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A Personal Devotional by Debbie Hall
Why I Believe in Multi-Purpose Buildings for Churches
To me there is nothing more important than my relationship with the Lord and being true to what he instructs me in the Bible. Simply put, if God makes something clear in the Bible, that’s what I believe. When it comes to the issue of directions on building church buildings, the Bible is almost completely silent on the issue. It tells of the temple and what it meant to Israel, when a person would come to the Temple from all over the earth. But that is of little use to Christians, who are instructed not to come to one nation but to go into ALL the nations. What the church is to do as a body of people is made clear in the Bible; but what the church looks like as a building is not even discussed in the New Testament.
It took 200 years after Christ’s resurrection for the church to build any buildings. When the church did start building buildings, those buildings were direct reflections of the architecture of the place and time they lived in. Thus when missionaries plant a church in a village in Papua New Guinea, the church is a big open hut among the huts of the villagers, not a cathedral. It simply is not arguable from scripture that one type of building is more spiritual than another.
Let me give you, then, several reasons why I think it glorifies God to build a multi-purpose building based on principles from the Bible. First, I think it aids in winning people to Jesus and fulfilling the great commission. Churches with multi-purpose buildings use them 7 days a week, with a myriad of good uses that contribute to the salvation and spiritual growth of people. It takes all kind of bait to catch all kinds of fish. And it takes all kinds of programs to reach out and win all kinds of people.
My own testimony reveals a young man who never would have stepped into a church. Doug Barr brought me to his church’s Family Life Center on a Friday night, and I played a little basketball. That broke the ice. Doug invited me to come to church with him that coming Sunday Morning. And I was saved! Programs like AWANA needs space to get the wiggles out so kids will hear. Youth groups need space to get the wiggles out so kids will hear. And it is simply a fact that many men also need something that will bring their defenses down, making them more approachable with the gospel, so they can hear the gospel and be saved. All of us benefit from a big space to have for fellowship meals, etc…
Second is that the flexibility of a "great room" will also be invaluable for teaching and prayer times. We will be able to set up the room to do exactly what the Spirit leads to do. If God calls us to a solemn assembly Sunday Morning, we can turn the chairs knee to knee, or in a circle, or anything else we feel we need to do.
Third is that it is simply good stewardship. A sanctuary is the most expensive part of any building, yet often used the very least. My feeling is that what costs the most should get the most use, 7 days a week. A Great Room does just that. And we know that you can make it look however you want on the outside and even the inside. Sure we’d have to be vigilant to keep it clean, but that’s true of any high-use building. Almost all of us think it is ridiculous when some folks complain about the wear and tear on high use areas in a church. Anyone who truly feels that way and is threatened by the problems created by high use due to growth should visit some churches that are very clean, but very empty on Sundays and the rest of the week.
Fourth is that the Bible bids us learn from the counsel of others. It is simply not wise to go over 5 times your annual budget or raise money for over 6 years without building. It is not wise to go into cumbersome debt building expensive buildings only used once or twice a week. Churches that are paying off debt often have less resources to devote to missions and ministry.
Finally, based on the New Testament, I can’t help but ask- Do you build a building for worship? Do you build it for preaching? Do you build it for prayer? Do you build it for outreach? Do you build it for ministry? Do you build it for fellowship? Do you build it for Discipleship? The answer is YES! It is for all these things- to glorify God 7 days a week, that inclines me to build economical yet attractive multi-purpose buildings.
Rev. Danny Campbell.