Our Season at GH
Grace Harbor Church Family,
The picture above is from a Summer Sunday in 2020. We had walked through a disorienting few weeks of not gathering during COVID and we were a few weeks back into gathering, long before others in our area had resumed their gatherings. Two new families were with us that day, and I vividly remember it as it was one of the “fuller Sundays” we had ever seen.
As I speak with folks, I tell them there are a few particular seasons I can reflect on and recognize as a sort of turning point for us. To name a few:
September 2017 when we held our first gathering in my home
April 2018 when we moved into our current building
Summer 2020
It was that Summer of 2020 into the Spring of 2021 when we saw our church body grow at a rate we hadn’t yet experienced. Going from 30 people to 60 can feel like a shock!
We’re in another one of those seasons now. Since that time, our church has grown from 60 to around 120. The Lord was kind and has continued to be kind to us.
Our church is comprised of singles, newlyweds, young families, and elderly saints. We are truly witnessing the Lord put together an intergenerational family.
The purpose of why I am writing is not so much a “State of the Union”, as much as it is intended to acknowledge some of the implications of where we are at, and some things we are considering.
I’m writing not to break any big news, but to acknowledge the season we are in and the opportunities that lie ahead for us.
We anticipate, based on what we have seen in the last year, that our church body will continue to grow numerically. We rejoice that God is bringing more and more people to be part of Grace Harbor, a majority of them are those who are new residents to OKC from other states. We pray this continues!
Our current facility is right around 7,000 sq/ft. If you were there this past Sunday, you experienced what that kind of space feels like when we have as many guests as we had. As many are beginning to express in optimistic ways, there are “pressure points” to this growth. In response to a common question about space from our members, the elders recently reached out to a few men in our church with expertise in construction about the possibility of a future addition to our building. As you know, nothing will be formally pursued without the congregation’s understanding and approval of these things. However, we are having to seriously consider what it may look like to add additional classroom space for our GH Kids, additional restrooms, and/or additional space in our auditorium.
One of the beautiful things about our church body is the fellowship we share before and after each gathering. I have had multiple people over the years say, “People just don’t leave.” They’re right, and that’s the way we like it! A new guest told me this past week, “Things are just so personal here.” As one who has always taken great pride in the fact that I’m normally the last one to leave somewhere because I am afraid I’ll miss something, there have been many times when I have locked people inside the building on a Sunday so that I could get home. This strength of GH also presents some challenges. I know the last thing on my mind while I am enjoying a conversation with someone is where my kids are or what they’re doing.
One of our folks lovingly brought to my attention a few weeks ago that while I was deep in conversation inside, my three-year-old was wandering through the parking lot. Knowing Charlee, she had no lack of confidence that any car would surely stop and anyone inside would get out and lay the red carpet down for her. However, this is a serious oversight and one that I have to be more and more aware of. One of our pastors also recently noticed that his non-mobile child had rolled his way near the feet of one of our older members. He acknowledged how vulnerable and potentially hazardous that was both to his child and the older member. Another challenge that a couple of us pastors have had to address with our own kids is playing ball and acting as linebackers through the hallway on Sunday mornings. Now, my kids also know that when they come with me to the empty building during the week, it is common for us to bring a ball and toss it around. But I had a loving conversation with them about the consideration we must all have for the presence of others on Sundays. It was not a staunch conversation about “this is the Lord’s house and it’s holy”(did you know this building nearly burned down in 2012, but the Church continued just fine without it?). Rather, it was a conversation about the love and consideration we are to have for the people God has put around us, especially those who are more vulnerable: some due to illness and ailment and others due to toddling. Parents, the season in which we find ourselves provides a unique opportunity for the kind of instruction we are able and called to speak into the lives of our children. As we consider the implications of this season, I encourage you as a brother, fellow parent, and pastor to “spur one another on” in this particular area. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
Earlier this year, we were approached by someone who asked if there were any pressing needs for a project around Grace Harbor. There are surely numerous things we could address, but one that seems to be a need with safety and relevance implications is a new play set. If you have been near the play set, you know it is not in the best shape. We have begun researching steel-framed playground sets that would provide a safer and more ideal spot for our GH Kids during class time. Personally, I would love to see this happen. It is not a budgeted part of our year, but a project that we are setting aside as a potential goal for the year.
These are two additional areas that I believe will help alleviate some of the challenges of lots of people in a tight space. Please pray with us about these things.
I will briefly share also that we are considering adding an additional classroom space for our younger kids. Additionally, we will soon begin having our 3-6 year-old children with us in our worship gathering every week, then to be dismissed to their classes at a point in our service. I will share more in-depth another time, but this is more of a philosophical/convictional decision than a pragmatic one.
As I conclude, a common autopsy on churches that have had to close their doors is that they were a “one-dimensional” church. To be clear, there are many other factors, such as churches that were so internally focused and not present among people in their community. However, it is often the case that a church that has had to close its doors lacks robust diversity among its congregation. That means there are no fingerprints on the windows, no bustle of children in the worship gathering, no spills that have to be cleaned up, and no occasional bloodied lips from a collision in the hallway.
From another angle, it means there are no elderly saints present who offer invaluable wisdom for parents of young children, or the wisdom they bring after years and years of following Jesus. There are no single folks or widows who continually encourage others to press into Jesus and trust Him. There are no newly married couples who may be convinced they could write a book, but the seasoned married couple is gracious toward them anyway.
By God’s grace alone, this is far from the reality of Grace Harbor. I am humbled and honored that I get to be part of it, and that we get to anticipate together how God will further bless us in the days to come.
