So...
My church is made up out of two buildings
There is a sturdy stone one that contains the worship space and toilets
This is connected to a church hall that was built as an extension to the church in the 1970s
The church hall contains a hall, meeting rooms, a stage, and a well equipped kitchen
It's very flimsy and wasn't built to last
It is becoming increasingly dilapedated
Something needs to be done before it starts falling apart and becomes structurally unsound
It's not at that stage yet, but it's getting there
We have three options:
1) Rebuild it
2) Knock down the church hall so we just have a worship space with toilets
3) Knock down the church hall and worship space/toilets and either sell or rent the land they are on, whilst renting another church or meeting space for our services
Regarding option 1: This will cost £450,000 and the congregation has only £135,000 but the rest of the money could possibly come from the church's regional/national organisation. However, we have only a dwindling congregation. I'm the youngest one there, I'm the baby of the congregation. And I'm 38 years old. It would be a waste of the church's money to spend so much money on a new church hall only for the church to have to close down a few years later for want of people attending. Which has happened to other churches in the area - the church in question is the product of two churches merging due to a lack of attendees. Also, this money could be spent on other things! However, the church hall constitutes a Christian presence in the community and is a source of income. I first got involved with the church through taking part in a community thing based in the church hall, which brought me into contact with members of the congregation.
Regarding option 2: A church without a church hall is not a real church! Where would we have tea and biscuits after the service??? Post-service tea is as important as the actual service, at least to me!
Regarding option 3: This would reduce overheads for the congregation. And we could make money off the land that the church and church hall are currently occupying. Parking is in very short supply in the local area, so we could make money turning our land into a car park!
The expenses of renting such a place for our services to take place in could be met from money made from turning the land into a car park!
I think option 3 is the way forward
Me and a guy at another church just down the road from my church think that it would be good for our congregations to merge into an ecumenical church, which I think would be cool, and I see pursuing option 3 as a step in that direction
Anyway, we are due to decide tomorrow
I'm going to vote for option 3
But how would people on RF vote?
My church is made up out of two buildings
There is a sturdy stone one that contains the worship space and toilets
This is connected to a church hall that was built as an extension to the church in the 1970s
The church hall contains a hall, meeting rooms, a stage, and a well equipped kitchen
It's very flimsy and wasn't built to last
It is becoming increasingly dilapedated
Something needs to be done before it starts falling apart and becomes structurally unsound
It's not at that stage yet, but it's getting there
We have three options:
1) Rebuild it
2) Knock down the church hall so we just have a worship space with toilets
3) Knock down the church hall and worship space/toilets and either sell or rent the land they are on, whilst renting another church or meeting space for our services
Regarding option 1: This will cost £450,000 and the congregation has only £135,000 but the rest of the money could possibly come from the church's regional/national organisation. However, we have only a dwindling congregation. I'm the youngest one there, I'm the baby of the congregation. And I'm 38 years old. It would be a waste of the church's money to spend so much money on a new church hall only for the church to have to close down a few years later for want of people attending. Which has happened to other churches in the area - the church in question is the product of two churches merging due to a lack of attendees. Also, this money could be spent on other things! However, the church hall constitutes a Christian presence in the community and is a source of income. I first got involved with the church through taking part in a community thing based in the church hall, which brought me into contact with members of the congregation.
Regarding option 2: A church without a church hall is not a real church! Where would we have tea and biscuits after the service??? Post-service tea is as important as the actual service, at least to me!
Regarding option 3: This would reduce overheads for the congregation. And we could make money off the land that the church and church hall are currently occupying. Parking is in very short supply in the local area, so we could make money turning our land into a car park!
The expenses of renting such a place for our services to take place in could be met from money made from turning the land into a car park!
I think option 3 is the way forward
Me and a guy at another church just down the road from my church think that it would be good for our congregations to merge into an ecumenical church, which I think would be cool, and I see pursuing option 3 as a step in that direction
Anyway, we are due to decide tomorrow
I'm going to vote for option 3
But how would people on RF vote?
