Three Rivers Grace Community Church

Search History
- For over 2 years there has been talk of relocating the church’s meeting place.
- In January of 2007 we began searching seriously for a downtown venue, as part of our broader vision.
- CAPA, Miller School, Berger bld. (South Side), Reedsdale bld. (by Heinz Field), Convention Center, Theaters in cultural district, schools, YMCA, hotels (Sheraton at Station Square, Hilton, Westin, Doubletree, Omni, Renaissance, Wyndam).

The two problems we faced with these hotels were:
1) Low dependability: they were already booked many Sundays, and could not guarantee us consistent availability. For instance, at the Doubletree, they only offered month-to-month, and many Sundays were already booked.
2) Very high cost

CHATHAM CENTER (high dependability and relatively low cost)
Compare to “Considerations in choosing a location” on Vision Sheet:
1) City-Center: Located across the street from Mellon Arena, this building certainly fits the description, “City-Center.”
2) Accessibility: Just follow the signs to Mellon Arena. Look for the ~25 story building with the very large “Chatham Center” sign on top of it. A short walk from the Steel Plaza T station. One block from 5th and Forbes, where you can get a bus to and from Oakland (& beyond). 2,100 space parking garage is attached to Chatham Center (a big bonus, especially when the weather is bad). We’ve made arrangements with the garage; the church will cover the cost of parking so that no one has to pay to come to church.
3) Cost: For 2008, we estimate that it will cost us between $21,000 and $25,000. Parking will be an additional cost. We may also need to rent space on the few Sundays when Chatham Center is already booked. Ending the Beechview lease in August will free up additional funds in the “Facility Rental” section of the budget.
4) Logistics and labor: The hotel staff will set up all chairs and tables for our SS classes, and chairs, platform, podium, piano, and screen for our worship services. They will also provide us with a storage space for additional items we need (pac-n-plays, SS materials, sound board, drums, small folding chairs and tables for the young children, hymnals, church signs for lobby on Sunday mornings). Volunteers from the church (non-SS teachers) will set up and take down these few items each Sunday morning (many hands make light work!).

What about the weeks when Chatham is already booked?
At least initially, we will return to our Beechview building for a few services between now and October (there are 5-9 Sundays when Chatham is booked; 4 of them are still question marks). For occasional meeting space, there are many possibilities (CAPA, other hotels, schools, etc.).

Is this permanent?
No. This is a first step. It’s a step that gets us into a better facility, and more importantly, gets us downtown. The search for a building will continue, and we trust that at the right time God will provide us with something more permanent.

What about fellowship dinners? What about the resource center?
What about the small group that meets at the building, and Grace Kids Club?
Our Beechview lease continues through August. Therefore, we have some time to work out these details and find other suitable locations for these activities. For instance, other church buildings, or schools, or YMCA facilities. For various reasons, these places do not suit our needs on Sunday morning, but they would suit our needs very well for other purposes (e.g., our small group that met in the Homewood YMCA in the fall).

How do we let people know that Grace Church meets at Chatham Center?
This will require thinking outside the box. Ideally, we could replace the “Chatham Center” sign on the top of the building with “Three Rivers Grace Church.” Let’s pray for that to happen, but we can’t count on it. Therefore, we will explore a variety of ways to communicate that Three Rivers Grace Church meets in Chatham Center and all are encouraged to come. Radio ads (both Christian and secular radio), mailers, signs in bus shelters, and most important by far, personal invitations (on lunch breaks throughout the week, Saturdays, when there’s an event at Mellon Arena).

When Grace Church began in 2000, it met in this very venue for a short period of time. What’s different now?
When Grace Church first formed, it was thrust into the difficult position of needing a place to meet with little or no time to plan. Meeting in the Chatham Center, and then other venues downtown and in other parts of the city, was how the church got by until finding this building in Beechview.
Presently, we are very intentionally moving downtown with the desire to be a downtown church and establish a permanent presence in city center. The situation at the Chatham Center is also very different. Consistent availability, classroom space, parking, are all things that are more favorable now.

Why not stay where we are now?
Mainly because it doesn’t fit the vision of the church to be a city center church which is seeking to have a growing influence in Pittsburgh. Our current building is not in downtown. Rather, it is in a neighborhood and is difficult to find. The parking situation and the bathroom situation are also major limitations. The overall condition of our building is declining rapidly and shows no signs of long-term improvement. The landlord has been slow to make necessary repairs, and our deacons are overburdened by the task of maintenance.

We want to encourage all of us at Grace Church to dedicate ourselves to prayer and fasting on behalf of our church right now. These are exciting times! God is doing great things. Let’s find some time this coming week to forsake food and spend some extended time meditating on God's Word. I encourage you to pray for your own soul. Pray over our church covenant and the Scripture passages that are listed there. (This can be found on the website: see "About Us"). Pray over the vision documents that have been presented (see "Resources" page). Pray for your elders, and pray for all your brothers and sisters in this congregation.
In two weeks we will have a congregational meeting to discuss this move. We are an elder-led, congregational church, which means the elders pray and teach and lead and cast vision and say, “this is where God is leading,” and then we as a family of believers discuss these things together and make a final decision together. The elders have presented the plan, and we’re eager to talk to you individually if you have any questions or concerns.
And then in two weeks we will get the whole family together to share with each other how God has been moving in each of our hearts. Our hope in that meeting is to hear from everyone briefly. We want each person, or at least one person from each family, to take a minute or so to express whether you feel like this is how God is leading our congregation. And then, when everyone has shared, we’ll pray, and then we’ll have a congregational vote, to say either “Yes, this is God’s answer to our prayers,” or “No, we don’t think this is God’s plan for us.” And thus we will make this decision as a family.
Let's pray over these things and ask for God to pour out His blessings on our church!

We have encouraged all of you to be in prayer about our proposed move. We have also welcomed any and all questions you may have about this vision and the details of implementing it. We’ve had the opportunity to speak with many of you, and have responded to various questions. In the interest of clear and open communication, I will list some of these questions and respond to them.

1) How do we know God is leading us to make this move?

The Lord has been leading the elders in this vision for some time, and He has been working in our hearts the same way He does in any major decision. I think about my decision to move my family to Pittsburgh (and the church’s decision to hire me). There was no writing in the sky or audible voice, but God made His will clear in various ways.
The same is true in this situation. Long before I came to Pittsburgh, Grace Church was involved in urban ministry and was seeking to have a growing impact for the kingdom. This was the vision I gladly inherited when I came here. Over the past 2 years the question has been, “How?” How can we fulfill this vision to a greater extent? What specific changes can we make to reach more people in this city?
Through much thought and prayer and many discussions, we decided to set our sights on downtown. This is the location that best fits our vision, because we desire to minister to the diverse population of Pittsburgh. We want to serve and witness to people from all the neighborhoods of the city, and what better place to begin than in downtown. Thousands of people from all over this area commute into downtown on a daily basis.
We feel confirmed in this vision because it is contrary to our natural desires and inclinations. If we were following conventional wisdom, this plan would sound absurd. But God is calling us toward radical ministry. He is calling us to a vision that is bigger than us, bigger than our abilities, bigger than our resources. In this way, He will be glorified through our weaknesses.

2) Have we failed to fulfill our church’s vision in Beechview?

I believe God has blessed our ministry in Beechview. We have ministered to the Beechview community through VBS, the resource center, the deacon’s benevolence ministry, SS classes, worship services, etc. God has been good to us in letting us be His light in this neighborhood.
Our move downtown does not mean we are abandoning Beechview. The vision is about addition, not subtraction. We will work to maintain our ministries in Beechview, and as the Lord leads us and grows us we will be able to do similar things in other areas of the city as well.

3) If our current building was in better shape, and the parking situation was better, would we stay?

No. The move is not primarily about the facility. It’s about the vision. We want to be in city center rather than in a neighborhood so that we can have an impact in more and more areas.

4) What about things like weddings, funerals, baptisms, men’s breakfasts, women’s teas, VBS, Grace Kids Club, special services (like Good Friday, Christmas Eve)?

For most of us, our assumption is that every church owns a building. We can even slip into the unbiblical mindset that the physical building is the church. But, as we all know, the church is the people. And wherever the people show up, whether it be at Methyl and Hampshire or in Chatham Center, that’s where the church is.
It is certainly convenient to have a building that is available to us 24 / 7, and that is our intention for the future. But at this point in time, God is leading us to do something different, something that resembles the first century church more than it does our contemporary Christian culture.
For non-Sunday morning events, we will need to be creative in finding alternative meeting places. For instance, other church buildings, schools, community centers, or homes. One of the exciting things about our small groups is that they make us less dependent on a building, and they give us opportunities for influence in more places.

5) What is the cost for facility rental and parking?

The cost will be $800 / Sunday morning for the facility rental. This includes the set up of all the chairs, platform, podium, piano, and tables and chairs for the SS rooms. It also includes our storage space during the week. The church will also pay the parking cost of $5 per car.

6) What about parking when there is an event at Mellon Arena?

This will not be a problem. There will always be ample parking available in the garage, and we are guaranteed our discounted rate of $5 / car.

7) Are there other churches that could partner with us in our vision to reach the city?

This is a great question, and something we would be very willing to explore. Certainly if there are like-minded churches who want to partner with us in various efforts, that would be great!

Other questions have already been addressed in the Vision Update document, which you can see on our website (scroll down on this blog, or go to the “Resources” page). Please read over these documents carefully, and as you think of additional questions contact Jeremy or me. Our hope is that as many questions as possible will be addressed before our congregational meeting, so that we’ll have more time for everyone to share.

Praying with you and for you,

Ben