It's not about a building

Friday, August 21, 2009 by Billy McCarthy

My team and I recently took a trip through the “The Show Me State” to visit with two churches we do ministry with – Grace Church and The Journey. One’s a fairly large church, with a large parking lot, and lots of square footage. The other has smaller campuses located throughout the city. And while there are obvious differences between these two at first glance, those differences fade considerably once you’re within the walls. These are two churches operating from clarity of vision which is evidenced by the growth each is experiencing. (Looks like the God’s bigger than the boogie man and the recession, huh?) During our visits, we happened to catch each in the middle of set design changes in their sanctuaries. People were scurrying about, changing lighting locations and scenes, relocating risers, editing video elements, and repositioning props. (All of this with the Phantom of the Opera soundtrack playing in the background.) It was a great opportunity to witness employees and volunteers working together on the ministry rather than just in it. And while it was cool to see the audio, video and lighting tools we’ve provided them over the years leveraged for their presentation of the message, what was truly great was that it confirmed what we’ve always believed: It’s not about a building. It’s about what goes on within its doors and how that leads to life change outside them. There’s a lot to see in the show me state. Check it out, sometime.