Sunday I was pleased to announce our long awaited move to a facility with more room for Life Church Franklin to grow into. Currently, our building on Depot Street has no more room for growth.
Here are some thoughts before I talk about the new facility we will be using starting in August:
- We (the leadership team) have been looking for another facility since the end of December.
- The building on Depot Street has been great for the last year. We out grew it much faster than we expected; and that's ok.
- Sometime in the next few months we will lose the store front just down from our building that has hosted the LifeKIDS/Johnny Rogers worship experience. The other non-profit that is sub-leasing that store front to us will be moving into it very soon. (BTW, we are very grateful to them for allowing us to use it at no cost!)
- With much prayer and consideration the leadership explored many buildings and facilities in the central Franklin city area. This decision was not made overnight.
So, where are we moving to? Starting at a to be determined Sunday in August we will begin using the
Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts and
The Factory for our adult and LifeKIDS worship experiences. This is a amazing opportunity that we are very excited about.
Here's a few thoughts about this opportunity:
- First and foremost, this is not about a building. This is about using a facility that will allow Life Church Franklin to reach more people with the Gospel message of hope, love, faith and salvation through Jesus Christ. We remain committed to our mission of leading people to become fully devoted followers of Christ.
- The expense of using the arts center and The Factory is mush more economical than purchasing, or renovating a facility large enough for us to grow. This facility also gives us an abundant room for growth.
- Is this to much space? Right now, maybe. In the future, hopefully not. The reality is that there are 1,000's of people right here in Franklin that need to here the saving message of Jesus and let God transform there hearts and minds. If using this facility allows that to happen, than lets do it!
- There's a lot to be done between now and August, but I know we can do it...And I mean WE. We have to be in this together. Myself and a few people can't pull this off alone. We have to have great participation for each of you. I will be sharing more about this in the coming weeks. It's not about burning you out, but giving you an opportunity that fits your gifts to encourage others growing in or seeking Jesus.
- With the move to this facility we will become a "portable church". This somewhat foreign to our area, but done very effectively with participation from the church. We will have to grow our LifeKIDS teams, Host teams, Setup teams, etc...
I will share more in the coming weeks. As I shared Sunday, please keep the negative thoughts to yourself. We are confident in this move and know that God has moved and guided us in very clear ways to make this opportunity possible.
Thank you for joining us in this journey. We are and will continue to impact this community all the while pointing everyone to Jesus! Let's make Him famous!
In His grace,
Patrick
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