The Challenge to Realize the Vision
Fast Facts
An Average Week at Village
- 3,800+ — Number of people coming through our doors in an average week
- 450+ — People hours required to support children’s ministry and worship arts for all weekend services
- 247 — Hours of meetings held each week at Village
- 86 — Number of events held weekly
- 26 — Rooms available for meetings at any given time
On average, day and night throughout the year, every other hour a room is being used at Village
Despite our faithful efforts, we are at best a fragmented community today. We have one huge obstacle keeping us from making more and deeper connections — space.
How can you connect with people you never even meet? We need a larger sanctuary so that more of us can worship together at the same time. We need a larger lobby so we can interact with one another before and after services instead of merely rubbing shoulders as we try to find our way to the nearest exit.
If we're having trouble connecting with one another, how can we expect to connect with those not part of our community yet? On Christmas Eve 2004, 900 people came to our 4 p.m. service and we had to turn some away, including friends invited by a Village family. This year we added another service, but there is a limit to the number of services we can hold on Christmas Eve, or any other day of the year.
Each week we turn down groups looking for meeting rooms. On other occasions, people must meet at inconvenient times. Last year, 15 families came to the Angel Tree Party held on a Saturday afternoon in December. This year, a large enough room wasn't available in the afternoon, so we held the party in the morning and only eight families came.
We must be careful to realize however, that buildings are not the vision. They are only physical resources to help us reach our vision. Buildings are not even our main resource. Our main resource is people — people living lives empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Buildings will help us better steward our resources, though. A larger sanctuary will create room for more people, for more of our community and our friends, to gather together. It will also allow us to reduce the number of services each weekend, reducing fatigue and burnout among volunteers and staff. It will free up our existing sanctuary for mid-size meetings such as the Angel Tree party, missions conferences or outreach events.
Some might say our vision is foolish, planning for growth while at the same time desiring deeper community. But if we want to continue being an effective vessel of God’s grace, we must grow both deep and wide. Our connections with one another and with our Lord must grow deep, for that is where we will draw strength. As we grow both larger and stronger as a body, we will be able to minister God’s grace to others, whether they live across the street or around the world, in ways we can only dream of today.
