Below is a clip that was taken from the Christ Church website tonight, 5/23/04. My comments in bold.
Touching Tomorrow Today
God has given Christ Church the awesome mission of uniting people to God and people to people. He has also led us strategically over the years in meeting this goal.
As we are experiencing phenomenal growth as a congregation,(However there are no growth projections) we sense God's leadership to prepare for the future. Therefore, we have implemented Touching Tomorrow Today, a three-year stewardship campaign aimed at raising funds to purchase and develop property into a church-based campus.(If a Megachurch is a church, then is a campus a church?)
As many of you know, we did not reach this place in our development without courage, sacrifice, and lifestyle changes. And it will take these values to achieve our visionary goals today.
I am wholeheartedly committed to the transition of our church onto a campus. Please join me in this worthy endeavor by giving your support to the following areas:
• Add to your daily prayer focus the success of this campaign.
• Familiarize yourself with all the literature on this campaign so that your prayer time is rich with information.
• Join us in giving generously(say no more)over the three-year term of Touching Tomorrow Today.
As you and other members participate in Touching Tomorrow Today, I believe that the Lord will meet us in a memorable experience of spiritual intimacy.
Our King Cometh! Dr. David Ireland Senior Pastor
The Vision
Our future campus will feature a 3,000-seat sanctuary, senior citizen housing, a school, a center for Leadership Studies, a Family Life Center, dormitory, offices and athletic facilities (This assumes that the location we move to is zoned to receive all of the following. If not, we will make the necessary adjustments in our program expectations.)
(If Ireleand has said under oath there will be no senior housing, dorms or any overnight residents at all, why would they keep this on the website? Do they think the zoning disclaimer they added covers it? Once they get in, they will stop at nothing to grow into whatever RLUIPA lets them get away with)
It is our conviction that a campus will provide a wonderful base for local and international ministry. Our intent is to extend the ministry of Christ to the world in relevant and innovative ways. Effective strategizing compels us to face tomorrow today. In a prophetic manner, we have cast vision for our congregation to accept God's call to build a rich Christian legacy for coming generations.
With great boldness and courage, our congregation forges ahead to prepare a place for ministry that will improve family life, develop effective leaders and establish spiritual formation for 21st century Christian disciples.
Truly sounds great. Unlike most people that do little to nothing to leave a positive mark in this world, CC has a vision to do just that. God bless them.
hey thankful...wouldn't it be wonderful if ireland brought this campus to a place that needs, wants, has an infrastructure that could support it...and would use it...and a place that was convenient for his current flock????
There is nothing at all wrong for the vision of this group if it works for them. The only relevent question as it relates to the residents of Rockaway Township is the question of if it fits . I, like many , think it does not fit based on scale.Many other judgements made on the Church as a whole ring of intolerance and bigotry.And unfortunatly, some of the most vocal people that articulate those views seem to get an awful lot of press.This is further evidenced by the fact that our mayor and a local Rabbi felt it important to write letters to clarify points and positions that otherwise should have been clear enough in the first place.Both of the letters were well written and spoke to the issues in my view.Bravo to both of these men. Some would blame the press for sensationalism, and perhaps they they have been guilty of that to some extent, but blame also falls into the category of personal responsibility to those who would and do express bigoted and non-relevent views that do not speak to the issues.
I have so far found Dr. Ireland's testimony to be disingenuous, calculated and strategic. I do consider that to be relevent. Let's not mix the issues at hand.
"There is nothing at all wrong for the vision of this group if it works for them. The only relevent question as it relates to the residents of Rockaway Township is the question of if it fits ."
How will we ever know if it fits if we aren't told the truth about what will be built and how many members they are projecting? There is nothing racial or bias in saying Ireland does not speak the truth! No projection on growth, no senior housing, etc and then he states the opposite on his church website (with a little disclaimer). And the biggy he will not come to RT if we don't want him.
If he wants to become a part of RT he should be straight with the residents. He must realize what effect his megachurch will have on the community and that ruining our environment, our traffic situation, and our investments in our community will be devastating to the residents.
No matter what Ireland says, you know the truth. Here it is summarized:
1. He is planning a building which will be 4/5ths the size of Saint Peters Basicilla in Rome.
2. I estimate (spent a lot of time of this) that his growth estimation based on space allocation, ROI, NFV, and public testimony to be 25,000 people +/- 2,000.
3. Our own town planner testified last week that the building will hold at least 10,000 people at any given moment in time. That is the capacity. Now, just imagine the utilization of that capacity wisely over the course of a Sunday Morning. Yup - - - ya get my 25,000 number again. Hmmm.
What more do you really need to know. That Ireland is a lyer? So what. I am sure that he has already forgiven himself for that and will not go to Hell for it. Remember, he can give out free redemption since he is the boss over there.
I can not find a larger Megachurch anywhere on the East Coast of the United States. What am I missing in my search. Anyone else attempted to do this research? Please advise.
I do not have an issue with the vision itself. I would agree with Thankfull that it sounds great. Many people would benefit I am sure - in the right location.
What I do have an issue with is:
1. Irelands underhanded and calculated actions have shown he cannot be trusted, and he has lost all cedibility with me and "most in town".
2. The size and scope of this project, it's impact on infrastructure and adverse effects on the the environment and surrounding residential areas.
3. In the remote chance the application is approved for a scaled back campus - they will stop at nothing to fulfill the vision, regardless of the IMPACT on residents. What is important to them is the spiritual life, not mortal life.
Christ Church must not be allowed to have a foot in the door.
