PHASE I AND II EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
BridgeWay Community Church
December 2019
BACKGROUND
BridgeWay Community Church was established in 2009 and has used multiple different facilities for worship services, offices, and meeting spaces over the last 10 years. While facilities transition was common in the first couple years of the church, Sunday morning worship services have been held at Evergreen Elementary School located inside the Wildewood neighborhood of California, MD, since 2010, and the church has used a Community Center located in Lexington Park, MD, since 2013, for offices and meeting space. The Facilities Analysis and Site Transition (FAST) team was commissioned in the fall of 2018 to conduct a study on the use and effectiveness of current BridgeWay facilities and to establish the facility needs of the church. The FAST Team’s study was broken into three Phases: (1) Analysis of existing need, (2) Analysis of Alternatives, and (3) Alternative Location Search. At this time, the FAST team has completed Phases I and II and began Phase III in September 2019. During Phases I and II of the study, the FAST Team produced reports analyzing current Community Center usage, church equipment inventory, and detailed results of a congregational facilities survey administered in Spring of 2019. The findings of Phases I and II were provided to the Leadership Team via email and can be provided again upon request. The FAST Team is interested in Leadership Team input on how to disseminate information / findings more broadly in the future.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to summarize the Phase I and Phase II findings of the FAST study. These findings outline the facility needs of BridgeWay Community Church (BCC) and demonstrate the level to which the current facilities meet or fall short of those stated needs. Where facility transition is identified as a necessary solution, the report should set out the basic principles for that search.
SCOPE & METHOD
The facility requirements for BCC were evaluated through congregational surveys, usage and inventory analyses, and ministry lead / member / prior-member interviews. The following sections of this report outline the summary results and conclusions of Phases I and II of this study. We acknowledge that the facility needs and acceptable compromises will vary in importance depending on whether the facility is a purchase or a lease. While criteria are stated here using “shall,” “should,” and “may” terminology, the criteria shall not be used as a substitute for the collective discernment of God’s Will for BCC. Prayer and discernment from the FAST Team, BCC Leadership Team, and full BridgeWay Congregation have been and will continue to be the most critical driving factors of this process.
Additional detailed information on Scope and Method of Phases I and II of the FAST study are captured in the Phase I and Phase II FAST Reports respectively. In addition, the Phase I and Phase II Reports contain a full inventory of equipment owned by BCC, excerpts from interviews with ministry leads and members of the congregation, and the full results of the congregational survey.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
Facility Requirements
The BCC facilities shall provide safe and secure spaces that are accessible and at least adequately sized for the current attendance. The facilities shall allow BCC permanent occupancy to the extent that facility availability for church-wide gatherings extends well beyond Sunday morning and setup and tear down activities are minimized. Classrooms to house the BridgeKids ministry, a space large enough for Youth Group weekly meetings, and storage space for equipment across all ministries shall be features of the facility as well. Parking at the facility or in adjacent parking lots if unused outside of weekday business hours shall be sufficient for full attendance in the worship facility. The condition of the facilities shall currently be or, in the case of a purchase, shall be reasonably repairable to a state that does not present health hazards to occupants.
The facilities should have permanent administrative office spaces collocated, and the location of the facility should be in the center of the county, ideally in California, MD, within a 7-mile radius of the St. Andrews Church Rd Convenience Center. Locations within the “green zone” surrounding California included Hollywood, Leonardtown, Callaway, and Lexington Park. The facility should provide room for growth beyond the current attendance for both worship facilities and classroom and office spaces. The facility condition should be or be repairable to a level that feels welcoming and makes people comfortable within the space. While not requirements, it would be ideal if the facilities also had a kitchen, an outdoor play area, and spaces for a nursery and nursing mothers / cry rooms.
Current Facilities
Based on the requirements stated above and the survey results of the church body, the current facilities of the Evergreen Elementary Gymnasium and the Community Center only marginally meet the needs of BCC. When taken together, the current facilities provide generously sized worship space and reasonable classroom space while permitting worship service at an ideal time. Parking is ample for the current attendance of BCC and provides room for significant growth. The worship facility is safe, secure, and accessible and in good material condition with no health hazards. The exterior includes a playground with well-maintained equipment. The Community Center contains a small amount of storage and is configurable for up to two offices. Meeting space for gatherings of 30 people or fewer are available seven days a week. Unfortunately, when examining permanency and storage of the worship facility and the material condition and features of the Community Center, significant deficiencies are evident.
Evergreen Elementary
Evergreen Elementary is only available for temporary occupancy between 7:30 am and 12:00 pm on Sunday during which setup, sound check, worship service, and teardown must occur leaving little time for fellowship and growth in community with one another. Full setup and teardown of the stage, A/V, and band equipment along with the seating, classrooms, and coffee station requires approximately 8-10 volunteers each week. Large gatherings outside of the limited Sunday hours are not possible. Material cannot be stored within the facility and must be trailered to and from a trailer storage facility each week requiring two drivers with personal tow vehicles, the larger of which must tow a 10000lb trailer. Evergreen Elementary, despite the large space for classrooms, is neither visually nor audibly dividable into separate classrooms for BridgeKids. Finally, all signage must be removed after service inhibiting visibility as an area of potential advertising and growth.
Community Center
The Community Center, while permanent, is a small facility that can only accommodate about 17% of the current church attendance, including children, at any one time to keep in compliance with zoning restrictions. Office space is limited with only two serviceable rooms and no private meeting space. Only a single large meeting area is available for meetings or events resulting in restricted scheduling and the need for offsite gatherings. No exterior space exists for the storage of the trailers that support Sunday morning service causing additional monthly fees for offsite storage rental. The material condition of the facility is poor with frequent roof leaks, incomplete finish work, and noticeable mold issues. On the exterior, the unwelcoming storefront is further hindered by unstable exterior columns, minimal to no lighting, absent signage, and extremely limited parking with no reserved spaces. Gatherings at the Community Center are limited to 30 people or fewer by fire marshal regulations because the Community Center sits in the Pax River Naval Air Station flight path.
RECOMMENDATIONS
After the completion of Phases I and II, the FAST team recommends the following actions:
- Call the congregation into devoted prayer, as was done for the Pastor Search, that God would provide a new facility to meet the needs of BridgeWay Community Church and that the FAST and Leadership Teams would be given the wisdom and discernment to recognize that facility once it is presented.
- Commence a search to identify and either purchase or lease a new, single facility to meet the identified needs of BridgeWay Community Church.
- Commence a period of prayer and discernment to formulate a strategic vision for BridgeWay Community Church in the near and long term regarding facilities with due consideration of mission and vision. This strategic vision should include consideration of a congregation-wide facilities giving campaign.