Big News At RCC
In the event that you have yet to hear the good news, I wanted to write a brief summary of the announcement we shared last Sunday (August 2, 2026). I also want to walk you through the decision process so you understand how we arrived at the conclusion we did.
The Main “Problem”
Our church has grown about 19% in the last calendar year. What great news! This growth, however, has created some real challenges. Our current space is no longer equipped to comfortably accommodate both our church family and new visitors at the same time. At its worst—near the end of winter and into spring—cars would pull into the parking lot on Sunday mornings only to turn around and leave because there was nowhere to park. We have also been made aware that our Sunday morning parking situation has become an irritant to some of our neighbors. On top of this, we have regularly exceeded the capacity of our kids zone, making the experience overly crowded and, at times, chaotic for our teachers.
First Idea
You may already know that earlier this year we explored a different solution: building a new parking lot and modifying our existing building to expand its capacity. The goal was to better balance our three main spaces—parking, the auditorium, and the kids zone—so that, according to our historical data, we could seat the greatest number of people without exhausting one area before the others filled up. That project came with a $155,000 price tag, conservatively. We also knew summer was approaching, which typically brings a dip in attendance.
“Problem” #2
This summer, however, our seasonal attendance dip was smaller than average for a typical U.S. church. That is excellent news. You prioritized worship, fellowship, teaching, and communion this summer, and that reality is deeply encouraging to us! In doing so, you declared that God, spiritual growth, and community matter more than Sunday sports or a day at the beach. As a result, we were nearly maxing out our parking and kids zone capacity week after week. Looking ahead to the fall—when we historically see growth from September through December—we realized we needed to prepare. Numerical growth is not guaranteed, but if we all do our part it is likely.
Our Solution:
Starting Sunday, September 6, we will return to two services in order to create space for more people to come, worship, learn, grow, and (for those who have not already) surrender their lives to Jesus. The service times will be:
1st Service: 9:00 AM
2nd Service: 10:45 AM
The pros and cons of this change are fairly obvious. We are well aware of the challenges that come with two services, which is why we were in no hurry to make the move. At this point, however, we sincerely believe the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. God’s kingdom has infinite room for people to come to a saving knowledge of Him, and we want to be an active part of His mission to help people find and follow Jesus—no matter what it costs us. After all, to give us this opportunity, it cost our Him everything He had to give.
What Does This Mean for You?
First, if you are committed at RCC, we ask you to step into a role of service if you are not already serving. Our volunteer base needs to grow quickly in order to meet the demands of two services.
Second, growth does not happen because I preach a great sermon, Frankie and the café team make a great latte, Caleb and the worship team lead a complex set, or any other single Sunday morning metric. Growth happens when we have a healthy church full of people who are living the gospel in their daily lives. Consider what God has next for you in your spiritual development. What is it time to finally lay down, or finally pick up? Whether it is deepening your spiritual disciplines, getting your marriage on track, building digital accountability, turning off the TV, addressing anger or self-image issues, or something else—now is a good time to level up. Remember, our invitations carry significantly more weight when we are living our faith with relative consistency. This does not mean you should stop inviting or sharing your faith if you are struggling. It simply means your invitations tend to grow in power when you are practicing what the Bible teaches.
If you don’t know where to start, we are here to help—and we mean those words. Reach out to RCC to set up a time to meet and learn how your church can help you level up in your obedience to our Lord.
Third (and this flows from the second point), Invite your family. Invite your friends. Invite your neighbors. Polls consistently show that if people are never invited, they never come! In all sincerity though, research does indicate that between 37 and 65 percent of people say they would likely attend if asked by a family member or friend. That number rises for special events or Christmas services. Growth is a collective effort. The church is our home base; you are the front lines. When members stop talking about Jesus with the people in their lives, the church stops growing.
Lastly, if you have not already done so, please take the Service Preference Poll. It will take most people a minute or less and will help us plan well—especially regarding volunteer staffing for kids zone, ushers, café, and other areas, as well as optimizing auditorium space for expected attendance.
Looking Forward
As already stated, numerical growth is not guaranteed. There is no perfect formula that always results in more people choosing Jesus. All we can do is all we can do. Paul planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. When all is said and done, our goal should be to stand before God and one another and say with confidence: We did all we could with all we had. We were good stewards of the time and resources God placed before us.
Let’s aim for that. Let’s pursue Jesus the best we ever have, serve the best we ever have, and share and evangelize the best we ever have. Then we will present our offering of faith before our Lord and ask Him to bless it.
We may not know exactly what lies ahead in this next season, but we look forward to walking through it with you—side by side, on mission, helping people find and follow Jesus together.
The Main “Problem”
Our church has grown about 19% in the last calendar year. What great news! This growth, however, has created some real challenges. Our current space is no longer equipped to comfortably accommodate both our church family and new visitors at the same time. At its worst—near the end of winter and into spring—cars would pull into the parking lot on Sunday mornings only to turn around and leave because there was nowhere to park. We have also been made aware that our Sunday morning parking situation has become an irritant to some of our neighbors. On top of this, we have regularly exceeded the capacity of our kids zone, making the experience overly crowded and, at times, chaotic for our teachers.
First Idea
You may already know that earlier this year we explored a different solution: building a new parking lot and modifying our existing building to expand its capacity. The goal was to better balance our three main spaces—parking, the auditorium, and the kids zone—so that, according to our historical data, we could seat the greatest number of people without exhausting one area before the others filled up. That project came with a $155,000 price tag, conservatively. We also knew summer was approaching, which typically brings a dip in attendance.
“Problem” #2
This summer, however, our seasonal attendance dip was smaller than average for a typical U.S. church. That is excellent news. You prioritized worship, fellowship, teaching, and communion this summer, and that reality is deeply encouraging to us! In doing so, you declared that God, spiritual growth, and community matter more than Sunday sports or a day at the beach. As a result, we were nearly maxing out our parking and kids zone capacity week after week. Looking ahead to the fall—when we historically see growth from September through December—we realized we needed to prepare. Numerical growth is not guaranteed, but if we all do our part it is likely.
Our Solution:
Starting Sunday, September 6, we will return to two services in order to create space for more people to come, worship, learn, grow, and (for those who have not already) surrender their lives to Jesus. The service times will be:
1st Service: 9:00 AM
2nd Service: 10:45 AM
The pros and cons of this change are fairly obvious. We are well aware of the challenges that come with two services, which is why we were in no hurry to make the move. At this point, however, we sincerely believe the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. God’s kingdom has infinite room for people to come to a saving knowledge of Him, and we want to be an active part of His mission to help people find and follow Jesus—no matter what it costs us. After all, to give us this opportunity, it cost our Him everything He had to give.
What Does This Mean for You?
First, if you are committed at RCC, we ask you to step into a role of service if you are not already serving. Our volunteer base needs to grow quickly in order to meet the demands of two services.
Second, growth does not happen because I preach a great sermon, Frankie and the café team make a great latte, Caleb and the worship team lead a complex set, or any other single Sunday morning metric. Growth happens when we have a healthy church full of people who are living the gospel in their daily lives. Consider what God has next for you in your spiritual development. What is it time to finally lay down, or finally pick up? Whether it is deepening your spiritual disciplines, getting your marriage on track, building digital accountability, turning off the TV, addressing anger or self-image issues, or something else—now is a good time to level up. Remember, our invitations carry significantly more weight when we are living our faith with relative consistency. This does not mean you should stop inviting or sharing your faith if you are struggling. It simply means your invitations tend to grow in power when you are practicing what the Bible teaches.
If you don’t know where to start, we are here to help—and we mean those words. Reach out to RCC to set up a time to meet and learn how your church can help you level up in your obedience to our Lord.
Third (and this flows from the second point), Invite your family. Invite your friends. Invite your neighbors. Polls consistently show that if people are never invited, they never come! In all sincerity though, research does indicate that between 37 and 65 percent of people say they would likely attend if asked by a family member or friend. That number rises for special events or Christmas services. Growth is a collective effort. The church is our home base; you are the front lines. When members stop talking about Jesus with the people in their lives, the church stops growing.
Lastly, if you have not already done so, please take the Service Preference Poll. It will take most people a minute or less and will help us plan well—especially regarding volunteer staffing for kids zone, ushers, café, and other areas, as well as optimizing auditorium space for expected attendance.
Looking Forward
As already stated, numerical growth is not guaranteed. There is no perfect formula that always results in more people choosing Jesus. All we can do is all we can do. Paul planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. When all is said and done, our goal should be to stand before God and one another and say with confidence: We did all we could with all we had. We were good stewards of the time and resources God placed before us.
Let’s aim for that. Let’s pursue Jesus the best we ever have, serve the best we ever have, and share and evangelize the best we ever have. Then we will present our offering of faith before our Lord and ask Him to bless it.
We may not know exactly what lies ahead in this next season, but we look forward to walking through it with you—side by side, on mission, helping people find and follow Jesus together.
Posted in Church Event\'s/Announcements