Office hours out in the parking lot? Well, why not?
I suppose every minister has some special challenges to tackle when they first start at a new church. It might be declining attendance, a lack of money, or maybe an angry congregant. I started at my first church 2 weeks ago and had a fascinating one--no church building! An arsonist set fire to the place 7 months ago and completely destroyed the inside. Over the last 7 months, the Church Board tried their best to wrangle a building permit from the City (without any luck). To complicate the situation, the minister left a month after the fire.
No church and no minister! Most places would fold. But for 7 months, the 25-person congregation has gamely met at a Community Cultural Center in town. And miracle of miracles, they have actually grown to 35 people. Would your church grow by 40% without a building and without a spiritual leader?
But even with that stunning growth, there are some built-in problems without a building. There is no place for people to congregate during the week. People only get together on Sundays, and in the long-run that leads to a loss of morale and enthusiasm. The Board members all have full-time jobs (you know, something other than keeping the church together). So, for the last 2 weeks, I have been holding office hours out in the parking lot every day. Next time, I will tell you how that's working. It's been amazing.
