And they most certainly do not guarantee successful ministry. I just ran across a reference to a report about several very large churches with significant congregations that over a period of a decade or so, declined to meager numbers and minimal ministry. Their impressive building were once an enormous asset, but the same edifice became an albatross. It's not the building. It's the people.
Many churches find that their building becomes a serious drain on their ministry.
We're hoping to sell it before the roof caves in and the furnace conks out. The plan must above all else allow us to continue, improve and expand the mission of the church. When we start to care more for our buildings than for the building of God's kingdom, maybe we would be better off if all the walls did come tumbling down. Then all we would have left would be each other and Christ, which was all there was in the first place. We create massive monuments and begin to think we have earned the prosperity and grandeur of our surroundings.