Feature: How We Dethroned Edifice Rex
Frank Tillapaugh
by Frank Tillapaugh, pastor, Bear Valley Baptist Church, Denver, Colorado, with Marshall Shelley
It was a nice problem to have, but that didn't make finding a solution any easier. In five years, our church had grown from 83 to over 400. The sanctuary could seat 250, and even with double services, we were uncomfortably crowded. The building had been built with an eye toward saving money, but now we were paying the price. Walls curved where they weren't supposed to, rest rooms were tiny, and the nursery was hopelessly overcrowded. Nor did we have room to expand. Bear Valley owned less than two acres, and with churches on both sides in an otherwise residential area, street parking on Sunday morning was almost as competitive as at Mile High Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Even if we enlarged the sanctuary to its maximum;, our present location would limit the size of a congregation to 300. Normal procedure for growing churches, of course, is to fill the buildings to "capacity," then move to the edge of the city and erect a larger building. We were convinced our growth would explode if only we had facilities big enough to service everyone. A bigger and better location seemed the natural move. But many of us were uneasy about moving deeper into both suburbia and debt. We didn't want to become part of the "white flight" to the outskirts when the city needs more strong churches to stay. We also realized that complex buildings can produce a building complex. When 50 percent or more of the church budget goes into mortgages, utilities, and maintenance, the people become servants of the building. Options for creatively reaching the world outside the church fortress are reduced. When needed staffer programs can't be added because payments on a ...
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