What do we do with our Church Property?
I also posted this on our church website. Some food for thought
As a church, we would all agree that we are committed to developing fully devoted followers of Christ. In planning the use of our property, we need to think about how our land will help us to reach others, make disciples, and worship God.
Our land should definitely benefit the community. Too many times, churches become so protective of their facilities that they forget the reason they exist. By involving the community with our church, we build relationships, gain credibility, and are able to share the hope and forgiveness of Christ. I could envision Cornerstone being a place for conferences and community events as well. One of the first things we could do would be to build a walking trail and playground with parking. We also need to think soon about a multi-use building that could be used for services, meetings, dinners, dramas, sports, and anything else we can think of. We need more classroom space now for our children’s ministry, so we need to think about how to integrate classroom space into the building. As time goes on and we grow, we should think about how to transition into a larger worship facility that is more suited for providing an environment for our worship service. I also would like to see us continue to innovate and incorporate technology into our facilities and our worship. Good sound and video will help communicate the important message that we have to share.
I also think that the land is so full of natural beauty that we should not mess it up with metal shell buildings. My idea would be to use natural materials such as stone and wood to build the signs and buildings. An outside baptistry/fountain would be good to think about as well.
We need to trust God and focus on our goal of reaching others for Christ and making fully devoted disciples of Christ.