Thank you to everyone who came out to our first Bedford meeting on Sunday. We had a good response and are encouraged by you! If you weren't able to make the meeting, here is a little more information that was shared:
Why Bedford?
We have long considered Bedford as an eventual location. We have a sizable portion of our congregation who live in the Bedford area. We want to see those people actively engaged for Jesus in their own community.
Placing a multi-site in their area makes that feasible and frees up space for us to continue to grow here at Bloomington East.
Where and when will Sherwood Oaks Bedford meet?
We will be leasing the Community Baptist Fellowship facility. The space has multiple classrooms, seating capacity of 300, with plenty of parking and outside and inside space to do a wide range of programming. We are planning a Saturday evening service to begin with and then broaden into Sunday morning if and when we think that is necessary.
Why Saturday?
Saturday gives us the option of starting now, versus waiting until we have enough staff to cover multiple Sunday morning venues. It’s more cost and personnel effective, plus, no other church in Bedford is offering a Saturday night service and we think this is an untapped opportunity to reach people who can’t be part of a traditional Sunday morning service
How many people do we need to start the Multi-site?
Our goal is to start with approximately 150 people.
When will the Sherwood Oaks Bedford multi-site launch?
We are looking at early August 2016 to be meeting on a regular basis
How will the sermon be delivered?
Tom will be one of our primary communicators, live and video. We will also be utilizing several of our other excellent Sherwood Oaks preaching staff.
Will there be Sunday school?
Perhaps - the space certainly allows for that - but we will initially concentrate on Life Groups and using our space for children’s ministry.
What will the worship be like?
Tim will be leading worship, so it will look and sound a lot like our Bloomington East service.
What will Sherwood Kids! ministry look like?
While it may not look like either of our other two sites, Stephen and our Sherwood Kids! ministry team is committed to providing our children a quality learning and worshiping experience with the same values and vision as our other Sherwood Kids! environments. Our goal is to offer a nursery, 2-3s class, 4-5s class and 1-5th grade program
Are we adding staff to cover these additional responsibilities?
We are planning on using our current staff and great volunteers for the majority but we might be looking at adding a few part time positions.
How much will it cost us?
Initially not much. We will be using as much existing technology and current Sherwood Oaks staff as we can to keep costs within reason. We are committed to doing our very best to be good stewards of God’s resources. (And the ability to utilize these spaces throughout the week makes the investment in the space more cost-effective.)
What do you need from me going forward?
Pray for God to open doors of opportunity in Bedford. Pray for wisdom and Gods favor as we move forward. Pray for direction in how you can serve and be a part of what God is doing. Pray for our upcoming meetings.