Final Fellowship Devotional
A farewell reflection on a 45-year-old church building being demolished, celebrating its faithful service while reminding the congregation that people, not buildings, are what matter in ministry.
Introduction & Songs
Prayer
If This Old Building Could Talk
It is with both gladness and sadness that we say goodbye to this building. As we will see, there have been lots of events in this building. This building first served as the place for the assembly before the auditorium was constructed. It included a baptistery where our present bathrooms are now. Receptions, showers, dinners, classes, community meetings, missions meetings, seminars, VBS, and Family Festival have all been held in this building. It has served us well. And now the time has come to tear it down and replace it with one which will serve us in the future just as this one did.
A Building That Endured
This building has withstood our criticism, our abuse, our lack of care. We have laughed as we talked about it falling down, but it will take a bulldozer to push it over. That is not to imply that we shouldn’t replace the building, but it is to say that this old building withstood a whole lot more than we thought it could. And then just three weeks ago, as if it were sensing that its time were coming to an end, the heater gave out. Of course, this building has no consciousness or emotions, but I find it interesting that the heater went out just a few weeks before demolition. It was only a building, but it was a building which has served us well.
Looking Forward
What about the new one? It will be bigger, modern, and cleaner, but it will not have 45 years of memories in it. We will like it. We will create our own memories in it. It will serve us well. But with the destruction of this building, many memories will dissolve with it. That is the way it is supposed to be. Within two to three years, there will be people coming to us who will not know anything about this building. There is nothing holy or sacred about this building. It is a tool which we used. The new building will be no different.
Let me challenge you with this thought: how long do you think it will take us to complain about the new building? Someone will hit the wall with a basketball and it will leave a mark, or cleanup after a dinner will take three times as long, and eventually something will break. It’s not about buildings; it’s about people. Buildings are only tools. Can we remember that? Can we put our minds to work remembering that we are raising people to love God and not buildings to keep pristine? This building has been a wonderful tool. If the new one is half as useful, then it will be well worth the expense. We dedicate the destruction of this building to God’s glory, and from its ruins may He raise up a building to his glory as well.
Song and Closing
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