Articles for tag: Master Planning

November 2, 2019

Dying Mall Becoming Marketplace for Church to Serve Community

By Mel McGowan Grand Cities Mall was nearly dead. It’s a typical story in a small city. Online retail has caused local stores to shut down. Even big retailers have left the mall in Grand Forks, North Dakota. But the owner of the mall, Land of Hope—the managing group serving Hope Church in relationship to the Grand Cities Mall—wants to change that story. Hope Church originally rented a storefront space in the mall in 1996. It was supposed to be only temporary because the church owned seven acres on the south side of town where it planned to construct a

May 22, 2019

Christian Standard

Devotionals

A Desert Oasis

By Mel McGowan “We did not come to Las Vegas to reshuffle the deck,” says Mike Breaux, the original lead church planter of Canyon Ridge Christian Church in Las Vegas. The heartbeat of the church remains the same as when it was planted back in 1993. Canyon Ridge doesn’t seek to take from other churches, but instead goes after the unchurched. When major construction was needed on their 40-acre campus, church leaders originally worked with commercial firms rather than hiring an architect. Their intention was to develop a campus devoid of religious symbolism. The resulting unadorned concrete block and tilt-concrete

February 2, 2019

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Community Outreach

Eyes on the Community: Bayside Church

By Mel McGowan We serve a God of purpose and strategy, and we are called by him to be strategic with our resources and the stories we tell the world. The leadership of Bayside Church in Northern California found itself in a property predicament. The church owned three types of land: property that needed developing, property it was leasing, and property it didn’t make sense to sell. These properties all required strategic money management and planning to transform them into spaces that honored God and were inviting to the community. So pastor Ray Johnston created an ambitious master plan designed

August 12, 2018

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Community Outreach

StoneBridge Christian Church: Building Bridges to God and the Omaha Community

By Mel McGowan StoneBridge Christian Church in Omaha, Nebraska, strives to serve as a metaphorical bridge to God, one another, and the community. Omaha is a vibrant, thriving community situated between prairies and mountains. StoneBridge’s visionary leadership team wanted to capture Omaha’s uniqueness as part of their story and reflect that energy through their facilities. StoneBridge’s team is dedicated to social compassion, relevance, authenticity, friendliness, and approachability; they desired to bring their facilities into alignment with their philosophy. They wanted to create a space that was inviting, comfortable, and fun. My journey with StoneBridge began in 2009 while I was

January 24, 2018

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Church Growth

Vibrant Church Rebrands and Rebuilds

By Mel McGowan Imagine if a small church in the rolling hills of central Pennsylvania could pick up the torch from William Penn’s “Holy Experiment” through the development of a postmodern village green. Vibrant Church, previously known as Capital Area Christian Church, has offered its surrounding community a simple, relationship-centric approach to Christianity for 35 years. Vibrant serves the Susquehanna Valley, Mechanicsburg, and Harrisburg areas, where they generously and relentlessly pursue close connection with church members and the community alike. Vibrant’s mission is to be a gift to and destination for the surrounding community. In addition to an all-in-one, multifunctional