March 8, 2007
I remember when we were in the old building on Glencliff and planning on relocating to our present property. It was a risky and expensive vision. Some of our most faithful members raised a very interesting question: wouldn't our money be better spent by using it for mission projects that help people rather than putting it into bricks and mortar?
That is a legitimate question. Our belief at the time was that growing churches ultimately do much more mission work per capita than do stable and declining churches. Today we don't simply believe that to be true, we know it to be true. Since we moved to our present location in 1997 and began our rapid growth, our statistics have been rather remarkable. Our membership, attendance, and budget have all grown by a multiple of between 3 and 4. But the money that we invest in missions has grown exponentially. Even more impressive are the numbers involving people power. Whereas in the old location we had a dedicated but small group of volunteers who were doing mission work, we now have a sizable portion of our congregation (well over 1,000 individuals) involved in hands-on mission projects.
If you are interested in growing the missions and outreach programs of our church, I can't think of a better way to do it than by making more room for people in the pews. Growing churches become outreach missions with tremendous people power, prayer power, and the power of financial resources. The history of our church proves it: constructing a building is about much more than bricks and mortar. Done effectively, it is also about outreach and missions for decades to come.
P.S. You gave over $26,000 on Sunday for mosquito nets and the United Committee on Relief, proving once again that you are one of the most generous churches in Methodism.