Facility: A Shift Has Occurred

I have a few tools in my toolbox that look so nice, I’ve been reluctant to put them to use. I’ve preferred them to look nice over being functional. Occasionally I take out my toolbox and admire my nice looking tool sets, neatly packaged shining brightly. They haven’t helped me with any tasks, but they look good.

Over the past few years, we’ve implemented a conscious shift in our view of our facility. Previously, we viewed it in the same way that I view some of my tools, concerned more about the aesthetics and less about function. Our strict no food/drink policies aimed at keeping carpets from being stained have been very effective. I challenge you to show me a multi-use facility that has 15-year old carpets that look as ours do. The carpet in the Auditorium that used for weekly worship and as a gym floor is the original carpet that was installed in 1990. I think that’s a tremendous feat.

Now we are consciously lifting the no food/drink ban, but I want to explain why. Like my tools, we view our facility as a tool. Tools are designed to perform a function. We want to maximize our facility for its intended use. We want ministry to be more important than structures. We don’t want to be handcuffed by a coffee spill.

Now, that’s not to say that we are foregoing any stewardship of the facility. Just as I clean up my tools after using them for a messy project, we still have an obligation to take very good care of our facility and we aren’t going to compromise those standards. It would be foolish for us to take advantage of what God has provided. We have to find the balance of taking care of the building while using it heavily.

Speaking of what God has provided, have you heard how God worked to provide this facility?