It is much easier to look back and see God working in our lives, obviously. 
I was a second grader trying to memorize the 23 Psalm before the cute little girl
in my Sunday morning class.We both never dreamed that we would be married when we
were 19! We met in Sunday School class at the Birdville church of Christ in a 
Ft. Worth, TX suburb. We were friends and classmates until I moved with my family 
as a part of Exodus Burlington to start a congregation in MA. Kathy gave my going 
away party before we moved to Burlington. I returned to Texas to go to college and 
there she was with a brand new 70 Chevrolet 2 door coupe (that I was sure I would 
like to drive) and prettier than ever. We worshipped together again at the Richland
Hills church of Christ, a plant from Birdville. After a first 45 cent coke date 
after Bible study on Wednesday evening, we began dating and were married in 1971. 
We have been a team now for over 38 years. We cherish our background growing up in 
the Bible belt with parents who wanted us to be faithful, loving Christians and part
of God's great family in the Ft. Worth area.


Ministry History

After I was in the Military we worked at Christ's Haven Home for Children and
Manuelito Christian Children's Home. Working with children is so enlightening. 
It showed us that we wanted to be ministering wherever we were. Then God called us 
at Clifton, TX to go back to school and be in supported ministry.We have ministered
with the Church in Wewoka, OK with Mack and Golda Lyon, Kansas Expressway and Sunset
in Springfield, MO, Lakeview in Tacoma, WA and Skagit Valley, WA,. Then we went to 
Riverton, WY and Willard and DeSoto in Missouri. We have so many great memories of 
folks all over the country. Now God has called us back into the Pacific Northwest 
again. We worked with the congregation in .Monroe, WA for the last 3 years. 
I directed GNEW (Great Northwest Evangelism Workshop) while working with Lakeview. 
After we left the Northwest, GNEW ceased to exist. I believe that God brought us 
back to the Northwest not only to minister to individuals and congregations, but to 
restart a workshop. I now directs RENEWAL (A Northwest Evangelism Workshop) that has
taken the place of GNEW. RENEWAL is traveling. The first year it was in Tacoma, 
then it went to Everett, WA and for the last three yearshas been in Portland, OR. One thing we
believe is that we need to help each other as individuals and congregations more. 
There are too many people lost and dying in sin for any one congregation to make a 
dent in that number alone. We do workshops to help God's people work together. 
Now we are asking you to help us to help God's people work together!






Our Family

We have 3 plus children. Mike, Katie and Brent came into our family between 1972 and
 1979. We added David when he was already in High School with Brent in Riverton, WY.
 The children were always bringing others home. Mike graduated in Mt. Vernon, WA 
then went to the Navy. He met Michele in High school and when he returned after Navy
Nuke training they were married. Mike, Michele and their 3 daughters have recently 
moved back to Washington where he works at Grand Coulee Dam. Katie and Bill live in 
Springfield, MO. If you have grown children you will remember when the children 
started leaving home. Katie left for York College to get a history degree and little
did I ever imagine that she would end up living in the town where we have half our 
ministry years. Brent and Sarah live in Eastern Washington and are pursueing their 
careers there. David and his daughter are in the Denver area... 
Praise God for kids and grand kids!

God's Ministries We're a Part of

 

Pateros Church of Christ Pateros, Washington is a small town at the crossroads of where the Columbia and Methow Rivers meet. It was a place where trading was the key starting back when our Country and State were new. The congregation at Pateros is the one of the two (the other being a Conservative Christian congregation at Kingston, WA which is across Puget Sound from Seattle) oldest Restoration churches in the State of Washington and the Pacific Northwest. Right now we average 40 plus in Sunday assembly . We are a congregation that grew old and now is beginning to grow young again. The young we have are mostly new to the Churches of Christ and especially church history. This has allowed us to overcome any prejudices and we have people coming that have varied church or no church background. This year we added a partner in ministry and have already worked together on a project at Apple Pie Jamboree the third weekend in July. The Dalton Gardens congregation in Coeur d’Alene Idaho chose us as their local mission congregation. The idea is that we are close enough for them to come over personally and help us with manpower to reach out to our community. They did this on the third weekend in July and we were able to volunteer to be marshals helping in several ways to expedite the activities of the Jamboree. We had a float with our Wednesday kids on our parade float and conducted Sunday morning worship assembly at the Park where the Jamboree is held. The program with Dalton Gardens’ has very little money and mostly manpower. The money goes to the congregation, not Kathy and my support. SPEAKING of our WEDNESDAY KIDS. We have had for the better part of the last two years a Wednesday kids program for kids from our neighborhood and Pateros in general. We started with 4 or 5 and now have as many as 18. All these kids are neighborhood kids and their parents chose not to come. We have the fall through spring program at 6:00Pm. We feed these kids a meal, and then have a Bible lesson and Bible related craft or games and projects. Out of this has come out October Harvest Party when we have had as many 100 kids and parents. In the summer we meet from 3-4 and have the same program without the meal. (PS the kids like Ice cream sandwiches the best as a treat) WE have had a float in our local parade the last two years from our Wednesday program. We are raising support money for the first five years as we plan on congregational growth and intend to be self-supporting at that point or before.

North Central Washington

 

Pateros is in Okanogan County, the largest county in Washington State. If you looked at a map we would be in the North Central part of the state from Hwy 2 North to the Canadian border and between the Cascade Mountains and the mountains of Idaho on the East side of the state. We are a small congregation in a very large area and think in a regional church mindset. We have people who drive from 40-60 miles just to attend Sunday services. We believe we are to be an evangelizing, church planting congregation. It is our desire to replant a church in the Omak/Okanogan area. (North of Pateros about 45 miles) We would also like to start a new congregation in the Grand Coulee/Electric City area. (Grand Coulee Dam, Grant County) I believe that is why the Lord found us a house to buy in Electric City which is 60 miles from the church building at Pateros. We hope to plant a new congregation in as little as two years. Would you help us in this ministry? We have struggle the last two years with trying to get new congregation planted in Grand Coulee. We have had an advertised Bible study featuring John Clayton’s material with no success and thought we might be able to get the old church of Christ building back but that fell though for several reasons. If your congregation would be interested in helping us do this we would be interested in your help. We need more finances to help us with this idea as well. Both in Grand Coulee and Pateros we would be open to your congregation sending workers for mission VBS, Mission Basketball, baseball and Volley ball camps for children.

Renewal

 

Renewal Northwest Workshop was our creation when the Lord brought us for a second time back to the Pacific Northwest at Monroe. Being the former director of the Great Northwest Evangelism Workshop(GNEW) in Tacoma, I still knew many folks around the Pacific Northwest. Renewal's proposes to gather Church of Christ members from around the Pacific Northwest (all the way to Alaska) at least once a year for encouragement, spiritual growth and to facilitate working together to reach the lost. If you live in a mission field seeing that the church is larger than where you attend the other 51 weeks a year is encouraging! We have nothing to promote accept New Testament Christianity. I do not receive any funds for this nor does anyone else at this time. The Elders at Pateros and at Monroe believed this is a needed ministry. Kathy & I travel speaking to congregations all over the Pacific Northwest to raise money and to promote working together. If you would like to help us, we would be delighted to tell you about this ministry. This year Renewal will be held in Portland Campus. The dates are Wednesday June 30th at 6:30 pm through Saturday, July4th at noon. Come and be part of a spiritual feast! For a list of speaker or other information, go on line to www.renewalnorthwest.com.

A Dose of reality and faith

We will be in need of raising $4000 a month to continue to be involved in these ministries starting in January 2010. The good folks at the congregation who have supported us the last two years is a small group who sold a building and that lost money in the economy when the stock market struggled. They are not pleased to have to stop supporting but are running out of funds. The congregation also at Pateros is not able to support us as agreed. We have had several struggles this year. We have not received a full or nearly full support from them since November 2008. God has blessed us and we have not starved, but we are beginning to run late on our bills. Soooo, Kathy and I still believe in these ministries! Please help us so we can stay in them! Dave

For More Information

Here is our contact information if you would like to talk to us in person. We would love to hear from you and about what God is doing in your life! Drop us a note with any questions or comments and we'll get back with you as soon as possible. God Bless You and your loved ones till we see you this side of heaven or the other!

Address

David and Kathy Dowlen

PO Box 207

Electrice City, WA 99123

 

By Phone

Home: 509.633.8368

Dave's Cell: 509.631.4280

Pateros CofC: 509.923.2662

 

Email

Dave@daveandkathy.org

Kathy@daveandkathy.org