Comments on: Help Us Pick Our Next Location!

By: rich johnson

rich johnson — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 06:21:06 +0000

I am a Saturday attender – 5:00p -(evangelical church with multiple options). My second service of choice is Sunday evenging – 5:00p. I am 32 and have three boys under four years old. This evening time allows for mornings to be peaceful and attending in the evening is a perfect way to cap my day. Plus I still have time for dinner with friends before putting my kids down for bed. All that to say…I like option 1 for the evening service and location + feel. A traditional church building can cramp your style immediately, especially if you doing church differently from the past. I would suspect that includes “where” we worship as well as “how” we worship. I appreciate your post and desire for feedback. It shows a humility and oneness with the people. I’ll be praying for you brother.
- Rich c/o ’98

By: Mike b

Mike b — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 20:26:14 +0000

I like option two the best though option one is good too

By: Christy

Christy — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:45:58 +0000

Good morning, Shaun.
Option #2: A great office building just a few blocks away from Center Stage – this one gets my vote for the following reasons:
1. Location location location – now, instead of saying, “Our worship service is held at Center Stage,” we may say, “Our worship service is held just a couple of blocks away from Center Stage!” :) Plus, I feel downtown Atlanta needs Courageous and will be even more receptive once we engage in some guerilla tactics marketing.
2. The availability will provide the music team with a place to practice throughout the week. It will also give us a great deal of flexibility.
3. It’s affordable and an all around good fit for us now. By the way, I don’t recall reading in this blog entry that it will require us to sign a long term lease.

By: Chuck Warnock

Chuck Warnock — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 02:40:09 +0000

Shaun, I would do option #1 for now. I assume the $500 per Sunday is open-ended, but requiring only a short notice (30-days) to discontinue. Initially I did not like option #1 because it is a church, which would turn off some folks. I do not see no Sunday morning as a problem. But the main reason I would choose #1 is to give you time with little commitment to really figure out what you need to do long-term. Your immediate problem is to get out of Center Stage. But, that may not mean you need a long-term solution. Maybe you need an intermediate step which costs you very little. I started a church in a Marriott Hotel in NC, and I loved having all the equipment on-site and owned by them, not us. -Chuck

By: Angela

Angela — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 00:48:03 +0000

OK, I’m not trying to monopolize or get all pushy about my opinion, but there has been much discussion in my house the last few days about these options, and I want to kind of share my visualization with you about the loft option. (Can you post pics of these spaces, Shaun? That would help a lot, I think!)
Anyway, here’s what I see: soft, easy lighting (though not quite as soft as that @ Center Stage!), maybe murals on the walls, and maybe in addition to traditional seating arrangements (chairs in rows, etc.) we could have some alternate seating groupings around the room, as well, either tables or something on the floor, or something. (Just to share — @ Center Stage now, I really hate the stadium seats, so I usually end up perched on the step in the aisle and weird as this may sound it always puts me in mind of ancient Greece, with Socrates teaching from a step with his students lounging around in togas, absorbing his philosophy – maybe a little stupid, laugh if you want, but that’s where I’m at.)
Also, with the loft space (or any space, really, even now, @ Center Stage), Missy and I would like to do a coffee ministry before services, where people could congregate and talk and enjoy fellowship with one another. Aren’t we supposed to be building relationships with one another as well as our community? I know it’s not completely on-topic here, and Missy’s going to email you further on this, Shaun, but I wanted to mention it.
OK, two more cents from me! Thanks for listening. :)

By: Dawnia

Dawnia — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 20:33:27 +0000

I like option 2 because there is less to purchase, it is available througout the week, and there will not be a random cost jump.

By: Erik Rogers

Erik Rogers — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 18:24:19 +0000

Shaun – Not having a Sunday morning service is not a bad thing. Consider the perspective offered in this blog post: http://chuckwarnockblog.wordpress.com/2009/02/08/dying-newspapers-dying-churches/
Also, (if you haven’t already) consider reading “Pagan Christianity” by Frank Viola and George Barna.

By: Vanetta Anderson

Vanetta Anderson — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:12:55 +0000

Hey Shaun
I like option 2 mainly due to the fact that it’s already equipped with sound equipment and seats and things of that nature. Option 3 sounds great as well, just concerned with the cost of purchasing equipment and other items need for service. Definitely not feeling option 1. My husband and I, as well as our kids, attended service this past Sunday and that “non-stuffy” environment was definitely a draw, as opposed to a traditional church setting. We throughly enjoyed ourselves and are looking forward to being a part of the Courageous Family.
I hope this helps some in making your decision.

By: Avril

Avril — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:39:00 +0000

Well, options 1 & 3 sound good to me.
In regards to option 1 – I’ve never been a big fan of morning services anyway–(I’m not a morning person). Plus, I have friends, both Christian and non-Christian alike, who are not able to go to morning services because they work, which limits their options for attending church on Sundays and as a result they just give up on church altogether. I think we need more evening services here in Atlanta. Currently I only know of 2 churches that do this (BC being one of them). Not to mention the fact that it slices your budget in half. The only real drawback I would see is would they allow you to use the space during the week if necessary? But then my question to you is do you have a need for space during the week right now? You seem to be a very action-oriented, community oriented church. A church more concerned with working beyond the walls than within, so imho I’m not sure if you would need weekday space. But I don’t know the total vision of your church so only you can answer that. But then all that being said, Angela’s points above make absolute sense against going with option 1. And it sounds like she’s on your team so you might want to listen to her.
As for option 3, the loft sounds like it would create a cool vibe for Courageous, and it’s also cheaper. My only concern would be what would be the cost of all the equipment you’d have to get to go into it? Is it going to end up being just as expensive as Center Stage? Those things add up…

By: Angela

Angela — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 09:40:17 +0000

I guess I’m in the minority here, but I have to say that I really like the loft option. Maybe I am romanticizing it, but it seems like that option has the kind of “vibe” we’re working toward with Courageous. The loft space seems like exactly the right setting for starting out small(ish) and building the relationships from within as we grow the church. Also, having access 7 days a week will become pretty important, I think, and the lower cost is definitely a draw. It seems, from what you wrote, that we will be making purchases whether we go with the office space or the loft, and the office space seems to already have some capacity limitations, right? I may also be gravitating toward the loft because you quantified the loft as “a very cool space,” though. Are you trying to subliminally influence us? If so, it worked on me, at least!
I am not feeling the church space at all. I think that when you declare yourself as being a church for people who generally feel that “church sucks,” it might be a bit aesthetically displeasing to have services in a typical, established church setting…especially when that setting is not really “ours.” Part of the community-building we’re working toward, I would think, would include giving the members of the church a sense of empowerment and ownership, so to speak, and I think that sharing space with another church would take away from that. Also, I enjoy morning services, though I definitely see the good in being able to offer multiple services.
Just my two cents!