As I mentioned last time, space has become a major problem at our church. In order to continue being an effective church, we must find ways to provide space to accommodate the non-believers that God sends our way. Here are the plans we are currently considering. I’m sharing these to ask for your help with them and to solicit any suggestions you might have.
First, there is the problem of worship space. The current plan is to find ways to maximize the use of our existing facilities. For example, there are still open spaces in the front of the sanctuary during the Sunday worship services. Before we do anything else, we will work to fill all available spaces by having ushers assist late arrivals to the empty seats up front.
Currently, more people attend the first Sunday service, so there’s a greater space crunch then. If we can even out the attendance between the 1st and 2nd services, this will help ease the space problem. So let me urge those who attend the 1st service to come to the 2nd service instead. If necessary, we will adjust the worship schedule to help even out the attendance. A more drastic solution that may eventually be necessary is for NLF and the Korean congregation to switch worship areas, with the NLF worshiping in the sanctuary and the Korean congregation meeting in the gymnasium, which can hold more people.
We also have a problem with space for education. The children’s and high school departments are already using portable dividers to separate large rooms into multiple classrooms. They are also holding two worship services and two sets of Sunday school classes for both the 1st and 2nd adult worship service times.
The space crunch for infants and toddlers has become even more serious. There are three times as many children during the 2nd adult service than there are for the first, so there is a serious space shortage during the 2nd service.
We are considering a plan where we will give preference to new church members and long-term members will be assigned to a lesser-crowded service. For those who might have difficulty attending their assigned service, we would provide a special TV room where they can worship with their children.
Finally, we have to deal with the lack of parking spaces. We are currently asking members to car pool to church, and using double parking in the lots. This year, we will be serving sandwiches instead of Korean food after the 1st service. Hopefully, this will help those who attend the 1st service finish lunch more quickly and free up parking spaces for the 2nd service. (We will continue to provide Korean food after the 2nd service.) We are also considering adjusting the Sunday worship schedule to allow enough time to clear the parking lot between services.
We should not let our space limitations diminish our participation in God’s work of saving souls. As we work toward solutions for these problems, I entreat our long-term members to continue to be patient and considerate for the sake of the non-believers and new members at our church.
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