First Baptist Church is beginning a thoughtful church-wide conversation about whether our current facilities are sufficient to support our mission—now and in the future.
As our ministries continue to grow, questions have naturally emerged about how well our current spaces serve the needs of our congregation and our community. Rather than allowing informal conversations or assumptions to drive direction, church leadership has chosen to engage in a structured and transparent process to listen carefully and assess congregational perspectives before any decisions are made.
This process is not a vote and not a building campaign. Its purpose is to ensure that any future decisions are informed by broad congregational input and shared understanding.
How This Conversation Began
Over time, members of the congregation and church leadership have observed that some ministries and activities are experiencing space constraints. These observations prompted conversations among church leaders about whether our current facilities will continue to meet the needs of the congregation as ministries grow.
Rather than immediately pursuing expansion or construction plans, the Elder Board and the Building Expansion Team determined that the first step should be to engage the congregation in a structured process to better understand:
To help guide this process, the church engaged local facilitator Melissa Butcher to facilitate conversations, gather input, and help document themes that emerge.
The most important part of this process is hearing from members of the congregation.
Two identical congregation-wide meetings provided an opportunity for members to:
Participants rotated through discussion tables examining several possible paths forward, including:
These discussions are designed to help church leadership better understand congregational perspectives and readiness.
After the congregation meetings:
Those next steps may include further exploration of facility options, additional discussion, or determining that the congregation is not ready to move forward at this time.
Leadership is committed to transparency throughout the process and will communicate updates as the process continues.
What Success Looks Like for This Process
Church leadership and the Building Expansion Team have discussed what a successful outcome of this conversation would look like. Several important principles emerged:
Clarity.
At the end of this process, leadership hopes to have clear confidence about whether the congregation believes additional facility space should be explored and why.
Transparency and Trust.
The process should be open and respectful so that members of the congregation feel heard and understand how conclusions are reached.
Meaningful Input.
Decisions should be informed by clear and measurable input from the congregation rather than assumptions or informal conversations.
Commitment and Readiness.
If additional facility options are explored in the future, leadership wants to understand whether there is genuine readiness and willingness within the congregation to support those steps.
By gathering thoughtful input now, the church can move forward with greater clarity and unity about whatever direction is ultimately chosen.
No decisions have been made about expanding or building new facilities. The purpose of this process is to help church leadership understand whether the congregation believes additional space should be explored and whether there is sufficient readiness to consider next steps.
No. The upcoming congregation meetings are not votes. They are opportunities for members to share input and perspectives so leadership can better understand the needs and views of the congregation.
Over time, members and leaders have observed that some ministries and activities are experiencing space limitations. Rather than assuming a solution, church leadership felt it was important to have a thoughtful conversation with the congregation to better understand how current facilities are serving ministry needs and whether additional space should be considered.
Participants will:
These meetings are designed to encourage thoughtful discussion and candid input.
Input from the meetings will be compiled and summarized. Church leadership will review the results and determine whether additional exploration is appropriate. The congregation will be updated as that review takes place.
Yes. Leadership intends to communicate the key themes and outcomes of the process so the congregation understands what was learned and what steps may follow.
The church has engaged Confluence Collaborative, led by Melissa Butcher, with the support of members of the Elder Board and BET, to facilitate the conversations and help gather and summarize input. This helps ensure the process is structured, transparent, and respectful of differing perspectives.
You can speak with a member of the Building Expansion Team or Elder Board.
It is too early in the process to estimate costs. The purpose of the current conversations is to understand whether the congregation believes additional space should even be explored.
If the congregation and church leadership determine that further exploration is appropriate, the next phase would involve gathering more detailed information about possible options, including potential costs. Any such information would be shared with the congregation before decisions are considered.
No decisions about financing have been made. Questions about funding, including whether debt would be involved, would only be considered if the congregation and church leadership determine that exploring facility options is appropriate.
The purpose of the current process is to understand whether there is sufficient need and readiness within the congregation to consider those questions.
We encourage members to attend one of the meetings if their schedule allows, as they provide an opportunity for conversation and shared reflection.
However, we recognize that not everyone will be able to attend. This page includes a digital participation option where members can review the same information presented at the meetings and submit their feedback through an online survey.
Both in-person and online participation will help leadership better understand the perspectives of the congregation.