We are really close to building a church building. Everything seems to be moving toward a vote from the congregation of ReCAST Church within the next month and breaking ground within the next two. I have a reasonable and measured excitement that is akin to getting a new iPhone. At the end of the day it will not be the solution to all of our problems, but it will indeed be a helpful tool.
But one thing has been a constant thought in the back of mind as we have been moving in this direction for years; this is God’s money. Frugality has indeed been a driving force in this process and we have worked hard to be faithful with the amazing blessings God has given.
What does God want us to build? That seems like a question that at face value may seem to have little practical value. But there is a ton of writing in the Old Testament about the construction of the tabernacle and the Temple. Those structures were indeed for a different era, a different purpose, and even a different covenant, but I still think that God’s recognition for the physical meeting space of his people is worthy of note.
Christianity is a religion that gives meaning to the geographical and physical world around us. Jacob went to sleep in Bethel and in the night he was granted a vision of the Almighty. He woke in the morning and set up a memorial stone declaring that God was in that place but he didn’t know it. Any place can be a sacred space. It doesn’t need a steeple, it doesn’t need pews, it doesn’t need a building to be a sacred space.
And that ties into the expectations for a church building. What we need and what we want, may be a significant gap to begin with. When we build, we will be building a very modest and functional facility. It will not have a lot of bells and whistles. It will not be a Temple for God. It will be a gathering space for the little temples who are called the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are not going to build a house for God . . . We ARE a house for God.
It is my prayer that we never lose sight of this. And it just may be the fact that when we first step foot in this building and find that it doesn’t solve all of our problems, that in this reality, we will be reminded that building a building is not the end of our mission, but it is just one step along the way of what God wants to do in us and through us. Run on sentences aside . . . I am excited!
I believe that God has work for ReCAST to do. And that work has very little to do with bricks and mortar, but a whole lot to do with being the community of Jesus Christ in Mattawan. I look forward to having a place to dedicate to His worship, and I look forward to finding more worshipers for His glorious name!
