More Community Churches Starting Out

From: Lance (Social Comentary and Observation)
Date: 28 Jul 2003
Time: 22:11:19
Remote Name: 66.82.48.1

Comments

Today more than ever many people are starting churches. I have a cousin who is starting a church in Goodyear AZ. Non-denominational. He had an Angel Investor give him three years living expenses to get it going, literally an Angel Investor in every sense of the word. The are working on building a strong foundation and "Core Group" as they call it. Since I read a magazine called Church Business, I have come to understand this theory and Core Group idea. After all it is similar to any large company with a board of directors, any large Labor union with directors or even any non-profit groups such as DARE or American Heart Association. My cousins group meets at a specific location and hopes to secure a piece of property and build in a couple of years with the help of the investor and funds accumulated from donations of the groups itself. This is good for local family values in his city and brings us full circle as to the intentions of the Mayflower voyagers. The USA Today reported that many churches used the facilities of a local movie theatre on Sunday or Saturday mornings depending on denomination or scheduling until they could afford a location. Obviously the beautiful; brick churches of yeateryear would be astronomical to build today and the mount of tithing available to the over spent credit card strapped consumer make it difficult to give in the amounts neccessary to acquire, attain or build such beautiful works of architecture and size today. It makes sense to co-use facilities such as movie theatres to get people to go who might not feel secure in a big church as they are coming from the heathen side of things and testing the waters first. Also it makes sense for companies such as movie theatres to maximize space and give discounts during non-use periods to worshipers who might also feel it appropriate to patronize such a facility for the next Arnold Schwatznegger film before he becomes governor of CA (screwed up state under current mis-management). I have had conversations with many laid off individuals who cannot find work in thier trained and skilled area for which they posess knowledge both actual and on paper with appropriate proclaimed letters next to it from such statusy institutions. one individual we recently met was a success story at aqage 23 with a $50,000 per year job working with Mainframe computers just out of school and the age of Kobe Bryant. After 20 years he has decided that he is wanting more out of life and is now the Executive Pastor at a start-up church and is seeking funds. One good deal for them is the Bush Plan for religious groups promoting the communities well being. They are working on the paper work to secure funds. They cannot compete with other large established churches for events which can cost up to $40,000 for a huge Easter Sunday or Christmas Event. But he feels as do most of the people with start-up churches that they can do the mission with much less. His group rents out a High School Gym for now. And plans to get that going and then do another one on the other side of town, thus proving mankinds need for something more and that we too are of the mamal class which enjoys the innate social tendencies which make us happy. Combined with the need for religion of some type it all seems to work, helping yourself and your neighbor for a better tomorrow together. Their particular group has been at it for 1.5 years and have almost 50 in very regular attendance. Summer time a little less admitted the pastor since people took vacations. It is good to see America taking vacations and traveling and seeing the country and understanding what makes it all tick. Church groups offer much to the communities and they help people who are members and often go out of their way for the common good and bring with them assistance to those who are unable to assist themselves. There has been much critizism of the Plan to help with funding such organizations with their community work, from the Church and State separations, many have attacked the plan in Texas and citied problems with its humble beginnings, however I beg to differ with such critizism, and contend that in theory it is a worthy ideal. And with a little more practice it can accomplish its mission and alleviate all critizism from reviewers of past performances in places where the idea originated. This individual which we discussed the idea with said they had already purchased a four acre piece of property to build a church in the future and some was good old fashion trading. But the church amongst its mission is to serve man (not the George Orwell way). But it is difficult for them to help people and save to build a church. So then if they recieve any assistance to help homeless or help handicapped then they do so at the possible expense of their congragations future church. So then with that said a streamlined approach to the gifting from the government for them to help society at large do better for all needs to be considered. Having proper guidlines to prevent mis-appropriation and potential fraud is necessary, but if the application process is too difficult nothing gets done and the best laid intentions are of no value. So then any critics of the Plan are automatically not valid. Now then in all of government there are too many forms. There should not be any forms required that are not on the internet and displayable to all. There should be no digital divide procluding all Americans to get the forms needed. There should be an identity system for internet use when filling out forms like Bill Gates discusses and once the information is filled out it automatically goes onto the forms you use when doing business with the govenrment, filing tax returns or asking for government assistance so your church can assist the needy. Some say everything government does it does poorly and with too much bureaucracy a fact no doubt even I cannot debate. However does not have to be that way. The person I talked to is real and they have to be really creative to fund their church and to have the resources to hold the congregation together and do good things. We should never make it difficult for good americans to do good things or good business people to create jobs, by making things too complicated or hiding forms that only lawyers know how to get. That is silly the lawyers have enough work and when they run out they can always sue their own mother, who ought to be sued for bringing them into the world to vicitmize society and slow innovation and positive growth in all aspects of modern civilization. When start-up churches are doing their best to stretch the dollar, are working hard to be careful with money, they are doing it much better than any agency I have ever seen. They can do it better, for less money and faster than all the social service agencies run by the state or federal government. So then I am willing to debate with anyone the Bush Plan to help people in need using religious organizations, because I believe in it and have discussed this with many people in my travels and the opposition only sites a rocky beginning and everyone knows Rome was not built in a day. There is nothing good in life that is easy. We are on the right track with this Plan and ought to see it through and keep it simple stupid. Make it easy for those who help to help and those who recieve to use that spring board for a better tomorrow. If any one want to argue this point with me email me. Lance@carwashguys.com And until then ask around to those who run such congregations how tight things are right now. We need them to be strong. When jobs are lost and things are tough our non-profit sectors loses ground and that simply is not good.

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