Expanding the
Bridgehead
Last Wednesday I walked out of my office to go to lunch and
there it was, as big as life, a six-foot high chain-link fence across the
entire back half of the church property. With a fist pump and a little hop of
joy I think I said out loud, “YES!” I was hoping our general contractor would
have some physical sign of the on-set of construction on site before Easter
Sunday. A dozer parked on the building site would have been enough; the fence
with that big sign “Brath Inc.” was even better. Our biggest crowd of the year
would see that things were happening at PCC! Then I walked around the west side
of the building and noticed the fence had blocked about 14 parking places. So
my second thought was, “Parking for Easter will be a disaster!” A quick call to
the construction foreman remedied the situation. I was assured the fence would
be pulled back to allow for parking on Easter.
After 4+ years of praying, planning, a capital campaign, and
many unanticipated obstacles, construction has begun on the gym/education
facility. The building will be an 18,000 sq. ft. structure that would include
several very large classrooms, a full gym, a large student center,
multi-purpose bistro area, and commercial size kitchen. It will open up all
kinds of possibilities for new ministry as well as supporting the expansion of
existing ministry. Four years ago our leadership team interviewed every
ministry leader in conducting a thorough review of the present and future needs
of the church and determined to build a ministry centered structure that would
bless the entire community of Pflugerville/Hutto/Round Rock/ N. Austin.
Beyond the practical functionality of a gym and education
center what does it mean for a church to purchase land and build buildings? I
think N.T. Wright gets it right in his book Surprised
By Hope when he writes, “Church buildings are not a retreat from the world
but a bridgehead into the world, a way of claiming part of God-given space for
his glory, against the day when the whole world will thrill to his praise.”
Obviously the kingdom of God is not limited to church
buildings; His kingdom of grace and love penetrates every place His followers
live and work and bear witness to Christ. But that little piece of land on
Pfennig Lane is a place completely dedicated to His purpose. The psalmist writes:
“For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise. (Psalm
47:7) (NIV)
The day is coming when the entire world will sing His
praise. Until then we continue to expand the spiritual and physical bridgehead
He has given us in this land.
