Columbia Ave Church Property : Responses to Feedback

On Sunday January 13th we held an evening worship service at the church property at 239 Columbia Ave in Horsham that we are considering as a potential facility for Riverside. This document provides some responses to common questions and concerns that we received in the written feedback from those who attended the service.

Our identity must be in Christ and in boldly proclaiming & living the Gospel. If our primary identity is based on where we meet then we will become ineffective in ministry. As many of you pointed out our value of being Gospel focused remains the same no matter where we meet. Our faith & dependence on God is required in the theater as well as in a building. We could meet in the theater or a church building or in a field and the success or failure of our church is based on our obedience to Christ and not on our location. We need to view the facility where we meet as a tool and ask which tool best enables us to share and live the Good News in this community: Where are we best positioned to develop relationships with God & others? Where can we best foster growth & transformation? Where are we best positioned to get involved with our community? Where are we best positioned to plant new churches and develop new church planters?

What new things could / should we do if we have use of a church facility throughout the week?
Without question, having access to a larger facility 24/7 will enable us to plan and host many more groups, events & activities. This could be a blessing or a distraction depending on how focused we stay on the mission of our church. Many of the potential uses that were spoken of in the response form were oriented around Christian fellowship. This can be great for plugging new people into meaningful relationships with others in the church and growing deeper friendships but we need to guard against shifting into a “social club” mentality. The focus always needs to remain on discipleship which naturally leads to evangelism and reaching the lost.

Would we lose our style, identity & appeal to the unchurched if we moved into a traditional church building?
Our strategy of being very accessible to the unchurched and unreligious remains the same wherever we meet. It is possible to bring a modern approach to worship in a traditional building. The Journey has done this very well out in West Chester. Our preaching will remain energetic, practical, culturally relevant and unapologetically Gospel focused. Our worship music will remain passionate and modern. We can create a "Riverside" worship atmosphere in any setting.

Will we lose our public exposure and become hidden in the community?
In one sense meeting in the theater is very public. In another sense we are only there for 4 hours each week so our "presence" in the community is limited. In the past year we have seen several people come because they saw our signs at the theater, however the majority of people that come to Riverside find us online or come because a friend invited them. It may be possible that we could compensate for the loss of exposure at the Regal in some way by pursuing other means of creatively advertising in the community. Ultimately the greatest way to see people come to Riverside is to see lives transformed by Jesus and by each of us inviting our friends, family, co-workers & neighbors to see how God is at work in this church.

Is the sanctuary too small? Will we outgrow the building?
Our hope is that Riverside would grow whether we remain at the theater or moved to a church building. In either case, our commitment to planting new churches and reaching new areas as well as valuing relationships would mean that we wouldn't desire to be a "mega" church. Rather, we would desire to equip and train those who are coming to Riverside to be used by God as he calls them, and some will be called to join new works that we have the joy of planting in the region. Therefore, the property on Columbia Ave could work for the foreseeable future without major renovation. The options of multiple services and an overflow seating area are possible solutions to increased numbers. Parking may be the greater challenge and we are currently exploring our options related to that. Growing too large for the building is certainly the one potential problem that we would gladly embrace and accept. Although it would be frustrating, that would be a good problem to have!

How expensive is it going to be to make the improvements necessary to begin meeting at this property?
There are certainly many potential improvements that we would want/need to make to the property. Parking and handicap accessibility would be immediate needs. New windows and cosmetic improvements would be desirable at some point. We are currently working through the process of assessing the costs and figuring out what is necessary and what could wait. We have many talented and gifted people in the church who would be willing and able to tackle a lot of these projects. Putting a price tag and timeframe on some of these items will help us to make an educated and Spirit led decision about the reality and desirability of tackling this project.

Is this the best property available? Is there something newer or cheaper out there?
In my years at Riverside we have looked at many potential properties. When it comes to price and geographic location this opportunity is significantly less expensive and better located than anything we have explored in the past or anything else that we have seen come onto the market. There are certainly pros and cons but none appear to be so big that they could not be overcome.

What is the next step? Where do we go from here?
The question we need to ask is whether we believe that owning this church building would be a tool that would help us to expand our ministries, influence and impact on the community. If the answer is “no” then we can remain at the Theater in confidence and peace knowing that we are right where God wants us. If the answer is "yes" then I would suggest that we should make an offer on the building that will not overstretch us financially and that will allow us to make the improvements that we deem necessary. Even if this offer is well below the asking price we should submit it in confidence that God's will is ultimately going to be accomplished for Riverside and if he wants us to have the building He will make a way. In order to make an offer we would need to receive approval from the members of RIverside by taking a vote.

I encourage you to continue praying and seeking God regarding this opportunity. Our desire is that the decisions that we make are made in love and unity.

Please continue to offer feedback to us by emailing riverside@riversideconnect.com.

In Christ,

Ezra