About

CCLC Case Statement

Our Vision for the Community Christian Life Center (CCLC)

 

For over 150 years the church, that has come to be known as Manchester United Methodist, has grown with the community and strived to meet its needs. In 2003, recognizing that the time for the new growth was upon us, a task force was formed to develop a facility designed for community outreach. For the past three and a half years, the task force has spent countless hours researching the opportunities and discerning a vision for a Community Christian Life Center (CCLC).

 

It is our conclusion that God is calling Manchester United Methodist Church to build an attractive and effectively managed Community Christian Life Center (CCLC).The CCLC will provide the opportunity for creative programmatic synergy to reach new people with the Christian faith and to provide important mission to the community. This is the core Vision of the CCLC Task Force.

 

Our vision is rooted in faith: Christ, and Christ alone, is at the center. That vision must rise out of faith and differ from any mere worldly vision. Christ guides all we do. His hope for the Kingdom is our vision.We have designed a plan for putting our vision into action and fulfilling our mission. Our plan assesses our present situation and builds upon our many strengths. With the help of the Holy Spirit, let us be architects of our future.Let us welcome each challenge as a rich opportunity for the Church.

 

Let us be a Church unafraid to dream.Let us be a Church that is in tune with the world around us, dealing with the real concerns of real people. Let us strive for solutions to these concerns. Let us be a Church that matters, making a real difference in people’s lives, recognizing major issues that affect our lives and performing acts that bring about positive change.

Service is an obligation; it is a foundation of our faith. We must reach out in love and compassion to others, and be a voice in the community.We must serve one another in love, building a community of faith through mutual support and active sharing in the life of the congregation and our surrounding area.The Community Christian Life Center (CCLC) will help us to fulfill that obligation of service by increasing our abilities to:

  • Serve those in need, both through direct assistance and through programs that empower life changes
  • Expand religious, educational, and social activities that serve our congregation and the larger community
  • Provide effective recreational programming, aimed primarily at children and youth, which will bring people on to our campus that would not otherwise visit us
  • Expand and enrich our programs for older adults in order to respond to the ever-increasing number of older persons in the West County area
  • Collaborate with Methodist community services and other local agencies in providing services and opportunities beyond the scope of what we can currently provide as a congregation
  • Act on our individual and collective commitment to promote social justice.
  • Enhance the diversity of our religious community
  • Improve the accessibility and functionality of our facilities resulting in their becoming a larger asset to our community

The church must not merely be a dispenser of social services but must reach out to people in the name of Christ. This must not be mistaken for forced evangelism but rather be embraced as an attitude of service, which joyfully and humbly proclaims the regenerating power of God. The Community Christian Life Center (CCLC) provides Manchester United Methodist with a new and exciting way to reach new people with the Christian faith and to provide important mission to the community.

Highlights of the Community Christian Life Center (CCLC):

  • An appropriate space for a Contemporary service that will accommodate over 1,000 people
  • A space large enough to accommodate extensive recreational programs, with organized community activities, for children ranging from Kindergarten through 12th grade
  • A friendly and casual café, which serves soft drinks, fruit juices, specialty coffees, salads and “fast-food”, that provides a gathering place for youth and adults; the café would be open each day of the week
  • A small children’s play area that is attractive to young families and can accommodate a large program of children’s birthday parties and small group events
  • A Fair Trade / Bookstore
  • Expanded nursery / child care facilities

Our preliminary design for the CCLC is a three level facility to be built on the property across Creve Coeur Avenue. The main level would be approximately 34,000 square feet. We believe the cost to build and furnish the facility would be in the range of $7.5 to $9 million. In order to proceed with this vision, we believe a capital campaign to obtain gifts and pledges of at least $5 million will be necessary to move forward. To test this vision, we have engaged Horizons Stewardship Company to conduct a feasibility study with the congregation to obtain its feedback and to gauge the level of support. With God’s help, we can make this vision for outreach and mission into a reality to help the hurt and lost in our own communities.