Three Renovations: Our Space

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“The sermon starts in the parking lot.”

That’s how church leader Andy Stanley puts it. Long before the pastor begins to speak, guests draw conclusions about the church. They make their assessment from the moment they park, to the upkeep of the grounds they walk past, to finding the right door to enter, to the nursery where they leave their baby, to the seating and lighting and sound quality of the auditorium they sit in, to the quality of the printed material they read before the service begins, and on and on.

We have fantastic space in a fantastic location, but our space needs some updating and upgrading. That’s one of the three renovations I believe God called me to lead. In my last two Beacon articles, I’ve talked about the renovation of our heart and the renovation of our program. The third area for renovation is our space. As Jennifer Schuchmann wrote:

The condition of the building, the landscaping, and the signs can make a difference between a church that welcomes visitors and one that is ignored. Curb appeal is not about tricks; it's about removing barriers that discourage people from coming inside your church where they can experience your ministry.

Did you know that God actually withholds his blessing from those who pay more attention to their own house and business than they do to the place where he is worshipped? In Haggai 1:1-9, he actually says we should pay attention to the building where he is worshipped “so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored.”

To help me with this work of renovating our space, I have some advisors that I call my “First Impressions Team.” Recently I gave them disposable cameras and told them to take photos of things about our facility that should be addressed. I’ve also asked them to take photos of interesting features at other facilities. As the team looks at these photos in a couple of weeks, we’ll start talking about changes to recommend to our church family. Take your own photos of these things, too! I’ll need them in 2 weeks.

This church knows how to build. Within the last 10 years you renovated the multipurpose center and you built a three-story education building. You were already at work updating and upgrading our campus before I got here. I’m glad I’m here to join you in that ongoing work!

Join us this Sunday at Hillcrest (9:30am or 10:45am) if you're in the Austin area, or listen online (iTunes; website), posted every Monday.