How a New Entryway Will Actually Help Jerusalem’s Ministry

“I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” You are excited as the words of Psalm 122:1 go through your head while walking up the steps to enter church. However, your excitement quickly turns to annoyance as you open the door and are unintentionally blocked from coming into the building. Large groups of people are standing in front of the door, enjoying fellowship and food. They greet you with smiles and a warm welcome, but you have to carefully meander your way through the people to get to the coat rack to hang up your coat.

As you head to get coffee, you notice a church member lugging the heavy, full, coffee pot from the basement, up the steps, through the sanctuary, and onto the fellowship table. You think, I wish I could help with making coffee and cleaning up the coffee pot, but there is no way I am carrying that coffee pot up and down a flight of stairs. You greet some members of your church family and engage in small talk about a recent Bible study. You want to dig a little deeper in a certain section of Scripture, and you were hoping to find a People’s Bible. Your friend informs you that the church library has People’s Bibles to check out and borrow. You ask, where is the church library? Your friend points to some white shelves located by the coat rack. You decide to explore the library once the church service is over and people have cleared out.

This scenario describes the limitations of our current church entryway. The church entryway creates the first impression for members and visitors as they enter our church building. Some questions and answers (in parentheses) to consider for our current church entryway are:

1. Does it create a welcoming atmosphere with enough space so people can greet visitors or members who walk through the door? (No. When there are large groups of people enjoying fellowship, the door is usually blocked, and it is difficult for people to enter the building. Nothing says ”Welcome to church!” less than someone blocking you from entering the building.)

2. Is there clear signage that directs visitors and members to important areas like the bathrooms, children’s areas, fellowship hall, church library, school and church office? (No. Unless there is someone telling a visitor where to go, they will not know where these places are located.)

3. Is there a comfortable seating area to promote fellowship before and after services? (No. There

are two chairs in the entryway, but that would not qualify as a “seating area”.)

4. Is the church entryway clean, tidy, and visually appealing to create a positive first impression? (Sort of. People work to keep it as clean and tidy as possible, but it is serving right now as a functional space, not as a visually appealing, welcoming space).

The Jerusalem Expansion Plan will solve the problems of our current entryway. First, it will create a welcoming environment for members and visitors (including those with physical limitations) as they will be able to enter the new entryway right off the parking lot facing Georgiana Ave. There will be plenty of space to enter the vestibule (no one should be blocking the door), and then individuals can head to the reception, or fellowship area. Second, since there will be more space, people will be able to see clear signage to direct visitors and members to important locations in the building. Third, there will be a spacious, comfortable seating area where multiple people can meet for fellowship. In connection with fellowship, church members can use the elevator to transport coffee pots and other food items from the fellowship hall to the reception area. Since the reception area is spacious, that area may also be used for a church library, welcome booth, church meetings, Bible studies, or other school and church events. Praise the Lord for the gift of space! There is so much we could do with that space to enhance and build up the ministry! Finally, this space will provide visitors with an accurate picture of Jerusalem’s mission of “serving a diverse community with the unique message of Christ’s love.” The easy access to the building and the spacious meeting reception area sends a clear message to members and visitors that they are welcome here at their church home.

Having a building with an entryway that is welcoming, spacious, and inviting for all people is an amazing blessing of the Jerusalem Expansion Plan. Praise the Lord that we have this opportunity to use our resources to reach out to our current members and the people in the community with an updated, spacious, welcoming entryway!

The Jerusalem Expansion Plan is exciting and offers so many opportunities to grow the ministry at the church and the school. However, creating space means we have to sacrifice the parsonage and a teacherage (8641). How will eliminating those properties ultimately be a blessing and help Jerusalem achieve its mission? Check out next week’s article to find out more!

The next Building Expansion Committee meeting will take place on Wednesday, July 2nd at 7:00 pm. Please join us! Also, Jerusalem Members and School Families will be invited to attend a special meeting on Sunday, July 13th, after church. This will be an informational meeting where the Jerusalem Expansion Committee will give a detailed presentation on the Jerusalem Expansion Plan. Mark it on your calendar and plan to attend. See you there!