We're On the Move...
Jan 28, 2018 | by David McFarland
This past September, the JRCC elders team shared that due to the Township’s desire to maximize weekend revenue, it will no longer be possible for us to meet at the Langley Events Centre after August 2018. As elders, we realized that we would ultimately need to seek out two different solutions – (1) a short-term rental option that we could move into by this September, and (2) a long-term option that is currently being worked on by our Future Facilities team.
At November’s Vision Night, the elders shared how we inquired into various public spaces (such as a school) as well as the possibility of partnering with a local church in Willoughby or Clayton area. We reflected out that moving into a school would be a significant challenge both due to the high rental cost as well as the need to invest heavily in new equipment to become a portable church again. Therefore, partnering with an existing church became the best short-term solution.
However, the challenge with using the building of an existing church is that their congregation will be gathering when we usually gather! So, the elders floated the idea at November’s Vision Night about moving to an afternoon time slot for our Sunday worship gathering so that more rental options could be available to us. We received very positive feedback to explore afternoon options and so the staff team has been working diligently on finding a suitable new home for Jericho Ridge’s gatherings.
We are excited to announce that we have reached a rental agreement with Port Kells Church (192 St and 88th Ave) and that this will be Jericho’s new location for our afternoon public worship gatherings starting Sunday, September 2, 2018.
Port Kells Church has graciously allowed Jericho the use of their entire facility for four hours each Sunday afternoon. This includes a prayer room, a worship centre (pictured below), three children’s ministry spaces on the second floor, a nursery, and a fully equipped kitchen. We will also have dedicated and secured on-site storage for our equipment and supplies.
In order to help get us comfortable, we will be doing a “test run” of an afternoon gathering on Sunday, March 4 at 4:00 PM so that we can get a feel for both the space and the timing. We are confident that this shift, albeit a significant one, will be a healthy one for Jericho and for our opportunities to reach out to people who do not yet know Jesus. We also want to remember that this move is for the short-term; and when I say short-term I should qualify that it will likely take 3-4 years for us time to secure a long-term facility.
Thank you for your prayers and your patience as we the elders and the staff team have been working through this process. If you have any questions or comments regarding the move to Port Kells Church this September, please if you could direct them to our board moderator, Ron Zacharias. Those currently serving on our elder board are Tyler Schacter, Lorne Epp, Curtis Cottrell, Miriam Faulkes, and David McFarland.
Long Term Security of Tenure for Jericho: We continue to explore land & building options
The elders team is still actively exploring potential building and land partnerships that would create a strong ministry platform for Jericho Ridge for our longer-term future. We desire to do this in a way that doesn’t compromise our “people-over-property” focus (for example, we need to think wisely about how much debt Jericho can take on & how much could be raised in a capital campaign or via facility partners). We have a strong team working on this and we will keep you updated on the process and progress on these ventures as we make headway in 2018. At this point what we are asking of you as elders is that you lean in to prayer on this matter. God is providing us with favour with our partners in ways that we are delighted at and so we anticipate that by our Ministry Night in May, we will have a more robust update for you on this matter.
Thanks for your prayers and your flexibility as we move forward with what God has for us as a community.
-David McFarland (on behalf on the Elders Team)