KEEPING YOU INFORMED - September 2024
September 24, 2024 12:45 PM
Most of you have been impacted by the growth in our area. You may enjoy that new store, restaurant or entertainment opportunity, however, there is also construction, traffic, noise and larger crowds everywhere you go. The reality is that growth/change will come, and we must deal with it to the best of our ability.
Church is no different. It is harder to get a close parking spot, find a preferred seat, wait longer in the coffee line, etc. Although these are challenging things, they are not bad things. Who would not want the church to grow and have more people hearing God’s word.
In the last 116 years we have progressed from a small white chapel to a church of 75,000 sq. ft. Over the last couple of years, we as a staff and Board of Directors have had ongoing conversations about how to best manage our growth and maintain our facility to accommodate it. We have done research, talked to architects, looked at other churches, etc. Most of the solutions do not make economic sense at this stage, but some could in the future.
After months of discussion, prayer and more discussion, we have decided to replace the pews with chairs. The chairs will not only provide more physical seats, but more importantly they will make it much easier for someone coming into the room to identify the “3” seats they need. Studies have shown that chairs will yield about 20% more actual seats because of how people spread out in pews. We understand the significance that the pews may have to some, and we do not take that lightly. However, we do feel that this is the best next step.
We have made several changes in the Worship Center over the last few months to help with sound quality as well as give it a bit of a face lift. You may not realize it, but it is over 27 years old! This is how we will proceed:
Stage 1: If you find the pews rocking a bit, it is because we have already removed the studs that held them to the floor.
Stage 2: The new chairs will be coming in November and hopefully be completed between Sundays. This will set us up well for the Christmas season, guests and beyond.
Stage 3: The carpet throughout the Worship Center will be replaced in January/February.
If you would like a pew(s) or wood from them, please contact me as soon as possible. All remaining pews will be given away or discarded. The current brown chairs will be used to replace the old wooden chairs in some of the classrooms.
If you would like to help during the transition, please contact me as well.
Rick Day Executive Administrator
rickday@deerflat.org
Church is no different. It is harder to get a close parking spot, find a preferred seat, wait longer in the coffee line, etc. Although these are challenging things, they are not bad things. Who would not want the church to grow and have more people hearing God’s word.
In the last 116 years we have progressed from a small white chapel to a church of 75,000 sq. ft. Over the last couple of years, we as a staff and Board of Directors have had ongoing conversations about how to best manage our growth and maintain our facility to accommodate it. We have done research, talked to architects, looked at other churches, etc. Most of the solutions do not make economic sense at this stage, but some could in the future.
After months of discussion, prayer and more discussion, we have decided to replace the pews with chairs. The chairs will not only provide more physical seats, but more importantly they will make it much easier for someone coming into the room to identify the “3” seats they need. Studies have shown that chairs will yield about 20% more actual seats because of how people spread out in pews. We understand the significance that the pews may have to some, and we do not take that lightly. However, we do feel that this is the best next step.
We have made several changes in the Worship Center over the last few months to help with sound quality as well as give it a bit of a face lift. You may not realize it, but it is over 27 years old! This is how we will proceed:
Stage 1: If you find the pews rocking a bit, it is because we have already removed the studs that held them to the floor.
Stage 2: The new chairs will be coming in November and hopefully be completed between Sundays. This will set us up well for the Christmas season, guests and beyond.
Stage 3: The carpet throughout the Worship Center will be replaced in January/February.
If you would like a pew(s) or wood from them, please contact me as soon as possible. All remaining pews will be given away or discarded. The current brown chairs will be used to replace the old wooden chairs in some of the classrooms.
If you would like to help during the transition, please contact me as well.
Rick Day Executive Administrator
rickday@deerflat.org