We Have City Approval

What an experience it was on April 12th with The City Council. I felt like the experience was much like standing trial. The members of the council pulled no punches, asking anything from probing questions about how we would raise the money for the project to making sure the wording of the amendment itself was satisfactory. At times I found myself defending our church and the reason for its existence. I even fought the urge to pitch or sell our church as if it was for sale to convince the council of its value and worth to the city of Ionia.

I could not fully comprehend how the challenges of a growing church being in the downtown area outweighed the benefits, but to some of the council it clearly did. You would think that any positive life and potential commerce would be welcomed into downtown Ionia. As I look at the issues of parking and the current state of the area we are planning on expanding it seems a win win. I have been in Ionia long enough to know that parking never kept anyone in Ionia from making it to an event that meant something to them.

More than anything else my desire is that people would realize that the growth of our church, both present and future, is something only God could do. I also believe that, over time, the city will see the wonderful benefits of having a growing church in the community.

I want to thank Jeffrey Parker for all his hard work and also all of you who so faithfully lifted us up in prayer. Keep praying the work has just begun. God Bless.

Pastor John

First Reading With The City Council

On March 1st we had our first reading with the City Council. We passed by a vote of 5 to 4. I personally did not expect it to be that close even though I knew we would not pass overwhelmingly. To some, what we propose to do is an issue of policy regarding the city. To others it is more of an issue of people than policy. I need not say where I stand.

I understand good policy is established with people in mind, but I believe that the best policy places people first. I am confident that the majority of the City Council will vote in our favor recognizing the fact that we are making positive changes in peoples lives and those changes affect the city of Ionia in a positive way.

I am asking that you all pray that on April 12th the vote falls in our favor and that the City Council gives us the green light to bring positive change to the downtown of Ionia. We need atleast 5 council members to vote in our favor to pass on the 12th. I am praying that the vote goes from 5-4 to 6-3 in our favor.

I struggle believing that 5-10 years down the road the city will regret granting us permission to expand our facilities. Over 60% of our congregation come from outside Ionia to the downtown area every week. We bring more potential commerce to the downtown area on a consistent basis than any other institution in the area. We are a boon to the economy of Ionia as our congregants eat, shop and gather here every week.

It has also been proven that people move to an area because of their church. We have seen and will continue to see people move to Ionia to be a part of what we believe God is doing in Ionia. I have seen people move from one to two hours away as they became involved in their church. A healthy growing church only affects a community positively.

God Bless You All As You Pray For Ionia,

Pastor John

On To The Next Leg Of The Journey

My apologies once again for the length between blogs. The meeting with the City Planning Commission went well as we passed on to the next level, which is the City Council. We meet for two readings with the City Council, one in March and one in April. Should all go well a determination will be made concerning our church expansion at the April reading. we need 5 of the 9 council members to vote in our favor at the April meeting.

Back to the recent City Planning Commission meeting on February 9. There were a couple areas of concern mentioned. One was parking on Main St. and the competition for spaces especially on Wednesday nights. The other was the flow of traffic and size of parking spaces in the new parking lot.  In our drawings, the alley way (Dallas Alley) between our current facilities and Talespinners will be made one way entering off of Main St. and exiting onto Washington. We believe this will facilitate a much smoother flow of traffic coupled with the fact that there will be a new parking lot and a brand new rear entrance that would be the preferable route into the church building. We believe that the new parking area will be a huge draw because we have never had that before and that the front entrance will be seen as secondary in purpose though primary in appearance.

In the end the motion we needed passed without a nay. At this point, we have hired the services of Russ Olmon from Church Solutions based out of Texas. Russ will be aiding us as we start our campaign to raise the funds needed to cover the expenses of the expansion project. Russ has met with our staff and answered questions. He is knowledgeable both as a businessman and a Pastor who currently serves on a church staff. Russ is currently support staff at his church in Texas, but has Pastored churches through building programs as well.

We are excited about all that God has in store and look forward to the process believing God’s hand will be clearly evident. What a great day it will be when we are in our new facility!

Pray Without Ceasing,

Pastor John

A Blessed Christmas

I haven’t blogged in a while because so much has been going on that I simply needed to catch my breath. Since my last entry we have seen Pastor Dan & Emily leave us to Pastor the Resurrection Life Church in Cadillac and Jared Gregory come on staff to fill the position of Worship Pastor.  As sad as we are to see Pastor Dan, Emily, Analynn & Levi leave, we are thrilled that Jared, Alicia, Ella & Jaden have come.

This has to go down as one of the most amazing Christmases in our churches history. Its one thing to see a Pastor leave your staff and for that church to want him there immediately, it is quite another to see that vacancy filled in a week. That is a miracle only God could perform. Our heart was to have as many possible people in to lead worship and believe God would make it clear who was to be on staff. I honestly never dreamt we would find our music minister so soon.

As far as the building process goes, things begin to heat up after the first of the year. I have already appeared before the City Council for the first time. It was brief and our desire was to get the church expansion before the Council in seed form. The thinking is that, the more they know and more time they have the greater the likelihood they will rule in our favor. From January through April of next year we will be presenting our case before, both City Planning Commission and City Council.

I am asking for all of you to be praying for ridiculous favor with God and man. After all, unless the Lord builds the house we labor in vain. I am certain our labor is not in vain and that Resurrection Life Churches influence will be seen as a positive that must be allowed to increase in the Ionia area.

God Bless You All And A Merry Christmas To You And Yours,

Pastor John

Meeting With The City Planning Commission – November 10, 2010

From the moment I walked into the conference room the atmosphere seemed light. I am actually starting to enjoy myself at these meetings. Atleast for me, it has gone from being concerned about how I present the church, to enjoying the different personalities on The City Planning Commission.

Everyone was interested in the new drawings we presented and there was much discussion, but the nice thing was that the discussion never centered around whether or not we should exist as a church in the downtown area. The majority of the discussion was about what the church building should look like. Some liked the first drawings and others liked the new drawings.

I was asked what I preferred and I said that we would just be grateful for the space and that the congregation would appreciate anything bigger and newer. I added that I would like the building to make a statement in the downtown area.

The conversation got especially light when Mayor Balice unexpectedly walked in and suggested we have a statue of Mary in the park by the church. I commented that we could put her in a half bathtub. It was suggested earlier that a statue of the Mayor be put in the park by the church. Needless to say I was torn between the two. If we could put the mayor in a half bathtub I might be open to it.

All in all it was one of the more enjoyable meetings that I have sat in and I walked away actually feeling like we were working with the city and not in competition with one another.

Pastor John

Meeting With City Planning Commission

It has been a week since Jeffrey Parker and I met with the Ionia City Planning Commission. I thought it was high time I entered a blog to update all interested about how the meeting went. My apologies for the delay.

Jeffrey Parker brought drawings with him of what we propose to do. These drawings are now posted in the church as you enter the sanctuary. There is nothing like visual aids when presenting a project to a board seeking approval. The discussion was great and I walked away feeling very good about all that took place. One of the concerns was parking. The Planning Commission did not have a problem with us on Sundays, it was the mid-week service on Wednesday that posed the greatest concern. Issue being the competition for parking when there are events at the Armory for instance. Jeffrey did a great job of showing on a topographical drawing the parking that exists and the new parking we will provide. This will most likely be the biggest area of contention if there is any.

I was surprised at two things that happened at the meeting. The first being the suggestion that what we propose is not ornate enough regarding the exterior. I did not see that coming and said as much. The point was that, on one end of Main St. was the Ionia Theater and that we should build something that complimented the theater structurally. Of course, not everyone held this sentiment, but it shocked me that our plan was seen as conservative. The second thing that surprised me was that the Planning Commission wanted me to stay after Jeffrey left for further questioning. I ended up staying to 5:30 and answered all their questions to the best of my ability.

Before Jeffrey Parker left he asked everyone present what they thought of the drawings and what we propose to do. Everyone seemed to like what we are proposing and the overall feeling that I walked away with was that we are seeing minimal opposition so far. I cannot think of a question that I would deem antagonistic or strongly opposed. All in all I feel that we are doing well in the process and that God is shining down on our endeavors.

Keep Praying,

Pastor John

September 27th Meeting With City

The meeting yesterday was different from previous meetings. This meeting consisted only of Jason Eppler, Tim Johnson, Jeffrey Parker and myself. The purpose was to discuss the means by which our church can gain city approval to do what we desire to do. Walking away from the meeting, I would have to say that it went well, but as with everything in this journey, its not like its going to be easy.

For the next six to seven months the direction of our church is going to be decided by a series of meetings with The Ionia Planning Commission and The Ionia City Council. Our first hurdle is to get an amendment for a PUD rezoning. Once we have the amendment we then have the means to do what we want, but we would still have to present our case to the City Council who will inevitably determine our future concerning our presence downtown and whether or not we can expand our current facilities.

What does all that mean? It means that getting the amendment for a PUD rezoing is just a part and not the whole. Although, gaining the amendment will go a long way towards our being able to do what we desire, we are not out of the woods. Ultimately, we need the Ionia City Council to approve our plans to expand our facilities on Main St.

How can you, as an interested party, pray? I believe in praying specifically because it is easier to answer specific prayers. So pray that we will be granted the amendment for a PUD rezoning. Then pray that atleast 5 of the City Council members vote in our favor when time comes for the City Council to decide.

We will be meeting every month beginning in October on the 13th at 4:00 when we go before the Ionia Planning Commission. We will go before the Planning Commission again on November 10th at 4:00. December will be a big month as we meet with the City Council for the first time to present our case on December 7th at 7:00 and meet with the Planning Commission again on December 15th at 4:00. Once we have gotten this far we are doing well and should be in good position to go before the City Council on January 4th at 7:00.

Having not arrived at our desired location, we meet with the Planning Commission to submit detailed drawings on January 12 at 4:00. We would then have a possible public hearing on February 9 before the Planning Commission at 4:00. Doing extremely well to get this far we would then meet with The City Council on March 1st at 7:00 for our first reading and then again on April 12th at 7:00 for what we hope will be closure to a long and drawn out process whereby we have then gained the legal approval we need to expand Resurrection Life Church on Main St. in downtown Ionia.

We need prayer for favor with God and man. Who ever said this would be easy any way. I quote T.D. Jakes, “You don’t even know what faith is until you’ve been in a good fight.”

Pastor John