In The Works #5

“Without a vision the people perish...” (Proverbs 29:18, KJV)

Over the last few years, I’ve occasionally shared several “In The Works” articles about various facility-related initiatives that are currently (or have been recently) in various stages of development at East Cobb UMC.

First, let’s remember a few Recently Completed Initiatives from the past year or so that I hope you’ve already been enjoying: new Education and Activities building doors; renovated Narthex restrooms; a weekly online e-newsletter; completion of our new entrances from Roswell Rd. by the Georgia D.O.T. ; public Wi-Fi access in our Fellowship Hall; and the completion of our new outdoor digital monument sign that will redefine our identity and presence from Roswell Rd. I remind you that all of these “accomplishments” were part of the original long range strategic development plan for our church.

Now let me share a brief update about just a few more things “in the works” that I hope will be of interest to you:

* Redevelopment of our church website and creation of an interactive online community – our new website will be active soon, and in the meantime “The City” is our new interactive community that can allow interaction between members and groups in a way previously not possible. It also houses our redesigned and upgraded site for online giving.

* Parking Lot blacktop resurfacing and restriping – this year our Trustees committee will be exploring the feasibility of either resurfacing the entire parking lot or restriping the parking areas (or both) to reflect our new traffic patterns.

* Look for our “Tech Support” ministry to explore the possibility of Enhancing Our Wi-Fi Hot Spots throughout our facility (including potential new public hot spots in the Narthex and Crossroads areas and extending the reach of the Fellowship Hall Hot Spot to the lower floors), and a possible new video announcement system for the Narthex and Crossroads (featuring continuous announcements looping on flat screen monitors).

* Our Strategic Planning Team continues its work on the pieces of our church’s Long-Term Strategic Plan that have yet to be fully defined (remember that some, mentioned above, have already been accomplished). We currently are working with an architect who is developing possible designs for extensive renovations to our Annex, Lighthouse Academy, and office areas of our main building, and our hope is to have these plans ready to be shared with the entire congregation for input sometime this Spring.

To find out more detail about any of these initiatives (or if you have input, ideas, or expertise that you’re willing to share to help accomplish them), please email or call the church office (770-971-3643), and we’ll have someone from the appropriate group respond to your specific question(s).

In the meantime, continue to pray for your church leaders as they seek God’s will and wisdom for all of us, and remember that God’s mission for us of being “A Mosaic of God’s Family: Gathering, Growing, and Going” is one that will require all of us to do our part in order for it to be accomplished. Remember that God loves you and I do, too!