New Building Expands Ministry Opportunities
Thanks to a loan from the CGF, East Hills
Community Church in Riverside, California,
now has its own building, and its opportunities
for community ministry have expanded
along with its square footage. Pastor Craig
Gilbert estimates that the 500-member
church has grown about 20 percent since
the dedication of the new building.
The church, which had been leasing a temporary
facility, purchased property in 2003
with the goal of building a permanent facility.
To offset some of the cost of the land, the
church subdivided the property and sold six
lots to a local developer.
East Hills Community turned to the Church
Growth Fund for help with construction
costs, receiving a $2 million loan in 2006.
"Our experience with the Church Growth
Fund has been awesome," says Gilbert. "The
staff is very compassionate and caring."
Gilbert notes that when he called to
discuss loan business, he and CGF
director Paul Karssen also
talked about personal things
like family and ministry. "It
was so nice to know that Paul
didn't just care about business,"
he says.
"Having a permanent facility is a
mixed blessing," Gilbert says. "You do
have to worry about landscaping,
mortgage payments, and maintenance,
but one of the blessings
is that we have our own building,
which helps facilitate
New building
expands ministry opportunities
ministry. This building gets used every day,
every evening."
The church lets many clubs and organizations
from the community use its facility, including
Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, and the local homeowner's
association. "We're glad to let people
use our building," says Gilbert. "It is a community
building.
"The community we minister in
has benefited from this building
being here. We have local
outreach events here that are
for the people in the community,
not just the people in the
church." For example, the
church holds concerts in its
parking lot that are open to the
community.
"We don't have the concerts
inside, because some people
won't come inside the church,
but they'll come to the parking
lot. And we've found that once
people come to your parking
lot, they're more likely to come
inside."
Some church members wonder if it's such a good idea to let so many
community groups use the new building. Is it really good
stewardship of the church's resources? But East Hills
Community recognizes that spilled coffee can
be cleaned up, and things like broken doors
can be fixed. "I think we're being better stewards
this way," says Gilbert. "Churches grow
because the building is being used by the
community. We shouldn't think of our building as
our church home, but as a tool in God's hands."
Posted 04/13/09
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