A long-time supporter of our ministry
caught up with me last week.
In her mid-70's, she has a tremendous heart for impacting the next generation:
"So, have you found a place yet for Life Church?"
"Oh yeah," I replied, "We're having services at The Dow!"
Her jaw dropped as low as her eyes went wide with disbelief.
"Really? You got The Dow?"
DON'T STICK YOUR TOE INTO THE WATER... CANNONBALL!
In just 72 days, we're kicking off monthly worship services at The Dow Event Center.
I spent eight months talking to people throughout our region while researching and touring tons of facilities before reaching the conclusion that The Dow would be PERFECT for Life Church's monthly worship services.
Here are the 3 factors that tipped the scales for our church start-up:
-
LOCATION. Rather than just reach a town, it's more fun to reach a region. Drawing unchurched folks from diverse locations stretching from Midland to Frankenmuth to Caro meant strategically locking-in a central location.
The Dow is perfect. Situated smack-dab in the center of Mid-Michigan at the intersection of I-675 and M-81, thousands of people will be literally MINUTES away from Life Church. - GO BIG. When we do something in the name of Christ for the fame of Christ, our church will always aim to do it RIGHT and do it BIG!
We believe that undistracting excellence honors God and inspires people.
We unapologetically place a disproportionate value on creating a worship experience that boldly celebrates Jesus Christ and attracts people far from God (Jesus attracted huge crowds!). -
A WOW EXPERIENCE. Remember the sweet little old lady I mentioned earlier? She understands the strong reputation of The Dow for creating Wow Experiences with world-class facilities.
As a start-up, we gain instant credibility from The Dow's long-standing reputation. This is huge in defining our start-up early and creating a positive presence in our region.
Mediocrity inspires no one. You don't have to do anything to become mediocre - - it just happens.
BEFORE SOMEONE BECOMES THEOLOGICALLY-AWARE,
THEY FIRST MUST BECOME ENVIRONMENTALLY-SECURE.
It's already hard enough to invite someone to a new church. Rather than reinforce old church building stereotypes of creeky pews and Awesome-in-the-70's shag carpeting, we are choosing to lower hurdles for our Guests.
The Dow's state-of-the-art facilities offer that special WOW we want our Guests to enjoy. Credibility in the lobby helps build credibility for the message.
IS THIS A PERMANENT MOVE?
Nope! In fact, I'd call this the Bonus Factor of meeting at The Dow: Flexibility. Working with The Dow gives us space for growth and creativity in our kids areas and main worship services. If we learn along the way that we need to switch toward a new venue, our relationship with The Dow allows for that kind of flexibility (and in a church start-up, flexibility is king).
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We'd love to have you join us for our first monthly worship service!
Hi Jon,
Now that a location has been established, I would love to help in the development of the new church. I was a member of NorthRidge Church in Plymouth, Mi, before I moved to Freeland. I played a very active roll within NRC as a volunteer. Most could find me there 5 to 6 days a week helping out in one way or another. I volunteered each weekend at the "Guest Services" or Welcome desk every Saturday evening and Sunday morning.
Please let me know what I can do, now that the countdown is on its way.
Thank you so much.
God Bless
Deb Peters
Posted by: Deb Peters | Thursday, July 05, 2012 at 05:58 PM