In Episode 367 of the NewChurches Q&A Podcast, Daniel and Ed discuss how to handle a church wanting to open their doors 40 yards from yours. Here is today’s question:
“We officially launched last September and are currently meeting in a remodeled train depot that we are renting from the city. On the same block, within twenty yards of us, there is an older style church building that’s being constructed as a part of the historical area. The city rents these facilities out. I have recently heard that friends leading a local church are in talks of renting that church building facility. We are excited about a great church in that building, and our friends to have a building to meet in, but we have some concerns. Both churches would gather for worship at the same time and our entrances are within 40 yards of each other. Since we both have regularly have 50 to 80 people attending each church’s services, parking will quickly become an issue because it is a shared lot. There’s a large parking that would meet the need, but it is hidden from both facilities . It is also about 150 to 200 yards away from both doors. I have also been thinking about signage since you have to cross the same area to reach both entrances, but am wondering if it will be confusing or look cluttered. We both have a gospel-centered mindset, yet we are a distinct body of believers. We want to see the church of Jesus Christ reach the city and have concerns that this might be hindered by the proximity and logistics. Are these concerns valid? Have you seen anything like this? Are there other concerns that need to be addressed?
In This Episode, You’ll Discover:
- What to do when the proximity of both churches are very close
- How to work together, but also be distinct
- How to be gracious to another church
Shareable Quotes (#NewChurches):
- “You’re not going to get foot traffic coming into your building because you are renting it anyway.” – @edstetzer
- “We need a plan that both churches core families will park further out so that there’s room for both church guests in here.” @edstetzer
- “It would be gracious if both churches would not have branding that looks similar.” @edstetzer
- “We are not competitors, we are co-laborers.” @edstetzer
- “Ultimately, people may start to ask why you don’t merge the two churches together. You have to have an answer prepared. We are the same body of Christ, but we both have a unique vision.” @edstetzer
- “Since we aren’t trying to draw people from one church to another, two is better than one.” @edstetzer
Additional Resources:
- Make sure to check out The One Thing Podcast
- Listen to all the podcasts on The Lifeway Leadership Podcast Network
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Published March 7, 2019