Over
the past several weeks, there have been a series of conversations and
congregational meetings to discuss the topic of our church’s building
campaign. Permitting with the County is moving forward, the
architectural designs are almost completed, and conversations with a
bank concerning financing are underway. Last week the District
Committee of our Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church gave
their final approval to our building plans. In spite of all of
this, one question remained unanswered.
Is this the direction that God
wants us to take and is now the right time? To answer these
questions we entered into a time of fasting and prayer. God has
promised us that His will for us and for the Church can be known.
When we turn to God and humbly pray, God will hear our prayers and
answer. Our recent congregational meetings were one way that we
sought to hear God’s purpose revealed. Many members of the
Church Council have been fasting and praying this week, seeking God’s
direction.
That time of asking for God’s guidance reached an important stepping
stone on Thursday evening when the Church Council met to vote on the
building proposal for the final time and gave unanimous approval to
begin construction. The tone and mood of the Council meeting that
night was excited, but also soberly cautious. There can be no
doubt that this decision is a momentous one for our church, but it is
also a huge step of faith.
Now the hard work begins. Now we must keep our eyes focused on
Jesus Christ and on the primary task He gave us – making disciples.
We should be
cautious. A building can never be the reason for a church’s
existence. It should never be more than a means to an end.
The end; the reason for the church’s existence is clear and expressed
so simply in our vision statement. “Love
God. Love One Another. Make Disciples.”
We
should be excited
about a new sanctuary, because it will give us more flexibility and more
opportunities as we reach out into our community with the Good News of
the Gospel. It will broaden the scope of our ministries to
connect, to celebrate, to serve, and to share.
This
Sunday, Palm Sunday, we will celebrate with a procession of palms at the
opening of our service. After the service I invite you to join me
in another very special procession; a procession from the school (where
we worship) to the site of our new sanctuary. Let’s pray
together before a single shovel of earth is moved. We will
set aside the space and ourselves to Christ anew by laying our palm
branches down in the footprint of our new building.
It
will be our prayer that Jesus will pass this way and that the people of
the Family of Christ will shout “Hosanna.”
Godspeed,
Pastor John