Parking Lots & Other Signs of Grace

In a couple of weeks we will take up a one-time offering to build more parking for the church. We are calling this Generosity Initiative Future Thriving. You have all received the rationality for this need and the fact that it will cost about $275,000. The date for the offering is May 22nd during our regular morning worship, and afterwards we will conclude this Generosity Initiative with a feast of thanksgiving at the church.Our final parking lot plans are with the city so it will be a few weeks of back and forth and then hopefully we will start moving dirt sometime in late June. So if you are reading this, ask yourself, “Should I really, really, really, prayerfully consider a very generous, sacrificial gift at this time?” And if you are wondering how this fits into the Kingdom vision of St. Patrick, it is actually very simple. St. Patrick really exists to do one thing - to make new/better disciples of Jesus who love God, love people, and love life. I am glad you asked; let me explain why this is crucial.During our next few morning worships we are hearing “Stories of Thriving.” What that means is we have asked a few of our new folk who have just come joined St. Patrick to share their story of how they came to be here. Last week, Rick Fortney told a story that I will never forget. If you don’t know Rick, he wears a hat, has a large walking stick, an engaging personality, and a big smile. Rick also has terminal cancer and takes chemo three weeks out of four, and he will do this the rest of his life so that he can live. When Rick was telling his story he began by saying that he had been basically un-churched for over 40 years, but decided it was time to reconnect with the faith of his youth. He drove past St. Patrick many times when we were worshiping in the warehouse on Highway 72, but never really considered stopping in. However, as he watched our building going up, he decided to give it a whirl.I encourage you to visit our church website (www.stpatrickpres.com) and on the banner when you open it up we have a new page called “Stories of Thriving” and it has Rick’s story from last Sunday. It doesn’t last long and if by the end of it you are not weeping, well, I don’t know what to say. Rick essentially said that the thing that has changed his life (and he didn’t even know he needed it) was to have a community of faith to share life with.There are lots of stories out there like this, but let me tell you how these stories of grace and human thriving in the gospel become real - a lot of people generously gave a lot of money to make a real physical place for people to gather. What do they get? Stories like this! Stories of joy, salvation, rescue, redemption, and of people finding their tribe. Stories that give us confidence that lives are being changed, eternity is being enlarged, and deep brokenness is being mended. Yes, it takes money, time, and intentionality to see God’s kingdom come on earth.So what does more parking have to do with salvation, joy, rescue, and redemption? A lot! Do you know how hard it is to actually visit a new church? Do you remember what that was like? For most of us the hardest thing we do is get up on Sunday morning and get a house full of children ready, everyone fed, everyone bathed, and in the car just to get to church for Sunday School and Worship. As my good friend, Mike Mokros, used to say almost every Sunday as he came in to worship right as we were about to begin, “Devil’s in the house boys, devil’s in the house!” If that is true for someone who knows Jesus and believes the gospel, imagine what it is like for someone visiting a church for the first time. If it is hard for folk who are part of a community, imagine what it feels like for people who, for whatever reason, say, “I am going to try this new church this Sunday.” There is usually several weeks between when someone decides to visit a church and when they actually make it to the church!Most people coming to St. Patrick for the first time are curious and skeptical, hopeful and cynical. It is awkward to go to a new place and not know anyone. It is scary to think about being in a place that is not familiar. It is weird leaving your children, for the first time, with strangers. You wonder if you will recognize anyone, if anyone will speak to you, if this experience will add value to your life, or if they will make you stand up or do something awkward. A thousand fears are running through your mind and a thousand things to convince you to just keep driving!If you are a guest at St. Patrick (or any church for that matter) for the first time it is scary, and if you actually make it to the front door it is a near miracle. Here is why this parking lot is so important right now. As hard as it is to get anyone to actually make it in the front door, if the parking lot is full or almost full, it is that much easier to just keep driving and never even try. We have actually seen that happen, and I have spoken to someone who told me that they came one Sunday and because there was no parking, they kept driving!!I’m glad my new friend Rick found a spot. I want to hear more and more stories like his, of un-churched and de-churched people finding a place of grace, truth, and forgiveness.  I want to remove every obstacle that might discourage people from stepping through the front door of a place of abundance and thriving. It takes money to do that, money for parking! And here is the lagniappe - if we raise all the money for the parking lot, that frees up about two thousand dollars a month to put into mission and ministry. You think about that! Money used for more stories of redemption and grace - salvation stories.