Preparing Room for Every Heart
In 2007, the Christian Church of Burlington moved into a brand-new building. This church in Burlington, Kansas is more than 150 years old and has been growing, having 10 baptisms since January and now averaging about 180 people, and they still have plenty of room to seat more in the sanctuary.
But there is a problem.
When Dirk Scates, CDF Capital Vice President, Ministry Development, visited the church and spoke with its members, he leveled with them: “This building was built by older people, with older people in mind.”
The church agreed. It is especially evident every Sunday, when all through the sermon they listen to children singing and talking on the other side of the wall. You see, the children’s ministry is in the lobby—every Sunday, anywhere between 35-60 kids from PreK–5th grade gather there.
“If you’re sitting in the back, depending on how many kids there are, it can be very loud,” Pastor James Garner said. “Hearing kids sing is not a bad thing, but it can definitely be distracting.”
After a beat, James added with a laugh: “It could be a good thing though—it might motivate people to write the check a little quicker for us to get the new space!”
Getting the Next Generation Excited
James is new to CCB—he has only been the lead minister for about a year—but he has already seen the older congregation rally behind changes to accommodate children and young families.
“Our older people get it,” he said. “Our Sunday school class is older, and I went to them and said, ‘Hey, we need a safe and secure place for our kids where they can have some fun and we can check them in. Would you mind if we knocked a big hole in your wall?’ And they have been our biggest cheerleaders. They’re excited about these changes.”
The adult class had been using that same room for years, but they were perfectly willing to sacrifice their past comforts for the future of the church.
“They want to see their grandkids excited about church,” James said. “They want to see young people in our community excited to bring their kids to church.”
CCB’s worship minister is also their children’s minister, and when she finishes a worship set, the congregation has a meet and greet while she helps lead the big transition toward the other side of the wall.
But walls are not the only thing James and the church leadership have been punching holes in and redesigning this last year. This church is completely reimagining who they’re called to be.
“They want to see their grandkids excited about church. They want to see young people in our community excited to bring their kids to church.” —James Garner
Reach Up & Reach Out
When James stepped in as lead minister a year ago, he was CCB’s third pastor in four years. They were in the midst of a major transition, and their leadership was in flux.
One of the first things James did was meet with the elders to see where things were and what they thought the church needed in order to make more disciples.
“None of them could clarify what our mission or vision was,” he said. “They all knew they wanted to build the new building because we didn’t have space for our kids. But that was about it.”
Together, the leadership examined their calling, formulated a mission, and cast a vision. “Our mission is to reach up to God and out to others, raising up disciples and releasing them out into the world to do ministry. And our vision is to help people discover their story in Christ.”
The community of Burlington, Kansas has a lot of people who grew up in church but are not really “churched.” James noted, “They don’t realize who they are in Christ and what God can do with their lives.”
With that end in mind, CCB is making new efforts to show people that every story is God’s story, and that God’s story is woven into creation itself.
Movies & Field Trips
For the last couple of summers, the Christian Church of Burlington has had an “At the Movies” series that explores the way popular movies parallel the greatest story ever told. This summer, they took it up a notch.
The church created a special display for their lobby—a giant popcorn bag (complete with balloon popcorn kernels) and a massive ticket. They also made popcorn for people to enjoy during the service. Leading up to the series, they posted pictures of the decorations on Facebook and got a lot of positive interaction.
Despite the usual summer slump with regular families out of town, 200 people attended the service. “The lobby was full, and people just wanted to hang out. That’s what we want to be—a place where the community can just come and be during the week.”
CCB is finding ways to help children connect with God’s story too.
This year, in lieu of a traditional Vacation Bible School, the church decided to try something different: field trips. The goal was to show kids the marvel of creation and talk about the God who made it all. The hope was that by having out-of-the-ordinary events, kids would get excited about inviting their friends.
The first event was a family camping trip, where parents and kids got to enjoy the great outdoors and hear about creation in creation. CCB also organized a trip to the zoo. They loaded up 50 kids and drove to Kansas City to explore the diversity of God’s creation for themselves.
Before the summer ends, CCB is hosting what may be their biggest event yet: “Family Palooza.” The church is being transformed into a free carnival, complete with games, food, ice cream, and an illusionist.
Creating Room for Kids
James hopes these activities will show the community of Burlington that CCB is a welcoming place that cares about their families and wants kids to have a fun, safe space to be kids.
In order to live out that goal, CCB has new building plans on the horizon with the youngest church members as the central focus. The spaces in the new building will be aimed to meet kids’ needs during Sunday worship yet be flexible for anyone to utilize during the week.
Chris Davenport, Vice President of Facility Solutions at CDF Capital, has helped the CCB staff explore layouts and designs based on churches of various sizes and demographics, and CCB has seen a lot of ideas worth emulating.
“It’s been good to be able to bounce ideas off of Chris and talk through the things he’s seen and done before,” said James.
“It’s not always easy to turn a ship and change focus, but CCB is doing good,” Chris observed. “They’ve got all the tools they need—they’re simply changing mindsets.”
Yet the church is still learning how to work with what they have until they can build a new space.
“It’s not always easy to turn a ship and change focus, but CCB is doing good. They’ve got all the tools they need—they’re simply changing mindsets.” —@chrisrdavenport
One Good Turn Deserves Another
One item that is helping CCB establish a temporary space for kids until the new building is complete comes from a donation by CDF Capital. CDF owned some piece-together flooring that was used at their North American Christian Convention booth. To use resources well, CDF sought out a church who could use a donation of the flooring, and CCB expressed a need.
Now CCB is installing the flooring in the temporary kids’ room, and when the new children’s building is finished, it will be used there as well.
But the kindness does not stop there. In response to the donated flooring, CCB reached back to CDF Capital with their own donation. They honored CDF with a gift to Kairos Benevolence Fund, which helps retired ministers and missionaries and their families when they face financial crises.
“After this year’s NACC, [CDF] donated their flooring from the convention to our church for our temporary secure children's area as we look to build in the next couple of years. We are grateful for their partnership. We also believe in your ministry to Kingdom Workers who are facing financial difficulties. . . . We are grateful for your ministry,” wrote James in their letter to KBF.
Moving the children to their own space is also freeing up the church to devise a new lobby. Looking over the designs, some members of the congregation have excitedly talked about wanting to come to church early to enjoy the planned cafe-like feel.
Ultimately, CCB will aim to operate like a larger church, so they will not be surprised when future growth comes.
“We want to run like a 400-person church,” James said. “That way we won’t just have room for growth—we will be prepared for it.”
Helping Churches Grow
At CDF we seek to help churches grow. We believe that for a church to be best equipped to faithfully follow the Great Commission, they must be equipped with more than just one form of capital. We believe that when a church is equipped with Financial, Leadership, and Spiritual Capital they are able to be Transformational.
