July 22, 2002
One church, two locations equals multiplied vision
___John Hall
___Staff Writer
___TYLER--First Baptist Church of Tyler has "cut another door" to open easier access to the gospel.
___The church started a second campus about two years ago to better serve a younger, growing sector of the community, which has moved away from the petroleum-based economy that once thrived in Tyler. The new sector is centered mainly on the medical industry.
___First Baptist's southern campus, which provides a more contemporary worship style, has grown from a core group of about 40 people to an average attendance of 120 worshippers a week. Services currently are held in an elementary school, although a new permanent structure is under construction.
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH of Tyler is building this new satellite facility on a 140-acre site located about 5 miles from its downtown location.
___The idea of two campuses, which the church discovered at First United Methodist Church of Houston, allows the church to maintain its historic location while taking the church closer to where people live at the same time.
___The church serves the two locations with the same number of staff members it utilized for one. Pastor Mike Massar delivers the sermon at both campuses, which are about 5 miles apart. To enable Massar to make both services, the downtown location holds Sunday School while the South campus worships and vice versa. The combined congregation meets downtown on Wednesday nights and gathers at the South campus for Sunday evening activities.
___"The advantage of two campuses is just another entry point," said Scott Wiley, associate pastor and coordinator of activities at the South branch. "It's like offering a worship service at another time. This adds the dimension that it's at another place. Hopefully this is an easier way for unchurched people to get in."
___Participants in the alternative worship services "set up and tear down church every week," having to prepare a multipurpose room, affectionately called a "gymnateria," for weekly services and then cleaning it. Because of the branch's size, each member has a duty to perform in order to make the location grow.
___"Each of us has a load," said Dave Sherman, who leads worship biweekly. "Everybody has a job. It's not just wantingpeople to come absorb, leave and come back next week. Everyone has a role."
THE CHURCH conducts worship in both locations on Sunday mornings, with the South campus currently meeting in an elementary school.
___The South campus worshippers will move into a permanent building this fall. The new 140-acre site will feature baseball fields, hiking trails and a stocked lake. Wiley envisions people holding baseball practices there while others picnic on the grounds.
___"We hope people feel a sense of 'We can go there not just on Sunday. We can make it a part of our life,'" he said.
___The church created the South campus at the recommendation of a long-range planning committee that considered several other options, including starting a mission or moving the church. The committee faced a number of strong emotions during its deliberations.
___"There was an emotional factor of so many of our older members who grew up in this church," Massar said. "However, this was countered by the sociological, demographic and even ecclesiastical forecasts which stated that our church would be in a gradual decline which would accelerate in the coming years. Those indicators suggested that if we wanted to remain a vibrant option for faith in Smith County, we had to consider relocation. Needless to say, it was a tinderbox of feelings and decisions."
___The decision to begin a second campus has sparked new ways of thinking about the church, Massar said. The congregation simplified the committee structure to help people implement new projects. And the church is designing a downtown continuing education center.
___Now, rather than expecting people to come to church as they always have, the church is going to the people.
___"In this day and time, we can no longer enjoy just maintaining the institution of the church," Massar said. "We have to be on mission."
___
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