New Shoes

Our eight year old son Benjamin occasionally needs new shoes. He has been wearing the same shoes for a few years now. Every once in a while we take him to the shoe store to buy the same shoe in the same color. Only a different size. Last week we took him to get a new pair of shoes and ran into a crisis of epic proportions: the cute white and blue shoes that he has been wearing for years do not come in the next size up. He tried on other shoes. He didn’t like the “N” on one shoe. Another shoe was too tight. Finally, after a little work, he found a shoe he liked. Forty bucks and a few tears later, we left content.



Just over two years ago, The Water’s Edge needed some new shoes. We grew out of our existing shoes at Russell Middle School. The move was easy. We gave everybody a few weeks notice, put up a few signs, updated the web site, and moved a few blocks down the street to Millard West High School. Some people had to drive an extra minute or two, but it was an easy move. Same shoe. Different size.

Well, we need new shoes again. The only problem this time is that the same shoe is not available the next size up.

On the last Sunday in January – between kids, students, and adults – we had 625 people present. We had no more chairs available and even if we did there wouldn’t have been any place to put them.

Our Leadership Team has been proactive dreaming about the future and doing things differently as this crowding has not been a sudden phenomenon, but a gradual occurance. We decided that doing the same thing in the same place at the same time was not an option as the simple command of God is to offer Christ to our community.

We looked at various new shoes. The most obvious shoe to try on was changing the worship venue from the Commons Area to the auditorium. We didn’t go with this option for two reasons. First, at our current rate of growth, the auditorium would have only worked for about a year or so. Because we use the screen and because of the location of the stage, we are unable to use the seating on the far sides of the auditorium. So we would have only gained another 70 to 100 seats. Second, we value the gathering time before and after worship and also value the cafeteria atmosphere before, during, and after the worship experience. The auditorium is a wonderful place to worship, but it is a much less friendly place to meet people and build relationships. Moving to the auditorium would change who we are. It was a lot different shoe.

We looked at other shoes as well. Saturday and Sunday night worship was an option. We didn’t think this was sustainable for the staff and key lay leaders. We looked at other venues. That didn’t take very long because there aren’t any options large enough in Southwest Omaha. We even looked at doing video simulcasting of the message and having worship at the same time in a different location. This had possibilities, but seemed complicated and possibly expensive.

After talking with the set-up and tear-down team leaders, the leaders of the kid’s team, and other Sunday morning leaders, we had consensus that moving to two Sunday morning worship experiences – one at 9:00 and one at 10:30 in the Commons Area – was the best alternative.



Here are some of the factors that led us to the decision:

• Are we content with who we are right now? Or, do we want to do something really great for God?
• If we do nothing, we are communicating we have reached all the people we want.
• Sixty to eighty percent capacity is optimal for a worship experience. Many Sundays we are approaching one-hundred percent. Two services will give us some much needed elbow room so we can grow again.
• We will now be able to reach new people who want to be done with worship at 10:00 on Sunday mornings.
• We will be able to enlist new volunteers who are currently attending, but not serving.
• We will be able to better connect with our guests in worship as the space will not be packed full of people.
• We are not taking anything away. The 10:30 worship experience will be the same and the Frog Pond for kids will be the same as well. If you are content with your Sunday morning schedule and want to leave it the same, you won’t notice much difference.
• It will allow us to refocus on investing in relationships with our unchurched friends and inviting them to worship with us and be part of our community as we seek God together.
• Jesus came to seek and save lost and hurting people. This is our next step in partnering with Him in doing this.

Here is what you can do:

1. Pray for the ministry as we take this next step.
2. Volunteer. We will need additional volunteers at both worship experiences. Serving is a great way to meet people, be a part of a team, and serve God.
3. Invite. Bring a friend, neighbor, or co-worker with you to worship. A simple invitation can change a life forever!

Benjamin loves his new shoes and I think you will as well! Look for more information in the coming weeks and months as more concrete details become available.

In Christ,

Craig