Since coming to Washington Plaza almost two years ago now, the church leadership has impressed on their number one goal for my tenure as pastor here: rebuilding.
Though beaming with potential as evidenced by many of the intangible beautiful qualities found within the membership, I quickly learned there was a lot to do in order to become all that God has called us to be as a community. Our membership was getting older. Our building was getting older. Our human resource infrastructure was getting weaker. The church needed hope that there would be a future.
I was a believer, though, from day one that we had a future and a beautiful one at that!
However, in the day-to-day, it's a marathon race we are running at the church on the plaza. We know that not everything can improve right way. Our goal however, is to keep focused and energized on the important things we can do bit by bit.
Top of the agenda this year was attending to the repairs of our aging facilities. The trustees and I were tired of the bucket line on the 3rd floor every time it rained. We were tired of watching water damage invade building through bricks that were cracked. We were tired of our office administrator getting headaches from mold. We were weary of not being able to set up permanent Sunday School classrooms in certain parts of the building with fear that the ceiling tiles might cave in at any moment. You can't build a thriving community of faith if these worries are present.
It has been a joy to see the congregation rally to support this overdue project, giving over and above their tithes and offerings to a Capital Campaign this summer. It has been a joy to see the workers go about their tasks on the sunny days of fall. It has been a blessing to see new life springing forth literally around and in the church complete with a roof, new windows, brick repairs among other minor projects. We are grateful that the DC Baptist Convention Foundation believed in who we were as a church enough to support our efforts too. We are thankful for the patience and support of our neighbors as we continue to make these repairs.
Washington Plaza is at Lake Anne for the future of its becoming. We are excited about what the future holds as we keep rebuilding in every aspect of our church life. I look forward to the even great opportunities for ministry we'll have once the repairs are completed: more usable space for Sunday School classrooms, a library with books in it again, and countless other opportunities for God to use our space for the good of the good news of Christ.
