By Shannon Caughey

The vote about whether to pursue establishing a second site in the Scott Park area is coming quickly—maybe a little too quickly for some! In fact, this question has been asked a few times: “Why are we moving so fast on this?” Others have expressed support for the second site concept but are unsure if this is the right time. They’d really like a “not yet” option added to the ballot.

A few thoughts on timing… No matter when we decided to vote on a potential second site (now, six months from now, a year from now), some of us will always feel like we’re moving too fast. Because our lives are full, we don’t tend to devote time to thinking and praying seriously about an issue until something compels us to do so—like a vote that’s just a few weeks away. Even though we’ve been discussing the idea of a second site for a year, scheduling a vote creates a heightened sense of urgency to consider this possibility if you hadn’t done much thinking and praying about it to this point. For some, this heightened sense of urgency can suddenly feel like we’re moving pretty fast.

Also, people process information and decisions at differing speeds. What seems like plenty of time for one person may feel like not enough time for another person. Again, this is inevitable no matter when the vote was scheduled to take place.

What’s most important in all of this is God’s timing. As we as leaders prayerfully considered God’s direction, we sensed it is the right time for a congregational decision about whether to pursue a potential second site. If the vote is “yes,” we would be enabled to move forward with intentionality, letting God determine the “how fast” aspect of establishing a second site. We may even find that he says “not yet” as we seek to take concrete steps. We’ll be trusting him to open or close doors.

We realize not every detail of a possible second site has been clarified. We know that unanswered questions remain. This will always be the case until we’re in the midst of the actual process, seeing where Jesus is working and listening for his guidance. We believe it’s the right time to determine whether God is calling us to pursue this Scott Park site process in faith.