The Final Countdown

This is it, folks. The doors at Madison Park open this Sunday, June 17. Here are 10 things to remember as we walk into the next chapter of God’s great plan for us:

1. God is leading us. Our move to Madison Park has been, from the beginning, driven by Providence. From the $1,000,000 offering initiative (November, 1995) to the 60 days of 24-hour prayer and fasting (February-March, 1997) to the fateful "Take them south” sermon (June, 1997) to the three years of ministry at Anderson High School on Madison Avenue (launched in 1998) to the taking of an option to buy the 211 acres (August, 1999) to the actual purchase of the Madison Park site (August, 2000) to drafting building and financing plans (beginning in 2001) to the groundbreaking (November, 2005) to building of roads and utility infrastructure (2006) to the completion of the building (June, 2007), God has led us. Through three building fund campaigns, countless hours of prayer, 26 congregational business meetings, four outdoor services on the grassy ACE airport landing strip, the baptism of over 40 people in the lake at Madison Park, and oh-so-much-more, God has led us. Whatever else comes to mind when you walk through the 60-foot parkling wall of glass that is our church’s new front door, never forget: God led us here.

2. Our children’s ministry will never be underground again. For almost twenty years, our children’s ministry has labored virtually underground, in the Scatterfield basement. Without windows in most rooms, with narrow hallways, cave-like corners under low ceilings, and beat-up, miss-matched furniture, our children’s ministry has struggled to draw new kids and keep the ones we have. Take a walk through the Madison Park Children’s Center and, well, your jaw will drop open. Big windows. High ceilings. Wide hallways. State-of-the-art media and all new furnishings and fixtures. All designed with safety and security in mind, too. This is a huge advance for a church aiming to draw more families and children.

3. Our youth will be under the same roof with the rest of us once more. For the last 10 years, our youth have met at Cross Street, while "the rest of the family” met at Scatterfield. Scatterfield just doesn’t have anywhere for the junior and senior high kids to go. Cross Street has been (and still is) a very versatile ministry hub—but, for everyone who’s lived with the “dropping one child off here and the other there and...” Madison Park’s Crossroads Auditorium, loft, and youth center adjacent to The Commons will be a “taste of heaven.”

4. We’ll be able to eat together. The Scatterfield Fellowship Hall can only seat a few hundred—and no other space in Madison County can accommodate more than 500 for dinner, either. At Madison Park, we’ll be able to seat (and serve) up to 1000 for a meal (with a kitchen large enough to prepare the food, too).

5. We’ll have adult meeting and conference rooms for the first time since we worshiped on Broadway (in 1984). Take a stroll down the broad avenue of an interior corridor we call “Main Street” and check out a whole wingfull of rooms perfectly set-up for adults.

6. There are no stairs. Anywhere. Well, okay, there are stairs up at the front of the platform and leading to the technical room and to the Crossroads Mezzanine... but, otherwise, for the most part, worshippers will have easy access to the building without having to navigate steps.

7. No more waiting in line for the restroom. Let’s just say, at Madison Park, you’ll just have to see the restrooms for yourself. Whew.

8. There are 1,070 parking spaces on site. Forget parking on the grass or the hassle of waiting for a space after the first service gets out. Yes, it can be a ways to walk if you’re “on the edges,” but, we’ll also have a much expanded valet service, multiple drop-off lanes under the soaring canopy at the front, and a parking lot shuttle that will pick you up at your car and drop you off there, too. The shuttle will run for 30 minutes before and after each service start and end time.

9. The Main Auditorium will seat up to twice as many as our Scatterfield site—but with only four more seating rows, front to back. That’s because of the much wider arc of seating. No balcony, either. You’ll just have to see it to believe it. Very cool.

10. It’s all about helping people find God. For all of its conveniences, Madison Park Church is about opening doors in people’s hearts. How we love, serve, and invite others there will make the difference. Connect. Grow. Serve. Beginning this Sunday at 10:00am at Madison Park. You can be there or hear about it. And you will hear about it. So, why not bring a friend and be there? Join us at Madison Park and catch the excitement and adventure of the new day. I just know you will be blessed if you do. See ya then!