Stage view of new youth auditorium

Paul Behnke comments below on what the new space means to him as the middle school pastor.

The other day I was at the mall and observed a couple of things about students.  There are some stores that students feel comfortable in and there are others that they just don’t.  Students feel comfortable entering stores that they feel are for them.  No average student goes into “Fashion Bug” and no average adult goes into “Hollister.”  Each store is designed for a target audience.  If a student walks into a store that isn’t designed for them, they won’t get past the environment enough to even look at the clothes.  This is why this building project is such a big deal.  There are certain places where students will feel comfortable and certain places where they don’t.  Over the last couple of years the youth have been going to youth group in a place that is not designed for them.  While there are many students that are able to get past the environmental constraints, there are some who don’t hear what we say because they don’t feel comfortable in the setting they are in.  Our goal in this building project is to design a building that is for students so that students will come and give us a chance to love and care for them.  But the reality is, even though this building may provide a comfortable and inviting environment, what happens after that is also very important.  What would happen if "Hollister" in the mall was designed for students to feel comfortable, but all they sold were cowboy hats and cowboy boots?  Well the students may enter the store only to find that the store doesn’t provide anything they need.  We need to not only create an atmosphere for students, but also to provide things that they need: a real and relevant gospel, a community of loving students, and a community of loving adults. 

Thanks so much to everyone who's been a part of this building project.  You're creating a place where students will come.  But I challenge you, will you also do something to help create a place where students will stay and find what they need?  They need you.  Adults that love and care for them enough to take the time to get to know them.