Aspen Group Blog

Top 10 Issues Facing Today's Church

2012-05-18T13:02:52Z

By Josh Gregoire, Marketing Coordinator

Last week Aspen Group was honored to host a Spring Pastors Lunch in Naperville, where Darren Whitehead, teaching Pastor at Willow Creek Community Church, offered his thoughts on a study conducted by Lifeway Research, “Top 10 Issues Facing Today's Church.” Darren offered a perspective that was both challenging and encouraging at the same time. He also shared his passion to see the church reignited.

Click to see additional picturesIt was our pleasure to provide those joining us for the lunch with a copy of Darren and Jon Tyson’s recent book, “Rumors of God: Experience the Kind of Faith You've Only Heard About.” Similar to Darren’s talk, this book both provokes and uplifts. Very good read.

We really enjoy hosting these events as it gives church leaders a chance to take a break, have a great lunch, be inspired, and connect with other leaders that are possibly traveling down a similar path in their ministry. We would love to have you join us in the future. We have another Pastors lunch scheduled for September 13^th and we are in the process of finalizing another couple of lunches as well.

Check out the events page on our website for upcoming events and sign-up to receive an email when new events are scheduled.

Spatial Stewardship: Part One

2012-04-16T14:16:26Z

Written By Derek DeGroot, Aspen Group Architect

Rising costs and tighter lending have made the church’s available dollars for a building project smaller than ever. However, the church’s ministry net has been cast wider than ever. That equation poses a potential major problem: The church generally needs more space than it can afford.

To combat this problem, some fresh thinking will be required. Spatial Stewardship is nearly as important today than Financial Stewardship or Time Management. But to be successful stewards of the resources given or pledged to your building, you need to be better equipped to determine what square footage is essential, and what isn’t.

Spatial Stewardship isn’t about maximizing the square footage you build. It’s about maximizing ministry opportunity, it’s about Preserving Flexibility in finished spaces. It’s about having the dollars at the end of the project to fully outfit the space that aligns with ministry and culture.

If we can come up with new strategies to help design our church buildings, we can once again design buildings that enhance ministry, not hinder it.

The Vineyard Church is in the News

2012-03-22T13:15:25Z

This month, Senior Pastor Happy Leman, of The Vineyard Church in Urbana Illinois, was featured on a front page News Gazette article titled "Vineyard Church expanding in a multidude of directions."
Click here to read the complete article.

For more information and pictures of the progress being made on The Vineyard Church's new Children and Administrative Space, visit www.thevineyard.aspengroup.com.

Designing for Community: The Missional Home Base

2012-02-13T14:11:01Z

Written By Derek DeGroot, Aspen Group Architect

Each year we get better at designing Third Place spaces, crucial spots that are rejuvenating and welcoming. But there must be more to this architecture- something that embodies being both fishers of men and making disciples of all nations.

Redesigned lobbies are trending today in churches nationwide, being transformed from people movers to hotbeds of activity. We have succeeded in including our third place space more routinely than ever, but now we must focus in on the mission of our church to obtain the sense of community we strive for. Our identity, our stories, equipping places, and the opportunity to interact with the church must all be accounted for within the relational spaces.

We create this “Missional Home Base” to offer an experience that rejuvenates people through relationships, adequately portrays the Mission of the Church, and allows the opportunity to get involved. By doing all three in the same space, we can eliminate the time lapse between being impacted and impacting others.

Only the Mission of the church will distinguish our facilities from retail centers like Starbucks and Panera, and turn the consumption mindset into the giving mindset God intended for our lives. This is the path to a true sense of community.

Future Travelers….When Normal Isn’t Good Enough

2012-01-20T19:38:49Z

There are times in life when we no longer can accept the ineffectiveness of what has become “normal” and our passion drives significant change. The “Future Travelers” effort was launched with this holy discontent of normal; a normal that has fostered a consumerist mindset as well as a church culture with which up to 60% of our community is unable to connect.

Alan Hirsch and a band of mega church pastors could no longer accept the decline of the church in Western society. As a result, a joint effort called Future Travelers was launched to develop missional movements. These movements create disciples as well as connect with the 60% who are not being reached by current models of ministry.

Aspen Group’s CEO Ed Bahler, was invited by Alan Hirsch to help facilitate Future Travelers. Ed, who is often described as a visionary and learner, has spent the past decade focusing on how aligning vision, ministry, leadership and facility space can powerfully enhance ministry. He welcomed the opportunity to be a part of the Future Travelers initiative and has since helped launch two new groups. There are now over 30 pastors who are being trained to become the next phase of leaders who will develop more incarnational and missional expressions for their churches.

Here’s a list of a few characteristics that describe a Future Traveler:

Fully surrendered and trusting God for leading their church
Feeling a holy discontent with the status quo
Committed to discipling and transformed lives
Passionate about reproducing ministry beyond their church walls
Experienced in pioneering initiatives to transform their community

For more information on Future Travelers visit http://www.missional.com/

Apostolic Christian Church of Indianapolis One Year Ministry Story

2012-01-10T15:24:26Z

Crossroads….the place where roads intersect. And that is how Indy AC describes their new Fellowship Hall that was added a year ago as part of an Aspen Group project that included both an addition and renovation of their church. “We are so blessed to have such a beautiful space to worship and serve together. Our new church fits us so well and accommodates all of our programs and ministries in a flexible way. The details are elegant and simply gorgeous,” stated Building Committee Member Mark Beebe.

A church that puts high value on worship, connection, and serving, their prior space presented significant barriers to taking their ministry and programs to a higher level. A 270-seat sanctuary was added, providing a beautiful, traditional space for worship. The design included the new fellowship hall, located adjacent to the sanctuary. It not only serves as the crossroads to all other parts of the church, but also offers the adaptability to be used for overflow seating where people still feel connected to services in the sanctuary, has provided a richer experience for special services, weddings, and baptisms.

Its adaptability was utilized when a recent statewide youth event was held at the church with the focus on connecting and serving. Gathering first at the church, 120 young people from across Indiana came together for a community outreach project. Many felt it was their best youth outreach project ever, partly because the new ministry space provided ample room to connect first at the church and easily move to different areas to prepare for the day.

“Hometown Nazareth” their VBS theme last summer, came to life with new dimensions and elements made possible by the new Fellowship Hall. The ceiling heights in the new space allowed for temporary theming and partitions to be hung, something they had not been able to incorporate before and the “crossroads” lay-out provided an easy flow from activity to activity during VBS. The results were an enriched learning experience for the children.

A warm, inviting, beautiful church is a good thing, but when that is combined with the vision of the church being captured in the design of each ministry space, then people can worship, connect and serve in even greater ways.

Oh Come Let Us Adore Him

2011-12-20T18:54:46Z

It is really where it all started, isn’t it? The birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As we celebrate the miracle of Christmas, we take time to pause and reflect on what His birth means to each of us. His love, grace and mercy abound today and every day.

As we enjoy the festivities of Christmas…..decorating the tree, the giving and receiving of gifts, our family traditions, and amazing food, we remember that it’s all about relationships. Especially the relationship with God made possible through that baby in the manger.

We hope you are able to take time out of the busyness of the Christmas festivities to appreciate all of the important relationships in your life. The Aspen Group team wishes you a merry Christmas. We are thankful for the relationships we have with you on this blog, with our churches and ministries, and with our collaborative partners.

Attractional & Missional; A Swinging Pendulum

2011-12-05T20:23:21Z

Written By Derek DeGroot, Aspen Group Architect

Matthew 4:19 Jesus said to them, “Come, follow me. I will teach you to catch people instead of fish.”

Matthew 28:19 So wherever you go, make disciples of all nations : baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

These two pieces of scripture have shaped the church of the last couple decades, birthing both the Attractional movement and the Missional movement. For some time, the pendulum has swung far toward Matthew 4:19, as we have become better Fishers of Men than ever before. However, as some of the leading megachurches are finding today, the pendulum is beginning to swing toward the instructions of Matthew 28:19 as we become increasingly aware of the need to disciple His people. The Missional Church embodies this effort.

Click to EnlargeRecently the Missional movement has begun to invade the Attractional church, filling the gaps in their disciple making while at the same time, the churches dwelling in a disciple making mode struggle with how to attract the lost.

As we move forward, these two opposite ends of the pendulum may meld into a church that can take us through the journey Jesus layed out for us, where we “Come and See” (Connect) “Follow” (Disciple) and “Make you Fishers of Men” (Equip).

The Alignment of Facilities and Ministry is necessary to maximize the efforts of an impactful church, so we turn our attention to what the role these facilities have in the swinging pendulum. How does a facility aid to Connect, Disciple, and Equip people?

Celebrating the 2011 Solomon Awards

2011-11-23T16:06:24Z

We are celebrating with our partner, Good Shepherd Church in Naperville, IL for winning the Solomon Award for Best Church Design Expansion Project. Presented at Worship Facilities Expo (WFX) in Dallas, the Solomon Awards recognize excellence in facilities design, construction, operations, use, and A/V production at churches across the nation.

Good Shepherd partnered with Aspen Group for the design and construction of an expansion project to meet their ministry needs. Good Shepherd’s new connection area with a café, and a new multi-purpose venue for contemporary worship and community gatherings have provided ministry space to both draw the community in and enhance the current ministries of the church.

To read more about this Solomon Award winning project, please visit their project page.

To see a full list of oll the 2011 Solomon Award winners, visit wfxweb.com/dallas-2011/2011-solomon-awards.

What is your platform?

2011-11-08T15:18:41Z

Written By Jed Davis, Aspen Group Project Developer

We recently hosted the Alignment 4 Conference in Naperville, IL. These conferences always stir much reflection and emotion from within myself as they're a tremendous reminder of our common thread, the Great Commission. An eclectic group of church leaders across ages, denominations, genders, locations, and races all wrestling with equipping and propelling the local church for impacting lives through the Gospel. It doesn't get much more compelling than this thread. A thread which resonates with the heart of Christ.

In the end, the heart of Aspen Group is aligning these platforms and facilities. Allowing these leaders to boldly and confidently stand upon their platforms. Leaving lasting imprints upon their culture. Imprints of the love and sacrifice of our Savior. I'm thankful to play a small role in the overall picture of humanity and God. It's truly an honor. So, what are you reflecting upon this week? Be encouraged! Step up and walk upon the platform God has built for you. Your community is waiting.

I can't help but think of our unique callings. Our unique platforms the Lord has given to each. Platforms of ministries and missions within the communities we find ourselves. Platforms the others may never build or even see. I'm encouraged as these leaders ponder the relationships between their platforms and facilities. How does one cripple or support the other? What could be versus what is? And, what's my response or better yet my responsibility to these relationships?