vibrant connections presentation · vibrant connections. surviving to thriving outline • hitting...

Good News in the Church:

Vibrant Connections

Surviving to Thriving

Outline

• Hitting Bottom

• The Turning Point

• Connecting With the Community

• Intercultural Success

• Leveraging Our Investment from Predecessors

• Immediate Future – New Building

• The Long View – Ministries to the Community

• Moving Forward


Hitting Bottom

• “Preservation” Mode– Ageing White Congregation

– Resisting Change

– Focused on Keeping the Presbyterian Culture

• Declining Numbers– We need more people (“just like us”)

• Ageing Congregants– We need young people (“just like we were”)

• Financial Distress– $30,000 in debt and bleeding at $3,000/month


The Turning Point• Pressures to Close

– Sell the (really valuable!) property

– “but we’re so small”

– “the church is no longer relevant in the city”

• Desire / Intent to Continue– A strong heart for Christ

– Passion for ministry and mission

– Willingness to quickly raise the necessary funds

• Help (yes, really!) from Presbytery, Synod, and Canadian Ministries– Financial

– Assistance and coaching from appointees

– Aid in developing a plan

– “Need to be relevant to the community in which you find yourself.”

• The Commitment– To Thrive, not to Survive

– Raise the needed funds (did so, in a week!)


Connecting With The Community - 1

• The Stone Table– “Coffee House” drop-in centre successful and active for several years

• Community Breakfast– Monthly, Sunday immediately before cheque issue Wed.

– 250-300 people served 8:00am-9:30am

– Multi-congregation involvement

– Lots of lay people, international students, …

• Sandwich Ministry– Make sandwiches weekly evening, take and hand out to street people

• Food Bank– Host Site

– Volunteers

– Interdenominational (client-splitting with St. Paul’s Anglican)


Connecting With The Community - 2

• Bread Ministry– Pick up end-of-day from Cobb’s Bakery, distribute to all

• International Student and Immigrant Ministry– ESL, Immigration Issues

• Community Group and Event Hosting / Participation• AA, Karate School, Candidate Debates, Polling Station, Civic Open

Houses

• AGM’s: West End Business Improvement Association, Mole Hill Housing, Community Police Office, Vancouver Pride, …

• Wellness Days, Davie Days, Palliative Care Parking

• Youth Mission Trips, Bike-n-Build

• Child Care– Day Care, Out-of-school Care

– Montessori School


Intercultural Success - 1

• A “Classic” Beginning

– Korean (Galilee PCC) Congregation renting space

• Primary motive was need for $$$

– The ‘usual’ irritations (as seen by Central)

• Lack of respect re time, noise, property

• Insufficient financial support and participation

– The ‘usual’ irritations (as seen by Galilee)

• Rigid, inflexible, business over gospel

• Being “nickeled and dimed” to death

– The “Inevitable” Falling Out

• It was not pretty


Intercultural Success - 2

• A New and Better Model– The “Landlord/Tenant” model cannot work

• Financial need is the totally wrong reason for intercultural/intercongregational

• Rigidity is the opposite of grace

– Replaced with “Shared Ministry”• Central shares time + space

• Galilee shares burden of upkeep

• Key principle: “We are co-workers in the Kingdom of God.”

• A Success Story– More than a decade now

– Has survived several changes in leadership

– Better partners than ever

– Jointly Hosted BC Synod meeting

– Hosted first joint Leading With Care Workshop

– We are all enriched by the experience


Leveraging Our Investment - 1

• A Classic Urban Mainline Church Situation

– Land rich; cash poor

• A Vision / Dream of Redeveloping, but …

– Cost of purchasing adjacent apartment building

– Cost of temporary relocation

– Unable to even consider mega-$$$ mortgage

• Then God intervened …



• Contact with Architect

• The Choices

1. Sell property, add $5M, get larger church

2. Rezone, sell property, get larger church

3. Be the developer, get larger church plus apartments plus retail

4. Do ‘nothing’, spend $2M on current building upgrade

• The Congregation Takes the Plunge

– Option 3 (We are after all, Presbyterian!)

– Redevelopment Team – Minister + 3 Elders

– Unanimous Congregational Approvals at each step



• An Excellent Project Development Partner

– Bosa Properties

– Excellent reputation

– Understand church

• A New Path to Denominational Approvals

– ‘Reverse’ order from usual

– Great cooperation from all – Presbytery, Synod,

National


Immediate Future – New Building

• The Proposed Building Project– Larger Church (by 1/3) plus more useable space

– 42 Apartments for Affordable Housing

– Child Care to Current Standards

– Retail Space (income generation + community contact)

• Financing– The Building: 3D subdivide: land -> air space parcels

– Market housing pays for the project

– Temporary Relocation: a Canadian Ministries grant via inter-congregational cooperation

– No mortgage

– No government $$$ (except small CMHC seed grant)

– Ongoing: Net Positive Revenue

Surviving To Thriving

Immediate Future:

New Building



• Current Status

– Purchase, Sale, and Development Agreement

– Implicit Approval from City re Rezoning

– Working on:

• Detailed Designs for Development Permit (and church approvals, e.g. Nat’l Committee on Architecture)

• Central-Galilee Building Management Society

• Non-Profit Housing Society

• BC Community Contribution Company re Retail

• Foundation


The Long View –

Ministries to the Community - 1

• The Vision:

Recapture Concept of Church as Community Centre

– Community Gathering Place

• Worship

• Education

• Meetings, Dinners

• Clubs, Associations, Groups, Community Celebrations, …

– Ministry to the Vulnerable

• Seniors, Working Poor

• International Students, Immigrant Families

• Child Care

• Transitional Healthcare


The Long View –

Ministries to the Community - 2

• Features of the New Building– Modern, flexible sanctuary (seating to 300)

– A Chapel (seating for 90)

– Enhanced Gathering Spaces (acoustic separation)

– 42 Apartments for Affordable Housing

– A Community Interface Room (breakfasts, food bank)

– Better Community Meeting Facilities

– Commercial-grade Kitchen

– Spaces for Education, Counseling, Prayer, Reflection

– Retail Space for Income and Community Familiarity

– Enhanced Web Presence: Webcasting, Hosting


The Long View –

Ministries to the Community - 3• Ministries the New Building Will Support

– Worship, Celebration, and Faith Development

– Affordable Housing (primarily for Seniors)

– Day Care, Out-of-School Care

– Transitional Housing for Dr. Peter Centre Patients

– Food Bank, Community Breakfast

– Community-Building, Lunches, Dinners, …

– Education (Christian, ESL, Parenting Skills, … )

– Town Hall Meetings

– Mission group hosting

– Skills Development for International Students


Moving Forward

• Leveraging Our Past Into Our Future

– We’ve been here for the past 100 years – and we plan to be here for the next 100!

• Re-Defining What It Means to be Presbyterian

– Recapturing our powerful social justice history

• A Renewed Model for (Urban) Ministry

– Multi-use Facilities

– Multi-congregation Partnerships

– Intercultural Cooperation

– Christ’s Hands in the Community

vibrant connections presentation · vibrant connections. surviving to thriving outline • hitting...

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