“Where are you gonna be?” will be a common question around Vista this month. As we prepare for two sites, it is natural to wonder what impact the change will have on our relationships. Who will be at Vista-Worthington and who will be at Vista-Dublin?
If you know where someone lives, that tells you a lot. Since the services will be virtually the same (except start time: 9:15@V-Worthington and 10:30@V-Dublin), most folks have indicated that they will likely gravitate toward the site closest to them…which makes great sense since much of our incentive is to bring the church closer to those your reaching out to in your neighborhoods, etc.
Staff are also be asked, “Where will you be?” Naturally. (Staff are people too!).
So, where will the staff — and elders — attend? The answer is both sites! Remember, the only staff assigned to a particular site is Brian Coffey, the Site Pastor for Vista-Worthington. The rest of the staff, including me, serve both sites equally.
Pastors Webb and Treichler equip and support ministries at both sites. Justin oversees the central office, worship teams and morning logistics at both sites through leaders at each site. Amber is the Kids Director for both sites (overseeing all 11 Vista Kids Community Coordinators), while Cindy directs family and women’s discipleship throughout Vista, etc, etc.
Worship leaders will tilt toward the site closest to their homes, but rotate to the other site once a month. I (pastor mike) will teach from 9:30-10:15AM at Worthington and then travel to Dublin to teach again from 10:45-11:30AM every week. In general, staff and elders will move around week to week.
For the first six months, we’ve asked staff to attend services at both places each week as much as possible. They will be at the start of both services sometimes, and sometimes they will be at the finish of both. After six months and once things begin to take shape and run smoothly, staff will begin to settle in near their homes. But we will still manage a scheduled rotation so that the entire staff will maintain a presence at both sites.
As you can see, we are quite serious about keeping Vista broadly connected as best we can, while fostering unique local expressions at the sites.
By its very nature, following Jesus requires sacrifice, and there is no doubt as the time draws near (very near!) we will all feel the sacrifices more and more acutely.
Thank you. Thank you for sacrificing and serving for his sake…for Jesus.
