Westchester Site Meeting

Tuesday evening's meeting was quite an impressive crowd. We were to eat at 6, for those who could come, and the meeting was to start at 6:30. By ten after 6, it was obvious that the back room where the meeting was to take place wasn't going to do it. There were people just steadily coming in the door to hear about our first satellite campus. So, plan B = we ate in the back room AND in the restaurant - basically wherever we could sit - and then at about 6:45 we migrated to a nice little spot outdoors. Thankfully, the weather was reasonable. There were over 50 folks there, in several 'categories'.

1. Some were there because they care deeply about PCC and our mission and wanted to know more about what we were doing. They realize that the Westchester launch will have implications on the broader church and it's mission and want to be on the solution side of those challenges by helping us to think thoroughly through the questions. We desperately need folks like this for a project of this magnitude to be successful. They help us see some things that we don't see, but should.
2. Others were there from PCC who live to the east - either in eastern Powhatan or in Chesterfield or the West End. I actually got a call today from a good friend of mine who lives almost in Chester. He was telling me how much he wanted to be at the meeting last night (he was hung up and couldn't get there) because the new location would be so much more convenient. He specifically said that he wants to have a PCC experience when he comes to church, but the building is so far away. Westchester is the answer for him. 10% of PCC attenders come from the east, northeast and southeast. We will automatically lose a portion of those people by virtue of our move. They have told us this and we know it is so. By simply retaining these people as part of the PCC family, Westchester begins strong and distinctly PCC.
3. Some were there from other churches. I met 2 families from Huguenot Road, friends of the Heberle's, and a man from Tomahawk Baptist who heard about the meeting through middle district. They were all interested in this new concept. And make no mistake about it - we might know that's multi-site has been going on for a while, but it's still new here. And we're going to do it in a way that NOBODY else is, making it a whole new brand of unique. Even today, we found a way to be like no other innovative, seeker driven church around. This is exciting to folks who want to be a part of something that is making a difference.
4. There were some 'PCC Fans' there. Glenn Akins from the Virginia Baptist Mission Board and Nita May - a long time friend and mentor to me - from Middle District Baptist Association were both there to cheer us on and be a support. These groups have given PCC well over $100,000 in our early days to help ensure our success. We are grateful that they have stood beside us so faithfully. We wouldn't be where we are without them.

Great questions were answered and I learned a lot about the couple of areas in which we aren't quite as prepared as we should be and I also had a couple of questions stump me a little. That's highly beneficial, because I always leave meetings and go find answers and learn how to better respond the next time the question is asked.

I hope the meeting was a benefit to those who were there, too. There is serious momentum growing for this project. It is fresh for the community, it's innovative, it's risky, and it's clearly from God. Our staff is excited about it, too.

Now the Core Launch Team will begin to form and the site will begin to take shape. I will have more to say about this and I'll post some slides on this blog about the meeting itself and I'll keep you posted here, too.

In the end, there is no doubt that God is up to something. Don't give into fear. I know it's scary. But I promise you this: God is still in the same multiplication business He was in Matthew 14. Where we see gaps and wholes and deficiencies, God sees opportunities for people who now only watch to step up and participate; who now drop $10 a week in the basket to step up in faith and begin to tithe; who now only come to church on Sundays to be the church 6 other days a week. God's in the Divine Multiplication business, and if we'll be faithful to feed hungry people with whatever is in our hands, we're going to get to watch an abundant -style miracle happen. Because when God goes to work, 5+2 doesn't feed 7. It doesn't even feed 12. It feeds 5000 men, plus all the women and children, and makes a week's leftovers for all the disciples.

That's the God we still serve. He's been producing that kind of abundance at PCC from day 1. And He'll do it again through our bold move at Westchester.

Glad to be with you on the journey!