RBC’s series of Beacon articles this year showcases a wide variety of differing practices encountered among Rosedale Network congregations. We hope these articles promote thoughtful discussions and spark new ideas about the differing ways our churches are faithfully seeking to honor Christ as His Body.
This or That?
Part 7
Build Bigger: Greenwood Mennonite Church in Greenwood, Delaware
To build or not to build was the question we wrestled with for quite a few years. Our previous meeting house was originally built in 1947 with an addition in 1971. We were beginning to deal with issues of space and functionality, but how does a church decide whether it’s time to build?
I think we all agree that the most important call of the Church is to go into all the world and make disciples. How do we sense God directing us to fulfill this command in each season of the lives of our churches?
At Greenwood Mennonite Church, we began this discernment by evaluating the effectiveness of our current ministry.
Since its founding in 1914, our church has spawned numerous other churches, but in this season, we were beginning to feel like it was increasingly difficult to effectively care for and disciple the people that God was bringing to us. While we could still seat all who attended on Sunday mornings, worshippers overflowed from the sanctuary into the balcony and side room. This fragmented seating pattern did not help build a strong sense of community.
Not only was our sanctuary getting too full, but the foyer was small, congested, and less than welcoming for people entering the church. Also, parts of the building were not accessible to handicapped people. On occasion, friends had to hoist wheelchairs up and down stair steps to make it possible for everyone present to participate in church events.
Our larger, new building is not only more welcoming and handicap accessible, but it has also created additional, unplanned opportunities to build relationships with people outside of our regular attenders. For example, the local blood bank has begun to use our new building for blood drives. It’s a wonderful way that we can bless our broader community and also spread the love of Jesus.
The monthly women’s sewing circle has also increased in size since we have a more suitable place to meet. Other groups, not related to our church, are using the new facility. All these events create opportunities for us to connect with non-church members.
In the end, our new building, completed in 2021, wasn’t just about making us more comfortable. We believe it’s helping us become more effective in serving our broader community—and fulfilling the Great Commission.
John David is the senior pastor of Greenwood Mennonite Church. He and his wife, Carlene, have four children and ten grandchildren. John David has a hobby of tracking persons who hike the American Discovery Trail, a trail passing near their farm, which people use to hike across America.
Plant Another Church: Agape Community Fellowship in Hilliard, Ohio
There’s a sign that hangs on the back door of the auditorium at Agape Community Fellowship. It expresses an attitude that I’ve come to appreciate in a church. It’s one of the things that drew us to the church when our family moved into the area 12 years ago. It’s a simple sign that reads, “Please keep all food and drink in the sanctuary.”
It’s counterintuitive. Depending on the church, we have a tendency to guard our auditoriums, keeping them safe from activities other than corporate worship gatherings. Agape’s auditorium is more of a multipurpose room, where we gather not just for worship, but for all sorts of other gatherings as well—many of them involving food! So we try to keep food contained to the auditorium.
From its beginning, Agape has had church planting in its DNA. It was a plant from a larger church in the area and has gone on to spawn three other churches in the past 25 years. The church budget has “church planting” as a line item. Even if there is no immediate plan to plant, Agape wants to be ready if the time seems right.
We did invest in land and a building, but if the auditorium gets full, the first impulse has always been to send people out rather than build a bigger room.
One of my favorite metaphors for the Church is the picture of a body. In his discussion about spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12, Paul concludes by saying, “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it” (v. 27 ESV). The people of the Church as a whole are Christ’s body, making each of us individually a part of it.
At Agape, the practical implication of this has been to prioritize people. Agape isn’t anti-building. We have a facility that meets our needs. I’m sure some would say we should put more into our facility and make sure to keep food out of our sanctuary!
We are grateful for the building that we have, but we want to keep our focus on people. What that has meant for us is that our facility can often take a backseat to the discipling and the sending out of people.
Matt is a pastor and serves on the leadership team at Agape Community Fellowship in addition to his work as academic dean at RBC. Matt and his wife, Colleen, have five children.
