As you know, Sherrylee and I are traveling through Europe, visiting with mission points about hosting Let’s Start Talking short-term mission projects. We’ve done this kind of trip for over thirty years now, so there is very little that surprises us, BUT that doesn’t mean that we don’t continue to have new experiences that cause us to ponder about how God’s work is done in Europe.—or anywhere for that matter.
I’ve been thinking this morning about church buildings and/or meeting places and how important—or not important—they are. Sherrylee brought this up yesterday as we were driving—she is the first mover if not the primary source of much of my thinking.
One of the churches we visited has a beautiful three-storey brick building, marble floors, multiple classrooms, a very large terrace where they have their baptisms as well as church socials. In addition, they have an auditorium with a stage, stage lighting, sound system—the whole works—for approximately 150 people with theater seating. I have never visited a mission church of their size in Europe that had such a nice building.
At another city, we met with a missionary that has planted three different churches in his region. They all meet in garages that are revamped to serve as meeting space. They are roomy, multi-functional, and are friendly—but they are a garage. From the outside they look like a garage, and from the inside they look like a nice garage. Each of these garages will hold a group of 30-50 people sitting down. One garage they have outgrown and are looking for new space—don’t know if they are looking for a garage or not. I think they usually start in garages because the garage belongs to someone who is either a member or a friend of their church and they can use it at no great cost.
Another church we visited met on the fourth floor—walk up—of an older office building. It was just an opened space—nice, clean, some minimal decoration to let people know it was a church. It was also the space they used for office space, for their kitchen (in the back corner) and for any other indoor activities they might have as a church. Many starting churches in Europe choose space like this and never grow out of it. This work has existed for about ten years and they have a community of about twenty people.
Our most recent visit has been with a young missionary family who has only been on the field for ten months. They have come and are working with a local established religious organization whose main outreach has been summer camps for children through teens. The camp is in a much smaller town about an hour from where this couple lives, and a church of about 150 has grown up in the smaller town around the camp work.
This couple is here to try to plant a new work in the larger city now. The organization has already rented a small but well located storefront just off of the main street of the city. Currently they are not meeting here as a church, but they use these rooms for community activities, for Bible studies, and for any other activities that are organized in this city by their sponsors. They describe it as either a clubhouse or a community center. It is furnished with couches, nice sitting areas, some tables and chairs, and a catchy pop art mural on the main wall. Nice space—very post-modern—not churchy at all.
If I were choosing the “best” strategy for Europe with regard to church buildings, I would likely say to start with the community center idea until there was a core group of disciples. Then I might jump to the real church building to demonstrate a real presence, a commitment, and significance.
But I don’t know any European group that can afford to build its own building like that, and I don’t know any American churches that would invest in a building in Europe like that!
Interestingly, Willow Creek built a building in Spain for 500 people about 10-15 years ago—and the work there has been unusually successful for Europe. I don’t know all the details, but the results are unusual enough that I can wonder if a substantial investment in a substantial building didn’t pay off for their work there?
Which begs the opposite question: how great is the impact on the work in Europe of a complete unwillingness of our churches to invest there, not only in buildings but in the high cost of supporting workers in Europe?
God has blessed the work in the garage, on the fourth floor, in the clubhouse, and in the marble-floored church building. He doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands! But I keep thinking that He did not stay in a tent in Israel forever either
I know all about the empty cathedrals. But I still wonder what our buildings—and non-buildings—say about our God in Europe today??
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