More Than A Church Building
Matt Nelson is the Facilities Manager at Journey Community Church and has watched God transform the facilities here over the past 12 years – from a rental space building to ownership, to a teaching center and finally, to a serving center. According to Matt, God has a continuing plan for us here.
“Here’s an example,” he said this week. “We’ve spent three years working and planning to put new lighting in the parking lot. Suddenly, I had three-day notice and saw they were about to dig where we have underground lines. That’s where institutional memory comes in. I’m not directly in charge of the improvements, but God has used me and the team to help everything go smoothly.”
This is my church, not just the church I go to…
Building the Journey Java patio was a taste of what’s to come once we get started on installing a solar electrical system this summer. In that endeavor people donated materials, donated labor and some miraculous events have resulted from having a place for us to meet, interact, share burdens and care for each other.
“That patio has increased the sense of community 110 %,” said Matt. “I Live the Journey is the next step in that process. Our church is bursting at the seams.”
Mary Hottel, Office Manager, manages the room assignment software and knows that Journey is not a Sunday-only spiritual center.
“In the last three years, Journey has become a center for meeting all of our needs, from family hunger, spiritual growth, to healing and help with daily challenges – single parenting, addiction, children who are disabled or with learning disabilities, seniors who are lonely and all ages studying more about our amazing God,” said Mary. “We are open every day of the week, classrooms filled, lights on, using the AV screens, the tables, the chairs, the bathrooms and parking lot. It’s difficult to find space and our air conditioning and maintenance is stretched to capacity. We’ve needed this for a long time.”
Although Matt is, again, not the man in charge of this project, he expects that his workday will jump to about 65 hours a week, just as it did with the patio, and he can’t wait.
“Jesus called his disciples into community, not to have just enough space but to share in the excitement of having a place to come together,” said Matt. “God is shaping ownership of this place into more than a campus. People are saying, ‘This is my church, not just the church I go to.'”
Already donations are starting to come in, as the Lord is moving in hearts to take care of our place. Last week Matt watched as a gentleman donated some significant equipment to the project. His face was glowing.
“I can’t do much,” the man said, “but I can do this.”
