Rev. Bo Matthews
The mission of BVBC is to be followers of Jesus Christ, known by our love. It will take years of experience to learn what that means and for that experience to teach us what kind of church we are. Here are some reflections on that mission in light of Phase III .
I left a church in New York of over 500 to come to BVBC in 1975, when the congregation here was about 175. Numerical growth had never been for me and has not become for BVBC a stated goal. It was always more about the Lord and ministry than about size. It still is.
During the summers of 1994 and 1995, BVBC actually went from two down to one morning worship service. As more people started coming, we went back to two worship services in September, 1995; and then to three in 1999; and to then four in 2002. Making room for them seemed the way love would treat the additional people, who wanted to be here, even though four services have been inconvenient.
Today, the 8:30 service is so full that it would be impossible to take all the people who come at 6:00 and put them in the 8:30 service. There is not room for them. The 10:00 service is now so full that it would be impossible to take the people who come at 11:15 and put them in the 10:00 service. There is not room for them. We really are full.
And still, people come, nearly 1700 people, who call BVBC their church home and request pastoral care, even though they may not come every Sunday. Should we now say, “There is no room for more?”
In effect, that is what we are saying with a sanctuary that is too small and gathering places that were built for a church of 200. The Board of Deacons and the Pastor al Staff have chosen a different path.
We have proposed the building of Phase III , and the congregation has given approval to proceed to this point of a capital campaign. It seems the loving thing to do.
BVBC has less than four acres of property. On this small and precious piece of land, we have become a large church, and on this site, if we complete Phase III , we could become a very large church.
Why would we want to become a very large church? Because small churches can’t offer the range of ministries that larger churches offer (e.g., children’s ministry, youth ministry, singles, small groups, music ministry, missions). Very large churches can begin and sustain a variety of ministries that makes it easier to reach out to people of the Brandywine Valley and invite them to become with us followers of Jesus Christ.
To whom much is given, much is required. Not every church has the ministry resources of a BVBC. Love says we should make what we have more readily available to more people. Phase III makes sense, because it would increase the number and expand the use of these resources, a most loving thing to do.
That highlights something else about this project. The church’s leadership and many in the congregation are looking far beyond the next few years. After all, how many new people will be here a decade from now, who are not here today? Or from another perspective how many of us will be here two decades from now? Three decades from now? Phase III is for the thousands of people, who will come here in the next 30 years of BVBC’s life. That’s how love looks at it.
Love also affects the way we look at the cost of the project. $11-13 million is still a lot of money. But ten years from now, $11-13 million will seem like a bargain to the BVBC congregation. Building now will free them for other ministry possibilities. Wouldn’t love want to do that?
Love is also realistic about the wealth within our community. In terms of annual income, the 700 households that make up BVBC control, conservatively speaking, $50 million every year. Portfolios, real estate, and other assets of these households represent millions more in personal wealth.
Phase III represents a chance for the congregation to invest some of this wealth in a project that will serve the gospel for many years to come, instead of spending it on personal projects or investing it in some other portfolio or cause.
What I am saying is this: Phase III is not about us. That would be a selfish violation of God’s love. It is about our Lord and BVBC’s next 30 years of ministry.
How significant might this Church become? Just suppose that God has entrusted BVBC with a large and unique calling among all the churches in the Brandywine Valley .
Our present size suggests that God has done that. 1700 people call BVBC their home church. When people do that, they are answering the question, “What is good for my life?” by saying, “I found at BVBC a significant part of what is good for my life.” It is encouraging that so many people find so much here that makes their lives good. They are living testimonials that something very right is happening here.
Our location suggests that God has entrusted BVBC with a large and unique calling among all the churches of the Brandywine Valley . We sit here just off Rt. 202 with easy access to the five major arteries that move residents between Northern Delaware and Southeastern Pennsylvania . Within a 15 minute drive from our parking lot live tens of thousands of people, many of whom have Christian roots, have drifted away from the faith of their childhood, and may recognize what we offer as what they have been looking for to satisfy the deepest needs of their souls.
Our ministry resources suggest that God has entrusted BVBC with a large and unique calling among all the churches of the Brandywine Valley . I mentioned some of our formal church programs. Another resource is more difficult to measure. It is dozens of you, who know how to give spiritual hope and help to people on their life journeys. Your lives are testimonials to the validity of Christianity.
Finally, the generous Christian orthodoxy of BVBC suggests that God has entrusted BVBC with a large and unique calling among all the churches of the Brandywine Valley . Christian orthodoxy means holding to the Christian faith that most Christians in most places on earth have held for the last 2000 years.
People often and rightly point out the terrible divisions within the Church. Generous orthodoxy points out how much the different denominations have in common with each other. C. S. Lewis called that common ground mere Christianity. It is far more extensive than critics imagine.
Generous orthodoxy doesn’t ignore the differences among Christians. We name them, acknowledge how entrenched they can be, and seek to understand them. That enables conversations with each other to have integrity. When we can’t get past a disagreement, we rejoice in what we have in common and love each other with deep affection. Generous orthodoxy is love at work in a fractured world.
Phase III provides an attractive and more adequate platform from which to carry out this large and unique calling.
And dream with me for a minute! Suppose that we became followers of Jesus Christ, whom the people of the Brandywine Valley recognized by our love!
Suppose that we successfully brought our ministry resources to bear on the sorrows and needs of our communities, so that the people of the Brandywine Valley thought of this community as the place to turn to for hope and help!
Suppose that we powerfully engaged our troubled culture with gracious discernment, so that the people of the Brandywine Valley looked to BVBC for spiritual guidance on difficult moral issues!
Suppose that people of the Brandywine Valley came to think of BVBC as the place where people go to find God!
In light of this vision, I have to wonder if failure to build Phase III is the selfish course of action.
Phase III doesn’t guarantee the future I have talked about any more than the new Wilmington Savings Fund tower in Wilmington guarantees a successful banking future. But in our world new and powerful buildings say to the surrounding community, “We’re here to stay, and something very right is going on here. Why don’t you check us out?”
I wish every one of you shared this vision of BVBC’s future. If you are led to give, I ask you to dig deep and pledge big. I don’t want anyone to place himself or her household at risk by pledging too much. Neither do I want anyone to place Phase III at risk by pledging too little.
If you can give a million dollars or more, pledge it. If you can give $100,000 or multiples of $100,000, pledge it. If you can give $10 a week, pledge it. There is a guiding principle for what each household should pledge: Generous giving to Phase III will not be enough. Sacrificial giving will be enough. We have to reallocate some of our wealth and deny ourselves some of the legitimate, good things of life during the next three years in order to make Phase III possible.
So, pray, share the vision, look within, dig deep, and pledge big. The money to build Phase III is within the congregation. Phase III requires us to release it. Love bids us all to dig deep and pledge big.