Sunday, June 26, 2011

A Sign For All...


“I have made you a sign for the house of Israel…” (Ezekiel 12:6)

After nearly two years of work, our church sign team (a joint sub-committee of our Trustees and Strategic Planning Team) presented plans for our new permanent outdoor monument sign to our Administrative Council for their consideration (see proposed drawing above). I have the pleasure of reporting that it was unanimously approved by that body, and that we’ll be proceeding forward with construction plans and construction bidding as soon as possible. If all goes according to plan, we hope to break ground sometime in late summer and have it completed by mid-late Fall.

As the second part of our long-range facility development plan (the first being the doors installed last year), our new sign will be a beacon inviting the thousands of cars that drive past daily to a closer walk with God through the programs and ministries of our church. In addition to a lighted version of our church logo, the sign will contain a LCD board that will rotate various messages, graphics and full-color video to all who drive past. It will also include six smaller rotating ministry boards on each side that will highlight prime ministries of our church (such as Lighthouse Academy and our Kenyan ministry) on a more permanent basis.

The stacked-stone architecture is one that will not only enhance our visibility from the street, but will set the tone for future renovation and building projects that we hope to begin in the near future. The sign will be complemented by beautiful landscaping and a retaining wall.

While the complete funds for this project are already available and approved by Administrative Council from our recent Georgia D.O.T. settlement, we will nevertheless still be inviting our whole congregation to participate in its funding through various projects yet to be determined – look for more about this in the coming months.

While this new sign will certainly generate new interest in our church from people in our community, the real benefit from it will come when guests not only enjoy the ministries, programs, and worship services they attend after being enticed by something they see on the sign, but most importantly by the welcome and hospitality they receive when they visit here for the first time.

In this sense, the new outdoor monument sign will merely point people to US, who are a flesh-and-blood “sign.” You and I are a “sign for the house of Israel” (as the scripture above points out) – it is up to you and I to point people to God, so that He may transform their lives and shape them into His will. May each of us live in such a way that we become God’s “sign” to the world for Him! Remember, God loves you and I do, too!

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