Why A Building?
As our church is continuing to grow in size and impact, and as we have to stretch for more to be obedient to God’s call on our church, we are now stretching the limits of our current meeting facility to provide worship, connecting, and training environments for more people to be touched and transformed by the gospel message of Jesus Christ – both inside AND outside the walls of meeting places. We love our meeting place at Austin High School near downtown Austin, and anticipate continuing to utilize this venue in various ways in the future.
However, we have reached the ceiling of effectiveness for having our primary location be the space that we lease each weekend at Austin High School. The building project will primarily support the first two of the vision goals; 1) Strengthen the ministries of the Austin Stone, and 2) Build synergy among people, churches, and other organization who align with our vision. Here are the reasons that this building project will be a critical tool in accomplishing these goals:
1. We believe the facility will be critical in strengthening the ministries of the Austin Stone.
- The PRIMARY objective is the ability to increase our effectiveness in ministry. We will be able to train and connect more effectively with more permanent space. Currently, we are limited to training based on physical space limitations and the portability requirements for tools and resources. We will be able to greatly expand our capacity in environments for worship and training by gaining 24/7 control over a facility. We will also be able to better-connect with our surrounding community by having facilities and space as resource to offer.
- One SECONDARY benefit will be the increased stability. As the body continues to grow the amount of risk associated with only having a rental solution with no accompanying permanent facility becomes less than favorable.
- Another SECONDARY benefit will be the increased flexibility of available space at all times. --As our body grows, a rental solution with no accompanying permanent facility significantly hinders the flexibility in training and worship meeting times. Furthermore, mid-size and large-scale gatherings continue to become less cost-effective. Keep in mind that stability and flexibility are not reasons enough alone to need permanent space, but they are positive benefits that come with the capacity to strengthen the work of our church.
- Creation of cooperative space for non-profit and other like-minded organizations. This facility will serve as a meeting ground and cooperative space for organizations and people in Austin working for city-wide transformation. As we create opportunities for organizations to work together, we can build synergy among services and ministries.
- Increased space and collaborative resources for non-profit and other like-minded organizations. This facility will be utilized by organizations to expand and enhance their ministries and services. As we have experienced, meeting facilities can be a barrier to many non-profit organizations working for a better Austin. This facility will be available for use by organizations working for the benefit of our city.