Three Renovations: Our Program

Each Wednesday I post my article from "Winning Ways," an e-newsletter that goes out to over 750 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "Winning Ways," sign up here.

I believe God put me here to lead Hillcrest to look afresh at our priorities, our activities, and our facilities. So, in these past four years since my arrival, we’ve been doing exactly that. I’ve often described it as a renovation project—a renovation of the heart (our priorities), the program (our activities) and the look (our facilities).

Last week we reviewed the renovation of the heart. But the renovation of the heart does not make the other two renovations unnecessary; it makes them possible!When I speak of our “program,” I’m talking about what we do, how we do it, and when we do it--I’m talking about our activities, our ministries, our worship, and our schedule. Across the last four years, we’ve made a number of “renovations” in this area. We’ve added “Discover Hillcrest” as a required membership class. We’ve committed our Sunday evenings to discipleship classes. We’ve added a second morning service (the “Bold Blend”). We’ve started the Common Ground Café. We’ve re-worked the morning kids program to give more options for parents. In our services, we’ve made more use of multimedia. We’ve added “Hillcrest Hoops” to our Upward basketball ministry.

Anyone who has gone through a major home renovation can tell you how stressful it is. It’s true when a church goes through program renovations, too. But Hillcrest is a resilient family, and in these past four years you’ve set a great example of love and support and flexibility! Thank you!

Now we’ve started turning our attention to the third area for renovation: our facilities. It’s not that we’re completely finished with the other two areas. In truth, the renovation of our heart is a lifelong process, and we have to be willing to constantly evaluate our program and make adjustments as necessary. But we also need to make improvements to our space, and I’ll tell you more about that in next week’s newsletter.

These three renovations didn’t begin with my arrival. Four years ago, I became God’s foreman for a project that had already begun. I hope you’ll continue to pray and work with me as we make a faith-full examination of our priorities, activities, and our facilities.

It’s an exciting time to be part of Hillcrest! Come to the 9:30am “Bold Blend” service or the 10:45am “Smooth Blend” service, or listen online Monday (iTunes; website).

Consider joining our team this summer! This Sunday, June 10, I teach a membership class called “Discover Hillcrest.” Look for more information in The Beacon and plan to come!