I was visiting with my mother-in-law the other night and asked about her church. She replied, "Our pastor is leaving. We can't seem to attract any young families. There are 3 or 4 couples and a handful of widow ladies, and one young family." We talked further and she said, "But our building is worth a million bucks." She went on to say the church building was right next to the new mall in West Des Moines and that the city would love to own this piece of property.
It was a no-brainer for me, "Sell the building, hire you a young pastor with a family, pay him a decent wage so he can work full time at the ministry and set up church in a store front or school," I told her. "We could never do that," she said with a shocked look on her face. I said, "Well, then figure on dieing a very slow death as a church!" But I understood her shock; here was a group of older folks who have attended this church all their lives, and had no idea of how to break out of their slow death march and create a new look, a new perspective of ministry, a model that could be attractive to young families. The rut they were in was nothing more than a grave with both ends opened up.
I visited the Onawa Free Church yesterday. Quite the opposite from my mother-in-law's scenario. This established church recently sold their
old conventional church building in a hard to find residential area of Onawa. They sold the church building, bought a former car dealership building out on the highway, and are now busting at the seams. The men of the church have created a very lovely, usable space complete with sanctuary, offices, Sunday school rooms, kitchen and fellowship area. They have a huge parking lot complete with enough parking lot lights to light up every nook and cranny of the site. And to top it all off, before the ink was dry on the purchase of the car dealership, another company came along and offered to buy the service building across the street from them; they were able to get into their new building for next to nothing.
I liked their approach; it was not normal or conventional, but the leadership of the church understood they need more space, more visibility, and a facility on ground floor. As a result, the Lord has blessed them abundantly. They just purchased an adjacent building to the church to create a youth center; all for penny's on the dollar for new construction. We pray for Pastor Tim and the congregation that they will be salt and light to those who drive down main street Onawa. Great move!
Don't get me wrong: I love my mother-in-law, and I pray the best for this little Baptist church next to the mall. I am not asking them to throw out their piano and organ; I am not asking them to preach a lighter gospel; I am not asking them to stop meeting the needs of the seniors. I just wanted the church to look beyond their personal interests and needs and to see the fields white unto harvest; To place their church right in the middle of where people are living.
That is our prayer at the camp; to always look for more ways to preach the gospel. To be attractive enough to the unbeliever that he or she will give us a chance to share with them. And to be available when opportunities come our way to respond quickly and with the purpose of presenting the gospel message to those in need and for those looking for answers. I see the crumbling economy as a wonderful opener to share what God's Word says.
It was a no-brainer for me, "Sell the building, hire you a young pastor with a family, pay him a decent wage so he can work full time at the ministry and set up church in a store front or school," I told her. "We could never do that," she said with a shocked look on her face. I said, "Well, then figure on dieing a very slow death as a church!" But I understood her shock; here was a group of older folks who have attended this church all their lives, and had no idea of how to break out of their slow death march and create a new look, a new perspective of ministry, a model that could be attractive to young families. The rut they were in was nothing more than a grave with both ends opened up.
I visited the Onawa Free Church yesterday. Quite the opposite from my mother-in-law's scenario. This established church recently sold their
old conventional church building in a hard to find residential area of Onawa. They sold the church building, bought a former car dealership building out on the highway, and are now busting at the seams. The men of the church have created a very lovely, usable space complete with sanctuary, offices, Sunday school rooms, kitchen and fellowship area. They have a huge parking lot complete with enough parking lot lights to light up every nook and cranny of the site. And to top it all off, before the ink was dry on the purchase of the car dealership, another company came along and offered to buy the service building across the street from them; they were able to get into their new building for next to nothing.I liked their approach; it was not normal or conventional, but the leadership of the church understood they need more space, more visibility, and a facility on ground floor. As a result, the Lord has blessed them abundantly. They just purchased an adjacent building to the church to create a youth center; all for penny's on the dollar for new construction. We pray for Pastor Tim and the congregation that they will be salt and light to those who drive down main street Onawa. Great move!
Don't get me wrong: I love my mother-in-law, and I pray the best for this little Baptist church next to the mall. I am not asking them to throw out their piano and organ; I am not asking them to preach a lighter gospel; I am not asking them to stop meeting the needs of the seniors. I just wanted the church to look beyond their personal interests and needs and to see the fields white unto harvest; To place their church right in the middle of where people are living.
That is our prayer at the camp; to always look for more ways to preach the gospel. To be attractive enough to the unbeliever that he or she will give us a chance to share with them. And to be available when opportunities come our way to respond quickly and with the purpose of presenting the gospel message to those in need and for those looking for answers. I see the crumbling economy as a wonderful opener to share what God's Word says.
1 comment:
Hello Earl, I just wanted to thank you very much for writing about our church in your blog. I am a member of the Evangelical Free Church of Onawa. Thank you very much, I loved the article by the way. Have a great day.
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