Operation Welcome Warmly Information

You’ll find details about OPERATION WELCOME WARMLY here as we worship in our gym, starting May 26 until our HVAC system is updated. Lead Pastor Doyle Sager originally sent a letter to the church family in late April (download here or read at the end) explaining these changes. Here are the latest details from an email sent out on May 23:

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Operation Welcome Warmly is finally here! It has been a busy week around the building as we prepare to move our 10:45 am. worship service to our gym beginning this Sunday, May 26. We will maintain this schedule until the contractors complete the HVAC project. Like any significant change, we know you may have a few questions, so let us try to answer a few of them.

What is the schedule?

• No 8:15 am Worship
• 9:30 am Bible teaching groups (Groups that meet regularly on 5^th and 6^th floors will meet in new locations. Click here for those changes.)
• Combined 10:45 am worship in the church gymnasium

Where should I park?
We are reserving spaces (look for the signs) next to the gym for those with mobility issues, seniors and those new to FBCJC. Others can park across the street in the city parking garage or in the lot across from doors 5 & 6. We encourage you to come in Door 4 in the alley. Greeters and youth will be available to assist, and a shuttle bus will be available before and after Bible teaching and before and after worship in these locations.

We will have a bus running a route through the lower parking lot to assist those who need a lift from the main building to the gym.

• 9:00-9:30 am: Pick up in lower parking lot. Drop off at Door 4 in the alley.
• 10:20-10:50 am: Pick up at Door 4 in the alley and drop off at gym door.
• After worship: Pick up at gym door and drop off where needed.

What about my coffee / juice box / bottled water?
We will have bottled water available in the gym. We will not be serving coffee or juice boxes in the lobby or the gym during this transition. You are, however, welcome to bring liquids to the gym in a cup with a lid as we do our best to protect the gym floor.

What will I sit on in the gym?
The chairs in the gym are folding chairs. Nothing fancy. Feel free to bring a cushion if needed. We know these chairs can be a challenge for folks with back pain.

What about restrooms?
There are three restrooms in the gym (two downstairs, one upstairs) for each gender. None are handicap accessible, however. Greeters will be available to assist those with mobility issues. We encourage folks to use the restrooms in the main building before you come to the gym for worship.

I believe it is possible for OPERATION WELCOME WARMLY to be a wonderful season of outreach. We all know people who are intimidated by traditional church buildings. Perhaps we can invite some friends to come worship with us in this casual setting. When I worship overseas or in a cramped nursing home dining hall, I’ve noticed something. God shows up anyway—even if the room is warm and the setting is modest. The key is my attitude, having a joyful spirit of expectancy and worship.

As I think about our church’s mission, “We WELCOME warmly, GROW faithfully and SERVE generously, leading people into LIFE-GIVING relationships with Christ and each other,” I realize we can do all these things even when we are worshipping in a different space and at a different time than usual. As your pastor, I’m asking you to be patient and positive. Together, we will see what love can do—outside the box.  

Warmly,
Doyle Sager
Lead Pastor

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Initial letter from April:

Dear FBC family:

A couple of weeks ago, the hot water heater at our house decided to quit while our three-month-old twin granddaughters were visiting us for the first time. Just like any homeowner, a congregation does not get to choose when an appliance breaks down. Out of necessity, FBCJC is currently replacing two chillers and a cooling tower. Don’t ask me to explain how they work; all I know is that without them, we will get hot!

We regret the timing of this major repair, but have been working with our amazing maintenance crew, Properties and Stewardship Committees and office staff to get ahead of this challenge. We want to continue to worship, fellowship and study with as little interruption as possible.

Because we want to minimize schedule confusion and we want to carefully use what little air conditioning is available at any given time, we are pre-emptively making some schedule and location changes. Here are the major changes we are announcing for what we are affectionately calling OPERATION WELCOME WARMLY:

• May 1 will be the last Wednesday night with full programming until August. Adult choir, orchestra and praise team will continue to meet for rehearsals beyond this date, but church suppers, children’s activities and prayer meeting/Bible study will end May 1, Refuge Midweek will meet at church through May 8 and at Memorial Park on May 15.
• Beginning Sunday, May 26 (Memorial Day Weekend), we will move to a different Sunday worship schedule: We will have NO 8:15 am WORSHIP . We will have regular 9:30 am Bible teaching groups and a combined 10:45 am worship in the church gymnasium. We will maintain this schedule until the contractors complete the project. If we do not utilize air conditioning in the sanctuary, we can supply more to our Bible teaching rooms, thus the move of worship services to the gym while continuing to meet in the main building for Bible teaching groups.
• During this time, the Bible teaching groups which meet on 5^th and 6^th floors will likely need to move to lower levels. We are working on temporarily combining some groups. Please note that the education wing and the choir room of our facilities are not on the same air conditioning system as the rest of the building, so that space will not be impacted by these repairs. The education wing includes the north side of the building (Room 101/Café; Children’s classes; Preschool area; and fourth floor classrooms).

Please call or reach out to me or anyone in the church office if you have questions or concerns about these details.

I believe it is possible for OPERATION WELCOME WARMLY to be a wonderful season of outreach. We all know people who are intimidated by traditional church buildings. Perhaps we can invite some friends to come worship with us in this casual setting. When I worship overseas or in a cramped nursing home dining hall,  I’ve noticed something. God shows up anyway—even if the room is warm and the setting is modest. The key is my attitude, having a joyful spirit of expectancy and worship.

As I think about our church’s mission, “We WELCOME warmly, GROW faithfully and SERVE generously, leading people into LIFE-GIVING relationships with Christ and each other,” I realize we can do all these things even when we are worshipping in a different space and at a different time than usual. As your pastor, I’m asking you to be patient and positive. Together, we will see what love can do—outside the box.  

Warmly,
Doyle Sager
Lead Pastor

P.S.  Due to predicted warm days ahead during our HVAC repairs, we are in need of a few fans (box and/or stand) to borrow in May and June to help cool various areas of the building. If you have a fan you are willing to lend to the church, please contact the church office. (Please call first to make sure we still have a need!) Fans will be returned after the work is completed. Thank you!