The NewLife Blog
« Guest Blogger: Wes Feshler
Why does the church exist? »
[ # ] How can a church justify spending millions on a building?
Posted by Eric Stillman on May 20th, 2008 under Money, NewLifePrint This Post  Print This Post

Every few months or so, I get a letter from the denomination that I am licensed by with a plea to help a church that needs to make repairs on their building.  A few months ago, the letter was regarding a church in New Hampshire which meets in one of those old Congregational church buildings you see on every town green in New England.  Apparently the pillars that supported the roof were sinking into the ground, and things had gotten so bad that the building was deemed unsafe to meet in.  Long story short, it the church was going to need about $500,000-$750,000 to get the building into usable shape again.

Wow.

Certainly costs a lot of money to have a building, doesn’t it?  Closer to home, the Episcopal church up the street from our office just recently completed a $1.64 million renovation and addition to their building.  Again, Wow.

Why do I bring this up? 

Well, our church, from day one (16 years ago) has never owned a building.  We have rented the same office space for awhile, and have rented space in various schools and now a Lodge for our Sunday worship gatherings.  The biggest benefit has been that the majority of our money goes towards ministry and not facilities.  The biggest drawback has been that we are still pretty invisible in town, and our growth and impact has likely been hindered by our lack of a permanent space.  This past Sunday, I told the congregation about a rental opportunity that has presented itself that would essentially double the amount we spend in rent, but would also give us a seven-day a week presence in an excellent location.  I think that this opportunity is an appropriate time to ask two foundational questions that we need to consider:

 What should be a church’s attitude towards buildings?
 What option would help us best live out the vision God has given us?

I remember dealing with similar questions when I graduated college and moved into my first apartment.  I can recall struggling with whether or not it was appropriate to buy a couch, or whether it would be more Christlike to sit on cardboard boxes and give the money away.  In the end, I decided that I could be the best steward of God’s money by using it to create a hospitable environment, and then using my apartment as a place of ministry (I ended up hosting a youth ministry at my place for the next four years).  The key word was stewardship – how can we make the best use of God’s money?  By renting a place one day a week to meet in, even though we may end up invisible and have minimal impact?  By renting a 7-day a week facility from which we can engage our community, even though we’ll be spending a lot of money on a building that is not really ours?  Or by owning our own facility, even if it means having the danger of one day spending $500,000 to replace pillars?  It’s not an easy question.

One problem is this:  I don’t think we can really answer that question until we answer the second question – what is our God-given vision, and which option will help us fulfill that vision?  If our purpose is to come together once a week to teach and encourage Christians, then perhaps it would be good stewardship to rent a place to meet one day a week.  But if our vision is to see lives transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ and to see our community and world transformed by the gospel (which it is), what will give us the best chance of making that happen? 

I know that a seven-day a week facility is not the answer for everything, but I believe it does go a long way, especially in New England, towards having a transformative presence in town.  It establishes some permanence, as well as a base from which to minister to the community.  In New England, where I believe most people equate “church” with “building in which people worship,” having a seven-day a week facility can give a church legitimacy and cause people to visit who would never visit a church in a school or a Lodge. 

On the other hand, having a seven-day a week building, whether it is rented or owned, means that there will be more issues of stewardship, and a greater potential of wasting valuable resources on non-eternal things.  How can you avoid spending half of your budget on bills related to your facility?  How can you be economical with every purchase, so that you have more money to give towards ministry?  How much is too much to spend on rent, or on a mortgage?

So what do you think?  If our purpose and vision is to see lives transformed by the gospel and to see our community and world transformed by the gospel, what role does a building play in that?  Will it help, by offering a permanent location from which to minister, or will it hinder, by tying up resources – monetary and time – in facilities instead of in people?  I would love to hear your thoughts.  If you have anything to share, please add your comments.

“Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.” (Psalm 127:1)

Read the Comments

[ # 7155 ] Comment from Christopher Dart [May 21, 2008, 7:17 am]

Dear Beloved in Yeshua Adonai,

I address the Church (Christians everywhere) regarding this very important event.
First of all, I believe a full time rental in the center of Glastonbury is a good idea. If I could vote, I would vote, “Aye.”

It is fundamental, however, we be about the Father’s business. I don’t mean to be about religious activities. Religion is not of God but of the flesh.

How then, shall we approach such things as moving to a more expensive rent? First, the basics: Our First Love. Beholding the face of Jesus, as in a glass, being transfigured into His image, from glory to glory, by the Holy Ghost. Prayer is fundamental, daily getting into the presence of our Lord. If we don’t do that, we operate in the flesh. Our activity is merely religious, having no effect on society.

Jesus gave us this instruction: Watch. In every eschatological parable, He told us to watch and set forth examples of waiting for the thief, and the return of the boss, and return of the Bridegroom. This gives us a good idea of what watching is.

We also know, from Scripture, we are to do the will of Christ. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. That must be our foremost concern before our Lord. When we pray, we pray, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done. The first things we should request in prayer should be, “Help me, O God, to live my life that Thy Kingdom come. Whatever I do, may it be in your will . . .”

God told Moses, “Command ye, the children of Israel, to bring pure oil olive, beaten, for the light . . .” Oil is symbolic of the Holy Ghost. We come to the assembly and should bring the presence of the Holy Ghost with us. We are only able to do that as we spend time in His presence. It’s true we have His presence in theory, but without daily prayer, who can detect it? We must make the effort to daily seek His face in prayer. As we do that, we bring oil for the light. As we bring oil for the light, me will say, “Of a truth, the presence of God is in this place.”

No matter what building we meet in, we meet in vain without the Lamp burning. Sadly, the Lamp has been removed from most of what calls itself the Church. Jesus made that promise, “Except thou repent, I shall come quickly and remove the Lampstand from his place.”

I was commiserating with an evangelist about the sleepy state of the Church from Key West to Maine. He simply said, “If my people, which are called by my name, would humble themselves and pray, and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land.”

We simply must humbly be repentant before Almighty God and be prayerful. It’s certainly not a sign of God’s hand on the Church when I know of two Christians who committed suicide, one who murdered another and one who was murdered. I stress we must watch and pray.

As New Life Fellowship goes to the Center of Glastonbury, watching and praying, expect God to move among you mightily and bring abundant blessing to you.

Godspeed,

Christopher

[ # 7213 ] Comment from Job [May 23, 2008, 1:35 pm]

If the vision of New Life is to see (as many lives as possible) transformed by the Gospel as possible. The size, usage limitations, configuration and near physical invisability of the current location greatly limits the ability to reach out to the greater community. The basic question is not whether to move, but when and where. It seem like through an unually confluence of circumstances God provided a low cost (relative to all its advantages) answer to prayer. Why not trust that He will provide?

Write a comment