- We've made a decision about where we're hoping to launch the church (pending approval from church leadership): The Janesville Convention Center, next to the Holiday Inn at the intersection of I-90 and Hwy. 14.
- Our next Janesville service will be on Sunday, May 4th, at 6pm at Parker High School (the convention center is undergoing renovations). We'll be talking specifics about what it means to meet the needs in our community and staff the teams in our church. You're not going to want to miss it.
- We have some team leadership coming together already: Kidzworks, Prayer, Setup, and Greeters are all starting to make plans. Let us know if you're interested in leading out or serving in any of these areas.
- As of now, we have set a tentative public launch date of Sunday, October 12. We will be running pre-launch services on Sunday mornings beginning September 7, so that our teams have a little experience under their belts before our public launch.
- We're developing a Launch Calendar to keep you up to date on all of our plans leading up to the fall. You can find it above, under the "Launch Calendar" tab. This will serve as our official planning calendar. If you see conflicts or mistakes, please let Erik know as soon as possible.
Why the Janesville Convention Center at the Holiday Inn?
Okay, now that we've gotten rid of all the people who just
wanted a quick read, I've got a story to tell.
I've got to be honest and say that I was a little nervous before our
meeting on April 2nd about the location for our launch. We really hadn't gotten together to have a
conversation like this before, and I knew that there might be differences of
opinion about what would be best. I
didn't want it to be something that would become divisive right off the bat,
but I also wanted to hear what everybody had to say before making our
decision.
After a confusing change of venue (due to my lack of
planning), we ended up at A&W, and about 20 of us got to business. We laid out all of the options and started
the conversation. I've got to tell you
that I couldn't have been happier with the way things went. We had some passionate but respectful
disagreements about whether to launch in the areas of greatest need or in the
place that gave us the best chance of starting a viable, healthy church. We weighed pros and cons. I really think everybody came with a unified
heart, and a openness to allowing for differing opinions. We talked for over an hour, and although we
didn't all come to complete agreement about where would be the best place to
launch, we did agree to let the leaders of our church lead.
Oh, wait... that's me!
While I was moved by my friends, Anna and Tani, and their
passion for reaching the hurting and marginalized in Janesville, I still
believed that launching our church in the most advantageous place possible for
starting a new work was the right direction to head. I believe that place is the Janesville
Convention Center.
First of all, it's in a great location. It's right in the middle of all of the retail
and restaurants in Janesville and is right off the interstate, making it more possible
to reach Milton, Edgerton, Evansville, and Whitewater. It's also a fantastic venue. Lots of parking, a simple layout, plenty of
space, and easy setup and tear down were all big plusses. The cost of it is comparable to what we would
pay for a school auditorium, but we will have access to it all day for that one
fee.
At the end of the evening, I shared that, even though
reaching the needy and marginalized in Janesville still needs to be a core
competency of our church, I believe that growing a healthy congregation from
the northeast side will give us the people and financial resources to make a
profound impact on all of Janesville.
And for me, this was the moment that showed the character of
the people in the room and the power of the Holy Spirit at work. After having passionately defended their
positions, every single person around the room got behind it and we left with
one voice and one direction. I was proud
to be a part of something so gratifying.
I also believe that God spoke through his people and changed my heart on
some of my assumptions through the wisdom and experiences of people who are
different than me. And isn't that what
church should be about?
So, the Janesville Convention Center it is. We won't be able to have our first worship
service in there until June 1st, as it's currently under renovation, but come
this summer and fall, it'll be our new home.
Over and over, I've been blown away by God's faithfulness as we take
each step, and I can't wait to see what he'll do next.
Stay tuned for more details on some of the other bullet points above...
