"Sweat Equity" | FLC Consecration Sunday

Johnson Church

Realized ‘rec’ dream stretches bounds of worship, outreach, prayer

By Rev. Scott Wilson, Lead Pastor

The Family Life Center began as a dream more than 15 years ago, as Johnson Church (Norton, Canal District) grew and contemplated constructing a new building for ministry and worship.

At the time, we were well aware of the need for a gymnasium-style annex where youth and children’s ministry and outreach could be based and enhanced, but because of financial limits, the dream of a gymnasium had to be put on hold because a worship center and meeting rooms surfaced as the top priorities.

Johnson Church (Norton, Canal District) relocated to a new building in November 1995, and by 1996, a social hall was added. Offices followed in 1997. And through the next 10 years, ministries continued to grow. A second worship service was initiated, and our youth, children’s departments, and Vacation Bible School all grew substantially, as did the preschool program. Full- and part-time staff were added, plus a satellite mission outpost for free clothing distribution and community education called JC’s Place just west of downtown Barberton. A Christian counseling service with two licensed therapists also was invited to share office space and provide outreach to hurting marriages and families.

But the dream of building an FLC remained and was revisited periodically, and then two years ago it became a front-burner topic at a “sanctuary expansion” planning meeting. Needless to say, at our annual leadership retreat, we found another route for sanctuary expansion when someone suggested, “Why don’t we just start a third worship service in our present worship center, instead of raising and spending monies to knock out the back wall?”

That left the door open for some outside-the-box thinking that we like to call “dreamweaving” at Johnson Church – and the result was a the FLC vision.

At Johnson, we’ve worked hard to celebrate dreaming, risking and swimming against the current of status quo thinking. Joseph, in the Old Testament, is a hero because his brothers called him a “dreamer.” Not allowing for, or even fearing dreaming and visioning “because we might fail” is a lot of time the reason we United Methodists and our churches can’t or don’t move forward. There’s a lot to be said for that Proverbs 29:18 “without vision, the people perish” stuff. And Robert Schuller is right an awful lot of the time when he says, “If you can dream it – you can do it!”

Some nuts and bolts of our FLC story…

Easily accessible from the church parking lot, the building is made of steel and split-faced block construction, and is aesthetically in keeping with the current church building. The FLC houses a regulation-sized basketball court with wood flooring, and has an additional 10-12 feet surrounding the court on all sides for walking and jogging.

In addition, there are a couple of meeting rooms, a kitchenette/snack bar area, expanded restrooms and shower facilities for men and women, and a large second-floor mezzanine at one end that overlooks the court – for youth ministry, gaming, and seating. Also, since the former picnic pavilion had to be demolished to make room for the FLC, a new and larger pavilion has been created and is attached to the south exterior.

We feel blessed by God that we raised more than $300,000 through pledges, grants, gifts and silent auction dinners, plus pay-off of the original 1995 building mortgage through rollover -- so that only about $500,000 remains as an encumberment on our entire property and facilities.

Also, through some wonderful lay leadership, especially the vision of our then trustee chair, Greg Bilek, costs were kept at a minimum due to “sweat-equity” gifts and assignments, whereby dozens of church members and friends volunteered time to hang drywall, affix railings, paint walls, and provide sanding, finish work and clean-up.

Of course, our goals include utilizing the FLC to enhance and grow existing ministries, but more importantly are our plans to grow new ministries that will include Upward Bound basketball – a co-ed outreach for children; a possible unified sports ministry utilizing local college students in physical education and recreation majors in a cooperative internship program; and community and congregational volleyball and basketball leagues, work-out programs, and a “morning walk and coffee” for senior adults.

Also, we’re exploring ideas with some foundations and organizations to look at how we can provide a childhood diabetes awareness program that implements a community-based nutrition, education and exercise program. In addition, we’re looking at a newly focused men’s ministry wrapped around sports and Bible study; a third worship service focused on young adults of the Internet generation, also known as “millennials;” and rentals to youth groups for retreats and local school districts for athletic practices.