I had a great meeting last Thursday with a man who owns a company that builds churches all over the country. This man has worked with 1000’s of churches and–because of his travels–is connected with some of the most successful churches in the country.
In our conversation he made a statement that I didn’t agree with at first. He said, “Church visibility is overrated. Too many churches waste too much money securing a location that has high visibility, when the most important thing is accessibility.” He said that he’s been to some of the largest churches in the country and you’d drive past most of them without knowing they were there, but every single one has great accessibility.
I’ve always thought that it was most important for a Church to be in a highly visible location–which does require more money to purchase.
Over the past few days, I think I’m starting to agree with him. Maybe, instead of paying a lot more money for land on a major highway, it’s best to buy a piece of land (or existing building) in a location that is easy to access?
What do you think?
July 2, 2009 at 6:43 am |
Arron,
When King David was concerned with numbers God wasn’t happy (1 Chron 21). We must always remember that the early church meet house to house. More so, there is indication in the original language of the Great Commission as meaning “As you go”. We need to trust, either way, that God will accomplish His purpose through obedience expressed in our lives. Location, visibility will be expressed in each member being the hands and feet of the church. “Let your light shine that they will notice your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matt 5:16
We also need to ask ourselves how we know a church is “successful”.
July 2, 2009 at 6:50 am |
If the church needs more room, to answer your question, I would think access is best. Although, I bet Solomon’s temple stood out like a sore thumb…
July 31, 2009 at 2:43 pm |
You can have the best location with all the visibility in the world, but once your in what is more important is feeling the accessibilty of Christ. What is the church anyway? The building that can be seen from far away? Or better the people that take the church to others. Being the church is far more rewarding than going to church. just a thought.