Aspen Group Blog

It’s been a hectic couple of weeks dealing with the last minute “finishing touches” and challenges common to a church construction job just prior to the grand opening. But seeing the facility in use and ministry happening is worth it all! While this $3.5M renovation/addition has many aspects worth noting, I want to show you what we think is the coolest café in Chicagoland. And even though I’ve watched this project move through all its phases of planning, design and construction, I must admit to being “blown away” by the end result!
 

This Aspen project employed the services of Michael Trent of Third Place Consulting who had this response on opening day:

“Maybe the biggest surprise I had walking into Moraine Valley was the glass wall that separated the sanctuary from the commons area; instantly I felt like I was already a part of both places; especially sitting in the middle on a chair and being able to see the people worship and the people on stage. I enjoyed being able to feel like I was inside the sanctuary, even though it was more like I was inside my living room.”

Barb Kouba, volunteer building team member who coordinated the café on the church side, had these thoughts (emphases mine):

“God has truly blessed Moraine Valley Church with this amazing place that invites people to come and linger, enjoy one another and spend time in His presence! The café is absolutely incredible!

What I love most about it is how it is being received by the younger generations. They just naturally seem to gravitate to the café! The best part is, they are genuinely excited about being able to invite their friends to join them. It’s funny how the physical space has such an impact on how we feel about being there. It’s the same people, but a new place to belong. The dynamics in the way we connect have literally been transformed overnight!

People are arriving 30-45 minutes early on Sunday mornings to meet in the café before service begins! And after service, both the café and the atrium are filled with people of all ages just enjoying their time together. We’ve always been a church that longed for connection and I never realized what a huge difference the physical space would make to promote this for us! I hear comments like:

“This is a place I want to bring my friends”

“This is the kind of church I want to belong to.”

“My family won’t come to church, but I could invite them here. It’s neutral ground.”

“This feels like being in someone’s living room.”

“I used to go to the library to use the WiFi, but I’d rather be here.”

The café has brought a brand-new dimension to the church. It’s all that we hoped for and more than we could have dreamed possible!

From Aspen’s standpoint, this is “music to our ears” and the “center of the racket” of our promise to partner with churches in designing and building churches that “draw people, enhance ministry, and change lives”. We thank the people of Moraine Valley Church for the opportunity.

For more project photos, checkout the Photo Gallery!

As you may have seen, the book “Bit Literacy” by Mark Hurst was reviewed by Jim Couchenour on the CKN website. See below for that review.

I got another “review” from an Aspen co-worker, who told me it had “one good chapter”, which was on the topic of e-mail. So, I had to read it myself. And yes, the chapter on e-mail is the best. The most challenging thing in the whole book is the encouragement to get your e-mail Inbox to zero items at the end of every day. Yes, zero. Yes, every day. It means you stop using your Inbox as a Task List. It means you start benefiting from the freedom that comes from a clean Inbox—no more nagging feeling of unanswered mail, lost “To Dos”, etc. So, I tried it. And for the last week, I’ve enjoyed the freedom of zero Inbox! And that’s with all the spam, e-newsletters, FYI notes and humorous stuff we all get on a daily basis. I encourage you to shoot for the goal of an empty Inbox. Pick a day that you’ll do it. It’s possible! Oh, and the rest of the book is OK. Being a “compulsive completer”, I had to finish it. And there was some decent stuff mixed in with his crazy, self-serving ideas about “To Do Lists”. But my "reviewer" was basically right, it’s a one chapter wonder.

You can read the review by Jim Couchenour, Director of Marketing & Ministry Services for Cogun on the CKN site under Recommended Reading.

Jim Couchenour, a great friend and board member of CKN is also a creative genius. Checkout this humorous video that parodies a church board discussion of the need for a strategic plan!

One of my favorite activities when visiting a friend is to browse their bookshelf. You can learn a lot about by what they're reading! Now I can do that without leaving the computer when people post their favorites on a blog or website. You can checkout what we at Aspen are reading below and also what the CKN Partners find interesting at the Cornerstone Knowledge Network site -- click on Recommended Reading and enjoy browsing! And yes, that's a picture of my bookshelf here at the office - look for it above all future book reviews!

You can now subscribe to the CKN Podcast on iTunes! Go to the "iTunes Store" and search for Cornerstone Knowledge Network.