Bottom Line (confusing, because it’s at the top): The building I go to most Sundays cost $2 million to build.
Now, that’s not an exact figure, but you get the idea. That is a heck of a lot of money, even in the affluent community in which I dwell. That’s 2 million McDonald’s double cheeseburgers that could have fed 2 million hungry mouths. That’s 100,000 pairs of jeans that could have kept somebody warm or made them feel a little more comfortable at school or a job interview. That’s a lot.
It seems to me that so many churches start off small with these grand ideas of changing the world. They begin as visionaries, as idealists. When the rubber meets the road, and people start coming, they start changing. They have to employ more people to care for the people. They have to employ more people to care for the people who care for the people. They start up new programs. They build new buildings.
I am not at all saying that these costs aren’t necessary. But, so many of them are. How many sweet lookin’ macs do we need? [I admit that I would usually say: "As many as we can get our hands on.] Why do we need “state-of-the-art” sound systems? Does this help God to be heard? Are granite floors really the way to go?
Churches should invest in people. So many do such a great job of this. The church I go to does a pretty good job of it (I have some ideas for how they could do better…of course). I’ve harped and harped and harped about how relationships are so important. Investments in relationships excitement—they are a better foundation than concrete and steel.
Okay, what does a building-less church look like?
Well, I’m going to get an opportunity to see. Ecclesia, a church that serves the Montrose area in Houston, is planting a church in southeast Houston (the Clear Lake area) called, appropriately, “Ecclesia Clear Lake.” Regular meetings being September 9. The vision for this community does not have the word “building” anywhere associated with it. This is not at all uncommon. What is uncommon is a pastor that has a vision for a building-less church (at least this was his vision several months back).
So, I ask again: “What does a church with no building look like?”
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Praise God for your passion in the concept of building-less churches! Sounds like much good in ministry and relationship building can be done with no walls! Allow me to use your “cost” illustration another way, if I might. Your $2 million building, I assume will last at least a year, we hope. But let’s say it doesn’t. You didn’t say how big your church is, but let’s say 500 people. Since we’re reducing this to dollars, that’s a $5000 investment in each person, or about $10 bucks per day for each man, woman and child and every community they will find, every prayer they will pray, every friend they willl make, every soul that will find the Lord, every mission team you will send out, every new church you will plant, every coupld who starts a Christ-centered marriage, every baby baptized in the Body of Christ…a bargain even for just a year. Imagine what you’ll get for your money if that building lasts for 10 – 20 years!!! Or like our church — we’re celebrating 100 years for our sanctuary, and 218 years for our church, and we’re growning like wildfire, serving smack in the middle of downtown and planting another location in the burbs. In short, we love our church building–not because we love stone and mortar, but because we love the foundation it’s built on and how we gather as a people to be sent out to serve, love and care for others. Yes it takes resources — God’s resources that He first gave to us. But oh the return. God bless you.
I have colleagues who are ministers/pastors to building-less churches and one of the problems they talk about is how difficult it is to do anything outside their normal hours. If they rent the local high school gymnasium or assembly hall for worship, finding a suitable place to conduct a funeral or, to a lesser extent, a wedding is challenging. Even finding a place to hold church meetings once they outgrow the minister’s living room is difficult. Bible studies etc have to happen in homes, which is fine if you’re working in an area where people have suitable homes, but if you have a congregation that consists mainly of families with school aged children, unless it’s in a particularly affluent area, regularly hosting a Bible study or other group becomes too intrusive on family space.
Church buildings that are only used for worship and church meetings tend to be a less than ideal use of resources, but those that also welcome in community groups and conduct activities that reach out into the local community whilst retaining some flexibility for ‘emergency’ use by the church seem to me to be quite a good use of resources.