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Pastor Doug's Ramblings and Ruminations |
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Date: 2009-04-28 10:41:50
Title: The Future Multipurpose Facility
Sunday night, 4/26/09, we had a Church wide meeting about a proposed multipurpose facility. Here is an email that was sent out in response to that meeting.
> The meeting tonight went very well. There was some great discussion, and exciting ideas of opportunities for future ministry in that space that had not been thought of before, that were very exciting!!!! One totally new idea that was suggested was it could actually be where we birth our first mission church. For years this has been something our church has talked about... at some point starting a mission church.
> 70% of the funding is in place, so that is also encouraging. A new card was passed out and will be distributed to the rest of the church body asking us to prayerfully consider going the extra mile (extending their pledges for a period of time after the three year commitment is complete). The entire building ministry team and fund raising team has already agreed they will extend their pledge to help until the building is paid for. They encouraged us as a church body to prayerfully consider doing the same.
>It was said that 5%, for one reason or another, [were] not helping with the funding of this project. Can you imagine how quickly we could close the gap if those would get on board too? Of course that is between each member and the Lord.
> [One ministry leader] told of the plans to use it for helping with the ministry project we are hoping to get involved with regarding a homeless Families program and helping those select people get back on their feet. (Being Jesus hands in ministering to them. Remember He didn't just meet the spiritual needs of people when he walked the earth. He also helped feed them physically on more than one occasion.)
> There would be bathrooms with showers (one locker-room for women & one for the men) that would make it possible to actually have church groups in transit stay there overnight if needed.
> It would be wonderful too having a full industrial kitchen that would serve possibly as a soup kitchen, or make it possible with the new space for us to once again be able to all (full church) have meals in the same space together. To even all be able to eat in the same place on Wednesday evenings and not have to haul food from the present kitchen down the halls to the back Sunday school classes to be served in 3 different rooms. It is hard on the carpet in those areas and those having to do all that moving of food each week. I think if every member had to do that a few times they would agree the new space would be worth it just for that.
> I know it would also benefit us greatly to have a better kitchen when we serve grieving families with the Kitchen Brigade ministry.
> I know last year how hard it was for the Thrive Ladies Ministry to host the Christmas dinner. We were first limited in how many people we could sell tickets to because of the space issue and then our dear husbands and other men of the church that kindly served as our waiters that evening, had to brave the nasty weather we had that evening to go back and forth between the existing kitchen and the new sanctuary just to make that work.
> I can imagine wonderful Christian workshops/conferences being held in that facility.
> I know [the Youth Pastor] is excited about the possibilities for the youth to have a larger space too. He brought up some great ideas of plans they have for the youth and told us how that group is growing almost weekly and quickly running out of space where they are now. They are also scattered all over the church for their classes. Moving them to the new space would also give the children's and adult's classes new space for growth.
> [One person] said she had really been concerned with the economy. [But when she was home sick one Sunday she] heard two good sermons on television the same day that reminded her that we as God's children are not a part of this world's economy as we are a part of God's economy. HE is able to provide and we are not to be fearful.
> {One man] said he thinks a healthy church should always have some kind of building program going. If not for their own church property, then it should be used to build a mission church.
> [Another man] said it was how we should show our love for the Lord. It isn't our money anyway, it is God's.
> Other testimonies were give by members of the building team that told of God's hand in this already with the timing of the selling of "The Crossing" building, and then how God went beyond just selling that building to using it for another means of blessing others in our community.
> After the meeting we were able to walk outside and see the exact spot where the building would be built. They had it marked off with stakes and white lines.
> Those of you who are on the building committee or fund raising team, thank you so much for your hard work and many long hours of prayer to bless our church and ultimately bless our Lord. You are truly appreciated!
A special "Thank You" to the individual that sent this email. I get a lot of different emails. This one was a real encouragement. The excitement and enthusiasm is building in our Church. I can't wait to see what God does with this.
Doug
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