Comments on: Why I Hate Church Buildings http://www.witheringfig.com/ministry/why-i-hate-church-buildings/ In principio erat Verbum... Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:11:24 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Judy Redman http://www.witheringfig.com/ministry/why-i-hate-church-buildings/comment-page-1/#comment-711 Judy Redman Fri, 27 Jul 2007 01:11:55 +0000 http://www.witheringfig.com/2007/07/26/why-i-hate-church-buildings/#comment-711 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. 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.

]]> By: Marcy http://www.witheringfig.com/ministry/why-i-hate-church-buildings/comment-page-1/#comment-710 Marcy Thu, 26 Jul 2007 22:33:04 +0000 http://www.witheringfig.com/2007/07/26/why-i-hate-church-buildings/#comment-710 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. 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.

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