As our foyer renovation takes shape, the church staff recently looked back to the germination days of the project to remind ourselves of its importance. Why are we doing this? Why make changes and rock the comfortable boat?
Christ Covenant has seen some significant changes in these early years of the decade. We have a new name, a refined vision and purpose, a new online presence, a new digital sign, and a new assistant pastor. If challenge is defined as,“difficulty in an undertaking that is stimulating to one engaged in it,” these changes have challenged us. For starters—
Difficulties
- Discerning the right adjustments to make in a shifting culture–where to stand firm, where to give
- Maintaining the unity of the Spirit in those decisions, considering others as more important than ourselves
- Monetary expenses (change can be expensive!)
Stimulation
- Finding changes to be a way of showing love to our community and a future generation as we meet them where they are
- Seeing change as an indicator of life as it grows us and moves us, keeping us from stagnation
- Discovering the joy and satisfaction of participating in the stewardship of the resources God has given us
Present behind the scenes of the foyer renovation for the past two years have been these difficulties and these stimulations. We wrestled with why we should make physical modifications by asking this question: What do we want to communicate about Christ Covenant Church when someone walks in the front door? The answer has three elements.
- Information.
- Community
- Communication
Information. The welcome desk and its digital screen (coming soon) provides a place for guests and members to easily find the answers to questions and discover ways to participate in church community life. It welcomes by alleviating confusion and awkwardness.
Community. Creating more small seating areas to invite fellowship and intimacy.
Communication. Using our walls to explain to newcomers (and to remind us “regulars”) our mission and purpose as a church.
At Christ Covenant Church, we follow Jesus by loving God. Our new space will honor the Lord by reflecting his beauty and order in our surroundings. As Brett McCracken expounds in The Wisdom Pyramid,
“God wants to be loved. He wants us to experience his presence not just cerebally but tangibly: in our bodies, our senses, our emotions. This is why beauty has always been central in the worship practices of the church…. We praise God through music, poetic liturgy, church architecture and other forms of beauty. We emphasize physical rituals like baptism and the Lord’s Supper because we recognize the importance of embodied forms in the shaping of our hearts, helping us not only to know Jesus but also love him….”
We follow Jesus by loving others. Our new coffee space and accompanying seating areas will encourage us to invite others to sit and talk with us. It will allow us to listen, and inspire us to give our time to physical presence.
We follow Jesus by serving the world. By creating a space of updated visual appeal we reach out to an image-driven culture. The new design is meant to foster an open-handedness with our property by providing another comfortable place for meeting for fellowship and discipleship outside of Sunday morning.
We pray that as you watch the foyer project move through its upcoming stages, your heart will be stimulated with an energy to seek the Lord for ways that He would have you use the space to love Him, love others, and serve the world.
For further reading: “Does Your Church have a Narthex Mentality?”
