Church-Out-Of-A-Box

Colonial Point Christian Church South Windsor, Connecticut

We continue our series of Church-Out-Of-A-Box for our new churches. Church-Out-Of-A-Box, sometimes referred to as Church-In-A-Box, is a situation where a church meets in rented facilities on Sundays (like a school or hotel) and carries in and sets up everything they need for a quality experience of worship, fellowship, and children's ministry. Here is a sampling of equipment moved each week: sound equipment (soundboard, speakers, microphones, cables, monitors, microphone & music stands), lighting, staging platforms, projection system & screen, parent call system, directional and room signs, information and literature tables, equipment and supplies for coffee and refreshments, decorations, rugs, chairs, tables, learning center equipment and supplies for age-appropriate children's ministry from birth to elementary school.

The third of these new churches is Colonial Point Christian Church, meeting at the Timothy Edwards Middle School in South Windsor, Connecticut. The lead planter is David Johnson and Jennifer Ash serves as Director of Discipleship. Colonial Point launched public worship in February 2000 and has an average attendance of 170. Since Dave launched the church, he knows its eight year history. Jen has been serving with the church for a year and a half and presently gives direct supervision to the Sunday morning set-up and tear-down operations.

Why would a new church use Church-Out-Of-A-Box?

(Dave) For us it was the most logical option with limited resources and a limited number of people attending. We did the mass marketing approach and did not know how many people would show up, so this proved to be the right decision for us. We had the resources that allowed us to purchase Church-Out-Of-A-Box cases and even though it was not cheap, doing it as one package made it a lot easier.

Dave, how long have you been a Church-Out-Of-A-Box?

We started with two practice services the second Sunday in February 2000, and since then have only missed four Sundays due to snow.

Where or from whom did you purchase/get your boxes, equipment, and trailer to do Church-Out-Of-A-Box?

(Dave) We purchased our cases and trailer from Portable Church who was just about the only company providing this type of service at the time. I have congratulated their representatives for the great service we have received from these cases over the past eight years. Since there are now several companies providing this kind of ministry support, Portable Church has become more responsive in helping meet needs in time of crisis. When we need more of something or the projector is dropped, we can call them instead of the individual vendors. Portable Church now has a program where they will come in, provide maintenance on all of the boxes (cases) and then the church can post them on their website for quick sale.

Do you leave your boxes and equipment on the trailer throughout the week or do you use another storage facility? What challenges do you face either way?

(Jen) Yes, we store our equipment on the trailer all week and park the trailer, hooked up to the suburban, at the Motel 8 in Manchester, CT.

(Dave) We pay rent for the same parking space every week, but we have had no vandalism since parking it at the motel. We did have some vandalism problems earlier when the trailer was parked at the ministry center.

How many boxes do you have and how are they designated for different areas of ministry?

(Dave) We have 16 wooden cases on a 24-foot trailer.

(Jen) Each area of ministry has its own case or cases; i.e., each classroom has its own case with all of the supplies in it necessary to do children's ministry in that room. The boxes must be put on the trailer in just the right order for the correct weight distribution.

How much time do you allow for set-up, tear-down, and load-up of the trailer, and how many volunteers are required?

It usually takes 30-45 minutes for set-up and approximately 30 minutes for tear-down. One of our volunteers, Andy Winters, who has been with us from day one, set a high standard for taking good care of our "stuff," so things that should have worn out (like cables that are used every week) have held up very well. Greg Garrard, another dedicated and committed volunteer, does a phenomenal job leading our set-up teams every week when he is in town. Our teams are made up of well-trained people who are good fits for their areas of service. In the worship area Greg Garrard leads a team of two or three tech individuals along with a few members from the praise team (these people rotate depending upon who is serving on a particular Sunday morning). In the areas of the Information Table, Hospitality Tables, and Children's Ministry, Tom Jurgenski, and the Johnsons' three sons (Alex, Luke, and Jonathan) serve almost every Sunday. Thus, we have between eight and nine people for set-up each week. Usually it is the same people serving both for set-up and tear-down, with a few who only do one or the other. We train new tech and set-up people by shadowing present volunteers. Team members sign up to serve on given Sundays of the month by going to the website. Greg checks online to determine any holes and fills them with individuals who have expressed interest in serving as needed.

How do you avoid burn-out and keep the teams energized to do Church-Out-Of-A-Box for a long period of time?

Rotating teams is very helpful and placing people in areas where they have a passion is important. Greg is also very good about expressing appreciation monthly to the volunteers and has a picnic twice a year to get people together to say "thank you." When someone is showing signs of stress, they will be asked if they need to take a break.

The Children's Program

Where do you hold mid-week worship team rehearsal?

(Jen) We usually hold rehearsals for the worship team on Saturdays in the home of one of the two drummers. We do not use the sound system for rehearsals.

What have been some advantages and disadvantages of using Church-Out-Of-A-Box?

(Jen) Being a Church-Out-Of-A-Box helps build a sense of community with those who serve. Serving in a portable church situation creates a feeling of flexibility, servitude, and humility. Being portable is a visible reminder that the church is not a building, but it is the people who are the church. Another advantage is that we have to find different ways and different places to do ministry instead of defaulting to the church building. Medium-sized meetings need to be held in public places, thus taking ministry to where the people are instead of having people come to our church building. Public meeting places are seen as more neutral for visitors.

(Dave) Using temporary Sunday morning facilities and Church-Out-Of-A-Box storage protects your investments. Everything is together in an organized system; i.e., each classroom has its own box for its supplies and no one removes items to be used elsewhere. The cases give an organized and systematic way of keeping track of all items, and the limited space in each box helps us be disciplined in the amount of items we actually use. We have been able to modify cases for an area of ministry and even reconfigure a classroom case to a drum storage case when needed. Thus the cases have been very adaptable.

(Jen) A disadvantage is that while some people like a non-traditional setting for worship, others are not attracted to us because we do not have our own building. Finding space in the community for medium-sized groups is sometimes a challenge. Large children's ministry outreach events are a problem when the parks (our usual venue for such functions) are full. Last summer we had a "Family and Jazz in the Park" event that included live blues and jazz music, an open-pit barbecue with free food and drinks, and a special children's program. We advertised it in the community and put the event in a popular park, encouraging people to stop by and see what was happening. We had a table with brochures and a survey asking, "Why don't people go to church? Who is God?" We found that some people in our area are suspicious of a church that doesn't have a building, even viewing them as a cult.

(Dave) When you are a Church-Out-Of-A-Box, you are at someone else's mercy. I can't wait for the day when we can walk into our own facility, turn on a switch, and not have to set everything up. It is a lot of work. Even though we have simplified the process as much as possible, it is still draining to unpack and pack 10,000 pounds of equipment every week. There is some risk to Church-Out-Of-A-Box. When the weather is bad and you are hauling five tons of equipment over snowy and ice-covered roads, it is not fun and sometimes downright scary. Our suburban is under-sized for our loaded trailer, thus we only use back roads and don't take it out on the interstate or major roads. One time the rims were ruined on one side of the trailer when both tires blew out.

Would you recommend Church-Out-Of-A-Box to other new churches starting out or existing churches in transition?

(Jen) You need to be flexible and open to the opportunities provided by not having your own 24/7 location. Once you get into a building, remember when you did not have one and don't allow the building to constrain or repress creativity in ministry.

(Dave) I definitely would recommend Church-Out-Of-A-Box. With the right people plugged in various areas of ministry, Church-Out-Of-A-Box works very well. Helping regularly with the set-up and tear-down process is a great way for people to find a place to serve, especially for new people to come in and assimilate while meeting other people in a non-threatening way and to know they are being helpful. We have been able to develop a great relationship with the custodial staff at Timothy Edwards Middle School and have made their job so easy that they only have to do some minor sweeping and cleanup when we are done. As a result, we are given preferential treatment over other groups using the school building. Another recommendation I would make is to spend the extra money up front to buy good quality equipment because if you don't, you will pay for it time and time again. We did not purchase top of the line but bought above midline equipment and that has paid off for us--has held up for eight years.

To learn more about Colonial Point, go to www.colonialpoint.com.