Over the last couple months my church has been doing renovations on our new building. It's been really fun to see the building transform into the home of New City Covenant Church. A ton of work has gone into our multiple kids' ministry rooms, our main welcome area that we call the "gathering place," and the kitchen/fellowship hall where we have a meal after every single Sunday service. Things are looking great! There are still some structural things to fix, but really the only main cosmetic thing left to do is the sanctuary.
The thing is, updating the sanctuary was the first item on the to do list, in my mind. I thought it would be the priority because it seems like it's the most important room in our building, and the place where people spend the most time.
A couple weeks ago I had invited a friend to check out New City, and she came today. And if I'm being honest, I felt a little bummed that the sanctuary didn't look nicer. Sure, we just put up new drywall and a gave the place a fresh coat of paint - and it looks really good! - but we still have scuffed floors and beat up pews and hobnail milk glass chandeliers that are so old they're likely worth a few bucks.
Yet, it didn't seem like the imperfections in our worship space mattered to my friend. After the service, she commented on how real we all were. We weren't putting on a show.
Cue the light bulb.
Why do I care so much about the faded carpet and well-worn pews? Three years ago when I started attending my small church plant, we met in a banquet room in a rec center (which also happened to host hockey games each week during our church service). The room was not very aesthetically pleasing, to say the least.
What kept my interest in the church was the people, the preaching and the praise (see what I did there, with the alliteration?) I was able to connect with others in a meaningful way, grow deeper in my faith through sound, biblical preaching, and worship God in a way that made my musical heart very happy.
I didn't care about the cold fluorescent lighting or having to navigate a noisy hockey crowd every week. The community kept me coming back.
Now that we have a building to update and keep up, why should it be any different? I hope we as a church don't buy the lie that we need to appear to have everything together in order for new people to like us. We're so much more than the color we paint our walls or the type of pews we have.
And I hope I don't buy this lie. I almost didn't invite my friend to come check out New City, because I wanted to wait
until the church was completely finished. Then I could impress her by showing off our new
digs. What's important is not the light fixtures above us or the carpet below us- but the people around us. I hope we continue to be a community of grace and truth, who seeks to love and serve Jesus and those around them.
