A New Sanctuary? (Part 2)

“Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem.” ~Ezra 7:27

We are pressing the resume button on the prospect of building a new sanctuary. Indeed, informational meetings are scheduled for 7pm on the evenings of February 28 and March 1. But why build a new sanctuary? Last week I suggested the primary reason I am excited about a new sanctuary is because the architecture and design of a new sanctuary would accentuate both the reverence and joy of our worship. But are there other reasons to pursue such a massive undertaking?   

Like many of you, I long for the day when we can all worship together! We are one family and one congregation, and it would be lovely to worship all together, praising the Lord in unison. We would be able to be with all our brothers and sisters every week. (Worshiping together would also help the elders and deacons better shepherd and monitor the congregation). The danger of two morning worship services is the formation of two congregations. But we are not two congregations; we are one!

Furthermore, a bigger sanctuary helps us to better house our thriving congregation. Of course, a congregation can be too big, and personally I have no desire to see Christ Covenant become a mega church. But we are not too big yet. A new sanctuary with a 650-person capacity should suit us well. Doubling the capacity of our current sanctuary will allow us to flex, and it will be aligned proportionally with the rest of the campus (parking, classrooms, Fellowship Hall, toilets, etc.). Someone may conjecture that now may be the right time to plant a church instead. I do hope the day will come when the Lord uses us to plant a church, but we are not there yet. The Session believes the Lord will funnel us in that direction when the time is right: the making known of a suitable pastor, an appropriate number of available elders and deacons, a potential building, an obvious geographical target, an apparent thirst from a proportion of the congregation or a Macedonian call, etc. None of these things are evident yet. And so, for now, the Session is confident a new sanctuary is the obvious and pressing pursuit.

One might question why we want to facilitate growth. Well, it means more lost are able to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ; more people can worship through the ordinary means of grace; more people can be discipled in the Reformed faith; more ecclesiastical refugees can find a home where their souls will actually be nourished; more resources, long term, can be utilized in supporting Christ-centered missionaries; and more people can be deployed to plant churches and pursue the Great Commission. The Lord is doing something special here at Christ Covenant. It is no surprise that people want to come and share His blessing upon us. Let’s make space.

A further reason for a glorious sanctuary presents itself when we stand back and see the bigger picture. We want a sanctuary that will be a home to our children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, ad infinitum. With the life expectancy of our current sanctuary drawing nearer (and the foreseeable need for investment in its upkeep), let’s build a tremendous sanctuary that, Lord willing, can be enjoyed for generations to come. Furthermore, our church is a beacon in Greensboro. It is a beacon because when so many other churches are pandering to the culture or prizing seeker-sensitivity, we, by God’s grace, are seeking to be faithful, engaging in theocentric rather than anthropocentric worship and standing upon God’s Word regardless of the shifting sands of the culture. Christ Covenant already is a beacon in the dimness of the Triad — let’s build a beacon sanctuary that reflects our beacon church.

Speaking of our children, won’t building a new sanctuary incur significant debt that will linger for years and hang like a millstone around their necks and ours? Through your faithful giving, over the years, by God’s grace, we have been able to set aside $30,000 per month. With such savings, we estimate being able to retire a loan within a dozen years. With further pledges, it is not unrealistic to imagine paying off a loan in ten, seven, even five years, saving significant amounts of money in interest and freeing us up to steer our giving toward church plants, missionaries, and other Kingdom-building opportunities.

The aforementioned informational meetings will offer the opportunity to consider further why building a new sanctuary may be the best thing to do. We will be able to consider the history of the church that has led us to this pivotal point. We will consider what the new sanctuary will look like and what to expect regarding building process and timeline. And we will discuss other factors like finances, parking, etc. On behalf of the Session, let me encourage you to pray about a new sanctuary and to RSVP to attend one of the informational meetings.

Rev. Rob Dykes, Pastor of Preaching & Congregational Care