Last night was a significant night in the history of St Paul’s!
Over the last 3 years, the Parish Council (elected leaders) have been considering the future of St Paul’s, especially in the light of growth that God has brought to the congregations and the pressure that has put on space on our site. This led them to consider all the alternatives, summarised nicely by this little video.
Over the last few months, a vision has been shared with the congregations for a redevelopment of our site, culminating in a new purpose built auditorium along with attendant car parking and spaces for ministries to function (see the 6 stages proposed here).
Last Sunday, Pastor Oscar Muriu from Nairobi Chapel (in Kenya, a partner church of ours) challenged all of our congregations to think about the legacy we would leave and to “be brave, not safe” as we though about heading into the future.
Last night, more than 300 people gathered into the church building to consider the a motion to commence with Stages 1 and 2 ‘as soon as possible’.
This would mean expanding the current building to 750 seats, building new mothers and toddlers rooms, constructing new meeting spaces and offices, along with other bits and pieces to prepare for future stages; it would also mean committing ourselves prayerfully and financially to the project, to the tune of $5.8 million dollars.
The motion was put, and a secret ballet taken, with the options of ‘yes’ (I support and will commit) or ‘no’.
The votes were counted in public view, and the tally was:
330 votes collected
4 informal
17 no
309 yes!
That means 94% of those gathered said yes to going forward with the plan, and committing themselves to seeing it happen under God’s good hand. Amazing!
This means we have committed ourselves to continue pushing to reach the least, the last, and the lost, with even more fervour as we think of the train line opening in 2019 and the predicted 100 000 extra people moving into the Hills after that time.
Exciting and challenging days are ahead! Praise be to God!
In Anticipation 