On January 7th, 2017, Grace Community Church moved to a new location! This decision was multi-faceted, but was hastened due to our previous location, Belle Plaine Area Museum, becoming unavailable on January 1st of 2017.
Our new location is 404 3rd Street in Belle Plaine, just east of Cars 'R' uss. This building is able to house approximately 125 people, and will serve as an interim location until a permanent building is built. Our weekend service time will remain as 5:00pm on Saturday evening.
We are excited about this location change, and we believe God will use Grace Community Church in it's new location to further His will of making disciples that make disciples.
Below are some of the many reasons we decided to change locations, why we ultimately chose 404 3rd as Grace Community Church's new interim home, and why we decided to stick with 5:00pm on Saturday evening as our service time.
1) Minimal change - minimal confusion;
Anytime something is changed, it adds a level of confusion. With a location change already occurring, also changing meeting times felt like too much change. And although "Grace changes everything," we aim to make changes in the least confusing approach as possible.
2) Minimal set-up/knock down;
Every week for the worship service multiple gracious GCC members come early and leave late in order to set-up and tear down our current facility. Removing this weekly task will free up volunteers to assist in other areas of ministry.
3) Availability throughout the week;
At our current facility, the only time we have reserved is Saturday night. Therefore, if GCC would like to add or host an event throughout the week, finding a location is always an issue. With our new facility we have access to a usable and functional location 24/7, allowing us to do more with the space we have.
4) Ability to add Sunday service when possible;
The freedom of our new facility will allow us to easily transition into a second Sunday service when the need arrives.
5) Reflects the present time/day preference of current members/attendees;
As an informal survey, we found that a majority of our current attendees and members preferred Saturday night service over Sunday morning service. Although Sunday morning is the 'normal' time to hold a worship service, we also feel an obligation to 'shepherd the flock' we currently have, leading to the decision to keep the same Saturday evening worship time.
6) Acts as a teen ministry home-base;
Belle Plaine Youth Group, the youth ministry of GCC, had been meeting at 'By the Cup' for the 2016 school year. Recently, that building was made unavailable, and BPYG has been meeting at the home of a couple in our church family. This new facility will allow us to host BPYG in a comfortable and practical environment.
7) Stable locale allows for public recognition and credibility;
Although we consistently teach that 'church' is not a building, but rather the individuals who make up the body of Christ, the fact remains that having a building to call home adds credibility to a church. It also allows for public recognition as the community can 'see' the church.
8) Allows us to begin budgeting for the future;
Being granted access to an unfurnished building actually allows us to better budget for the upcoming years. It helps us to determine how much room we will eventually need when building, as well as allowing us to purchase some of the furnishings, appliances, and decor we will eventually need. This allows us to spread out cost over time and reduce the amount of cost needed when we decide to build our permanent location.