The Church is not a building where people go to pray,
It’s not made out of sticks and stones, It’s not made out of clay.
We are the Church. The Body of our Lord.
A significant piece of the legend of Saddleback Church in southern California is the fact that they used more than 110 locations between their founding on Easter Sunday in 1980 and their eventual move to a 100+ acre campus in Lake Forest. But they didn’t quit moving. They continued to plant new places for people to gather for worship, fellowship, learning and service. Today, they have five different ministry sites.
We can say many different things about that ministry but one of them certainly is that they realize, to the depth of their congregational DNA, that the Church is NOT a building. It is what happens IN the gathering of people – in worship spaces, in private homes and in the community itself that matters, that makes a godly difference in people’s lives.
On the other hand, it gets hot in Texas and air conditioning is a helpful tool when you gather a crowd to worship God. Buildings have their place.
We have two ministries in our synod now preparing to go on the move.
Celebration Church is a new mission development in Cypress that was officially launched in September, 2007. They have been worshipping in a school but have been under the gun since their local school district has a policy to limit outside groups to a three year rental relationship. Land is very expensive in that growing corner of the Houston metropolitan area and Celebration has not yet found where they will land. But they HAVE found where they will land next.
They have just signed a lease in a strip mall at the corner of Barker Cypress and Tuckerman, just south of Highway 290. This new location will heighten their visibility and expand their opportunities to gather people for worship, fellowship and discipleship. Bishop Rinehart will be with them on September 26th as they celebrate their birthday in their new location.
Joyful Life in The Woodlands has been worshipping in a school since their founding in April, 2005. The Mission Investment Fund had pre-purchased a church site in The Woodlands prior to the birth of Joyful Life and the new mission struggled to, at the same time, connect with new people and meet the requirements to build. Eventually they came to realize that their vision for ministry was not bound to a piece of land in The Woodlands.
After spending many months seeking an alternative site the congregation finally settled on leasing and remodeling a former carpet store at 5514 Highway 1488. Located just north of The Woodlands, this new site will open its doors to a new population of people. It will also consolidate their worship site and heart of congregational life.
Their renovation work is being done this month and the congregation plans to begin worship in the new site in September. If you are interested in making a house warming gift to Joyful Life, here is their wish list:
o 4 Sunday School Classrooms – $250 each – total $1,000
o 130 Chairs @ $30 each – total $3,900
o Outdoor Storage Shed – $1,500-received $450
o 32 Bibles for Worship Area @ $7.50-Total $240.00
o Office Computer-$1,000.00
Please contact Pastor Scott Cigich (pastorscott@joyfullifethewoodlands.org) if you want to help.
I remember well the “move” we experienced when I was serving Covenant Lutheran Church in Houston. The congregational leaders realized, on their very first Sunday in a new building in 1989, that the building and the land on which it would sit was inadequate for the future growth of the ministry. By 1994, when I arrived, I knew it too. But it wasn’t an easy problem to fix. Buying that first piece of land and constructing a new building meant borrowing a lot of money. That debt load limited our options. Ultimately, it took 11 years before we were able to move into a larger building on a 10 acre site that we could continue to grow into.
As we moved into that transition, and as we experienced those initial years, what I wasn’t prepared for was the subtle shift in congregational identity that we experienced. Overnight it seemed like we shifted from a “small” congregation with big dreams to a “large” congregation with little dreams. The fact is, we just moved directly across the street! But the reality was, something shifted.
As excited and proud as we were about a new building, so much more room, so many new opportunities, we also experienced a subtle “inward” turn that snuck up on us.
The corrective to that “inward turn” is to focus attention and energy on the call, the vision and the mission of the congregation. On what happens IN the building FOR the wider community, not merely for the congregation adapting to a change in space. Saddleback Church was able to do that in remarkable ways.
Congregations are meant to be on the move! Jesus never hired a single contractor. He knew the potential idolatry that comes when spaces intended to be places of prayer evolved into ends unto themselves.
Certainly we are all grateful for the buildings we sit in on Sunday mornings. Air conditioning is a good thing. But ministry isn’t about maintaining buildings. Debt for new buildings and maintenance costs for older ones can seriously hinder the missional potential of our ministries. We would all do well to remember that the Church is not a building.
May God richly bless and keep the people of Celebration Church and Joyful Life Church as they move into new spaces this month. May these moves be signs of their willingness to do whatever it takes to connect new people in new ways with the God who will love them to the end.
