Yesterday I blogged about Mike and Rose’s marriage.

Today it was in the paper. Here’s what The Herald had to say about this incredible day.

After 22 years ‘for poorer,’ friends help homeless couple wed

After dating for 22 years, Michael Gonteski and Rose Marie Grant had pretty much given up their hopes for a wedding. Bad breaks and financial trouble put that too far out of reach.

But last fall, the promise of a job brought them 600 miles from New Jersey to Rock Hill where a community would come together and change all of that.

Rose was 17 when she met Michael, then 20, at a roller skating rink.

“I’ve been in love with her since the first month,” he said. “I wouldn’t leave her side. I rode my bicycle six hours from Riverside (N.J.) to her house in Chatsworth.”

Money was tight. Michael worked in construction, roofing and fixing cars, work that was often temporary. Amid the recession, jobs dried up.

Michael took up an offer from an acquaintance to work as a mechanic in Rock Hill. The couple arrived in September to find that the job and housing arrangements fell through. They were among the more than 500 people in York County considered homeless.

They spent the winter in separate, temporary “warming shelters” intended to keep people off the streets on freezing nights. When those closed for the year, the couple moved to longer-term shelters. Michael went to The Haven Men’s Shelter off Archive Street, while Rose found a place at Pilgrims’ Inn women’s shelter off Main Street two miles away.

“As soon as he opened his eyes in the morning he would walk here to be with her,” Pilgrims’ Inn Director Susan Dean said. “He’s so devoted to her.”

“So far, it’s virtually impossible (here) for a couple without children to be housed together.

“From the get, Michael was in here asking us ‘Can I help you out? Can I carry that for you? Can I clean anything?’”

Dean’s staff helped the couple craft a plan for the future and got them into one of the shelter’s transitional apartments, where people can stay for up to two years while they work toward independence.

Touched by Michael’s and Rose’s commitment to each other, the staff began making calls to friends and local businesses.

Donations poured in: a suit for the groom, a wedding dress, rings for each, a cake, food and drinks for the reception, wedding gifts, an engagement ring.

The congregation at Church180, where Michael and Rose had started attending, volunteered to host. Meantime, the couple got good news.

On a day when Michael joined church members replacing the roof at Pilgrims’ Inn, a volunteer who works for a Charlotte construction company noticed Michael’s skills and told his boss. Michael was offered a temporary job that could become permanent.

“I absolutely see Michael and Rose as an example,” Dean said. “We work very hard to help all of our clients stabilize, but not all of them do … I’m quite sure they’re going to achieve independence and stability.”

On Saturday afternoon church members along with staff from Pilgrims’ Inn and United Way gathered in Church180′s auditorium. Pastor Paul Peterson’s 3-year-old daughter was the flower girl. Church member Taft Floyd’s son held the rings. Virgil Dey, a member of the church’s pastoral team, walked the bride down the aisle.

Michael and Rose locked eyes, said their vows then kissed for the first time as a married couple.

They were driven to the reception at Pilgrims’ Inn in a car adorned with white ribbons and dragging soda cans. On the back windshield someone had written “Just Married.”

“I feel real good,” Michael said after the reception. “They helped us out so much I can’t tell you how much they helped us.”

“It’s still overwhelming,” Rose said. “It won’t sink in for a couple days.”

They left for their honeymoon, a gift from an anonymous donor who booked a night at the Hilton Garden Inn with movie tickets and dinner at Chili’s.

Saturday was a great day for Mike and Rose, Church180 and me.

Mike and Rose have been together for 22 years. On Saturday they got married.

Mike and Rose have seen some tough days. They have experienced a lot of things that would stagger most of us and yet they keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Mike and Rose live at Pilgrims Inn and attend Church180.

Last week Mike was a critical team player in putting the new roof on Pilgrims Inn.  I got to know Mike better and my respect for him has grown. He is a hard worker and a good man.

On Saturday I saw Church180 and Pilgrims Inn love Mike and Rose real good! I watched as everyone pitched in to make a memorable day for these two wonderful people.

In a day filled with highlights, one of my favorite was when Virgil Dey (one of our pastoral team) escorted the lovely Rose down the aisle and gave her away in a beautiful ceremony. In the absence of “family” the church stepped up and filled gap just fine!

It is exciting to watch Mike and Rose move from brokenness to wholeness.

God bless you Mike and Rose.

Last week (Thursday – Saturday) Church180 and a team from Mountain Lake church in Atlanta tackled two big work projects!

Check out this video for an idea of what all happened!

This weekend is a big one at Church180!

I’ve got some exciting news to share with our church AND we start a new teaching series!

Check it out…

It’s getting closer!

Next week the team from Mountain Lake Church will be rolling into town and together we (2 churches from 2 different states and 2 different denominational backgrounds) will be coming together for one reason… we love Jesus and want to show the world, starting in our backyard, that He loves them!

Because we (the church) are His body we should be doing the things that He would do! We believe He would care for children who can’t help themselves, and because we believe that we are going to refresh a cafeteria and put a new roof over the heads of homeless children! We will literally impact hundreds of children!

Do you think they’ll think differently about the church and Jesus after this?

Here’s how we’re going to do that…

If you are a part of Church180, sign up this weekend to let us know what team you’re on!

If you are a part of the Mountain Lake Team, we can’t wait to work side by side with you to expand the influence and love of Jesus!

If you don’t go to either church, you can still be a part of these work teams! E-mail me us at office@church180.tv!

I’m so excited about how Church180 is caring for the world… especially the part in our backyard!

We have decided that though there is much that can and should be done, we cannot do everything and therefore we won’t. We have chosen two community partners (Ebinport Elementary and Pilgrims Inn) and we are pouring our resources (human and financial) into those two organizations. Because we have limited our focus we are able to do more for these two organizations than we would if we were trying to help multiple organizations.

Now here’s why I’m excited…

On July 15-18 a team of volunteers from our partner church in Atlanta, Georgia, Mountain Lake Church, is rolling into town. Our two churches together are going to tackle two big work projects, one for each of our community partners.

At Ebinport Elementary we are going to make their old, boring cafeteria a fun “must-be” place! Apex Marketing Solutions is partnering with Kim Buchanan (a local decorator) to create a cafeteria so cool that it makes me want to go back to elementary!

At Pilgrims Inn we are going to put a new roof on the building that houses homeless children during the day! Every time it rains they have to move the children to another place. We are going to fix that!

We will literally be touching hundreds of children because of these two work projects! I think that Jesus would do something like this. I think He would be fired up about making life better for little children! I think He would and so we are!

I want to send a huge, public shout out to:

• Taft Floyd and Jerry Hyatt, owners of Apex Marketing Solutions. These guys do great work and are an invaluable partner in this effort to care for the world in our backyard!
• Kim Buchanan, a local decorator and the early child care minister at Church180! She is overseeing this project and is an all-star!
• Mountain Lake Church, for sending a team of fired-up volunteers to help us share the love of Jesus with hundreds of children here in Rock Hill!
• Shane Goodwin, Principle at Ebinport Elementary for being such a great guy to work with!
• Susan Dean, Executive Director at Pilgrims Inn for working with us on this project!
• And finally, to the awesome volunteers from Church180 who are going to really show the love of Jesus in a way that will be helpful! I love you guys!

God cares about the world and now Rock Hill will know it!