personal Savior in direct response to the Ortegas’ witness!

In the fall of 2003, Mosaic began its second full year of ministry. Continued growth necessitated the addition of both lay and vocational leadership; and once again, God provided! Debby Hamilton joined our staff as part-time children’s director and Rob McBryde, a recent graduate of Trinity Evangelical Theological Seminary in Illinois, raised his own support, moved back home and came to serve as a resident. Debby and her husband Clay joined our church together with long-time friends, Scott and Connie Scherz. Connie’s tremendous musical gifts and heart for worship led to her volunteer service as Mosaic’s first worship director. At this time also, Caron Higgins, who together with her husband, Eric, was among the first to join Mosaic, was also added to provide administrative support in the area of financial services. Another Mosaic, Carrie White, too, began to volunteer herself in providing administrative support to the pastoral team. And the list goes on …

ANOTHER YEAR OLDER
By its second anniversary, Mosaic was no longer a church being planted but a church being developed: and, while there is certainly much to celebrate, there is certainly much more we need to become. In the future, we will remain committed to doing whatever it takes to establish this church as a lasting tribute to Christ and a beacon of hope in an otherwise (still) systemically segregated society. We have been given so much; we can do no less.

Against the odds and in a very short time, God raised up this amazing community of faith. Significant percentages of Black and White Americans, together with individuals from more than 30 nations have become one with us, represented by the flags that fly in our worship area! No longer is there an excuse in Central Arkansas to bemoan the fact that little has changed in the 50 years since Martin Luther King observed that 11:00 on Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in the land. There is now a place where believers can, indeed, worship God together as one.

At Mosaic, it remains our firm conviction that the kingdom of heaven is not segregated along ethnic or economic lines. At Mosaic, we will continue to respond to the question, why on earth is the church?