Inspiring a City, Stewarding a Legacy
After a successful merger, Inspire Church has opened its uniquely designed doors to the community and is bringing the fresh love of Jesus to a desert town.
On August 11, 2024, Inspire Church in Lake Havasu, Arizona, had its first service following a merger with what was Stonebridge Christian Fellowship. Nearly 200 people attended the inaugural service, including both the former and current pastor, who have been a rich example of healthy transition for the Arizona Ministry Network.
Now, they continue to move forward as one church and are creating opportunities for the community to experience the redemptive love of God, living out the heart of Inspire Church.
ORIGINS
Originally from Seattle, Tim Giles, 49, and his wife Jenny (who now have four children: Juul, Isabelle, Sophie and Joe), came in 2003 to Lake Havasu, a renowned desert paradise in western Arizona.
In his heart, Giles held a quiet sense of God’s instruction to plant a church there. He began youth pastoring at Stonebridge Christian Fellowship, under the leadership of Richard Tatham, who had founded Stonebridge in 1974. Giles and Tatham quickly experienced a deep friendship, which continues to this day.
In 2010, Giles felt the Lord instruct him it was time to start a new church. He, Jenny, and his sister were Inspire’s first attendees, holding the Sunday morning service in their living room. The church didn’t stay small for long. It was running about 100 attendees by the time Giles and Tatham — by then in his late 80s and still pastoring Stonebridge — began discussing a merger around 2020.
During the merging process, Giles, who was ordained with another ministerial group, was asked to become a certified Assemblies of God minister prior to taking leadership over an Assemblies of God congregation. He says that as he began digging into AG history, he felt that he had “found his people.” He obtained his credentials through the Arizona Ministry Network and continued on in pursuit of ordination, which he obtained in 2024. He now serves as lead pastor of Inspire Church.
THE GOLF BALL CHURCH
Moving into the Stonebridge facilities in 2024 allowed Inspire to leap from 3,000 square feet of space to 30,000 square feet.
It is a particularly unique facility, comprised of three geodesic domes, a cutting-edge design when built during the 1970s. In fact, when being built under Tatham’s leadership, the church was visited by Life magazine, and an entire spread was done on the building.
Giles says, “Our building essentially looks like three golf balls coming up out of the desert dust. And it really helps people know right where we are — they say, ‘Oh yeah, you are the golf ball church!’”
The sanctuary currently seats about 350. Giles says the acoustics are wonderful, joking that they help cut down on gossip, as ‘something whispered one side of the sanctuary can be heard way on the other side.’ The church also houses many classrooms and a gymnasium, which have proven to be key in Jesus’ unfolding of His purposes for Inspire and its ministry.
GOD AND HIS FAVOR
Giles shares that, leading up to Inspire’s August 11, 2024, service following its merger with Stonebridge, his phone began ringing off the hook with various groups wishing to rent the church’s gym. It began with a pickleball group, with demand rapidly accelerating from there. Giles and his leadership scrambled to set up a contract template and system for handling rentals.
Today, the Inspire gym is booked seven days a week. A K-12 school and a high school (both Christian charter schools) use its classrooms, in addition to the gym’s rigorous schedule. Of the high school, Giles says, “These are really neat kids. They’ve had some tough times, and I love what the school is doing.”
A Celebrate Recovery group is also housed within Inspire’s walls, creating what Giles calls “a positive impact on those who are struggling.” Over 100 people attended the first meeting, and growth has only continued.
This is vital in a resort city like Lake Havasu. Giles explains, “For a long time this was known as a party town. Our population doubles in the winter with snowbirds, and in the summer with many of the wealthiest boaters and vacationers. So, people who live here support the recreation of others and can easily get involved in drugs, alcohol, and bad relationships. It is vital to see our area as a mission field, working to see the gospel transform lives. Also, the International Jet Ski competitions are held here, each year we have people visiting from Europe and around the world. It gives us a special, local opportunity to ‘go into all the world.’”
Giles has been invited to be on the board of Lake Havasu’s Tourism Bureau, sitting alongside local business leaders. He has also been invited to pray over city council meetings, with mayor Cal Sheehy regularly checking in on him and expressing joy at what Inspire is doing in the city.
“Even those who aren’t believers are cheering us on,” Giles says. “They know that this church cares and loves them. They know we care about their whole daily lives, not just giving a belief system to them. We want them to have safe fun places for their families. There is only one way to sum up all these things that have come about in our first year of existence — God and His favor.”
And every Sunday, now 93-year-old pastor Richard Tatham (who was recently honored for his decades of distinguished service) sits on the front row, rejoicing in what the Lord has done.
“Every Elijah needs an Elisha,” concludes Arizona Ministry Network Superintendent Jeff Peterson. “And it is a neat Elijah and Elisha situation between pastors Tatham and Giles. It has been beautiful to see an older man like Pastor Tatham — who is really a legend and was far ahead of his time — hand care of this church to a younger man like Pastor Giles, bringing the church into an upswing and stewarding the legacy well.”
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