“People Before Strategy”
– Pastor Jason Friesen

Rented Facilities: Challenges & Opportunities

Crossroad rents worship and office space in the Grimes Community Complex, which is operated by the city of Grimes. Early on in the crisis, the city shut down the building and has yet to open it to public events. Eventually, the city gave permission to livestream services from the building but they still haven’t given the okay to hold in-person services.

Initially, Pastor Friesen was frustrated that the city was reluctant to open the facility even though the state government had lifted restrictions for churches. Like most churches, they were planning on a phased approach to reopening. The leadership team revised their plans and came up with a new strategy for their next phase in reopening: outdoor services. They asked the city if they could hold in-person service in the parking lot of the community center and the city agreed.

On Sunday, May 24th they held their first outdoor service which was well received by the congregation. After the second week, their in-person attendance was up to about 65%–70% of what they would have expected pre-COVID.

They discovered many benefits of outdoor services as their first phase of reopening. Bringing your own chair allows you to choose your own social distance for your family. Not comfortable sitting outside? You’re welcome to stay in your car and tune to the live radio transmission. To indicate appropriate distance for seating, leaders put down rows of colorful dots making the parking lot look like a giant game of Twister. Outdoor seating also makes the mask issue easier to address. They didn’t require attendees to wear masks (although volunteers were still required to wear masks). Another benefit is that there was no need to deep clean facilities which can be costly and time consuming.

One Spirit, One Purpose

Those still not comfortable meeting in-person can continue to watch the livestream. This creates the challenge of addressing two audiences with the service content. Pastor Friesen has been intentional about not creating an “us and them” mindset by emphasizing the unity of the local church. To bring home the idea that “we are one body,” Pastor Friesen preached on Philippians 2:1-4. “Make my joy complete by thinking the same way, having the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.” – Philippians 2:2

At first, several members were not comfortable with the outdoor service. One member came to the outdoor service hesitantly but had a great experience. After service she commented, “This was so good. I feel safe out here.” One of their elders is older and is being fairly cautious but asked Pastor Friesen if he could give him a hug after one of their outdoor services. Pastor Friesen said, “I was pretty surprised. I think it was his way of saying, ‘This was a really good thing for us to do and I’m really glad we pushed forward.’”

Seeing God Move

Pastor Friesen said they’ve seen God move in cool ways through their outdoor services, from  providing favorable weather conditions to bringing new people to services. The forecast called for rain on the first week they planned to meet in the parking lot. They decided to set up anyway and pray that the rain would hold off. The rain started the minute their equipment trailer left the parking lot.

One new family had begun watching the services online and when outdoor services were announced they decided to attend. A 94-year-old WW2 veteran was on his way to get a coffee at Casey’s when he drove by the outdoor service on his motorized cart. He decided to stay for the outdoor church service which he decided was “probably more important than coffee.” Pastor Friesen was able to hear his life story and talk with him about the gospel.

The church members have taken advantage of the current situation to minister from their homes and serve one another. One small group identified a need in the church and took the initiative to address it by putting a new roof on the house of another member who couldn’t afford to have it done. Some neighbors who were walking their dog saw them working on the roof and the next Sunday these same neighbors attended the parking lot service. They were impressed and encouraged that the small group members had served their neighbor in this way.

Rethink, Revise, Refine

Overall, this experience has been very valuable for Crossroads Grimes to refine what is essential. They’ve learned that their church is flexible and malleable and they’ve seen members step up to take the lead in ministering to one another. At the same time, they’ve become aware of the challenges ahead. Children’s ministry is going to be tough. Younger families haven’t returned yet. Each phase of reopening will be a new challenge and will push them to rethink, revise, and refine what is essential to carry on the mission of Jesus Christ at Crossroads.