Fall and Winter plans

Hey guys. It's time that we start thinking about our plans for the fall as our time at Festival Park will soon be up. There's a number of possibilities, but before we formally investigate any of them I thought we should have an in-house discussion on these things first.

First, we are thinking about cutting back to one meeting at Wayside per month. I think we've built up some incredible momentum having a regular meeting every week lately, and I think we might be better served (not to mention being able to better minister to others) by going to Wayside once a month and doing our meetings with lunch 3 times a month. We could meet all 4 weeks and make Wayside an "extra thing" on top, but given that we believe serving others should be part of the regular rhythm of worship for all of us, I don't think that's a real good idea. The last thing we want to do is make serving at Wayside become an "extra credit question" that only a few people care to do. Besides, I think the guests have really been touched that all of us, by our regular attendance at the center, have shown a vested interest in their lives. Another idea would be to set up a 2nd serving event in the city- this is something Julianne had mentioned. We are exploring all options at this point, and I am curious as to your thoughts.

With regards to a meeting place, we could go back to meeting at our house, but I actually think we shouldn't meet in a private home any longer. I fear that new people may be far less likely to consider checking the church out if we're meeting in the home of someone they've never met. To an outsider, it might seem a bit cultish. With that said, I think a public place is a better option. Some have mentioned renting a place, which we could do, but I would prefer a place that normal people hang out in like a bar or bowling alley. I think new people would be much more likely to check a church out that meets in a non-threatening spot like that (especially when followed by bowling!) . Given that we place a high value on redeeming places like this that the church usually forgets, I think such a place would be ideal. I tend to think you agree, but I am welcome to any dissenters.

So assuming you agree on this, we move on to discussing the geographic location where this should be done. It seems that right now, somewhat of a partnership is developing between ourselves and Wayside, and given that a few Wayside guests have been attending our meetings lately, it would seem a location not far from Wayside would work well. Given that many of them don't drive and that they need somewhere to eat on Sundays, I think a location close to them (like Elgin Lanes or a bar near Festival Park, for instance) might be preferred. However, I am nervous about the distance some of us would have to keep travelling. We never planned a location in Elgin when we started this whole thing, but up to this point, it seems that's how God has orchestrated things. If we didn't have any new people coming, we could meet anywhere, but I feel we may have to consider those new attenders as we pick our location....do you agree?

Anyway, I am curious to your thoughts on these things. What are your thoughts of only going to Wayside once a month going forward? Do you have any other specific thoughts on serving? What are your thoughts as to where we should meet? Let's get some discussion started here, and we can continue the discussion a bit this Sunday.