In a few short days (August 30th, to be exact) Highpoint Church will open its doors on the new auditorium renovations at the East Memphis location. I hope many of you can be there. Just in case you needed a reason to come, here are the top 10 reasons why I’m excited to open the doors on this new renovation.

This project represents the hundreds of committed Highpoint partners who sacrificially gave to accomplish together what we could not accomplish alone. The win of this project is the “we-ness” of it. We did it as a church and I use the term, church in the fellowship of believers sense of the word. I only look forward to more “we” wins in the future!

Let’s be honest, we all love great spaces. We all love great aesthetics. Beauty matters. Why? Because God is the author of ALL beauty. Why did God make an estimated 400,000 different types of flowers? Why the need for such excess? Why the need for such vast array of beauty? I submit that God’s commitment to beauty across all of creation is because God Himself is infinitely beautiful. When we have the opportunity to leverage creativity and even construction to create beauty. the world around us notices. We hope you appreciate the beauty of the renovations.

From this new and improved auditorium, we will broadcast the Gospel around the world. It’s the Great Commission, plain and simple. 

Speaking of the Great Commission…the new seating adds HUNDREDS of additional seats in the same square footage! We can invite more people. More people can experience God’s work through our services and that’s a big deal!

As seasoned church-goers it’s easy to forget what it’s like to walk into a church for the very first time. First impressions are thrillers or killers. These renovations send an unmistakable message that we welcome you. The space is inviting and clean. The space is alluring and warm. It says, “we give our guest our best!"

We accomplished these renovations with financial responsibility. We were good stewards. We spent what was given. We made critical decisions to save hundreds of thousands of dollars. We were graciously gifted with a variety of donations including the exterior painting of the entire facility for FREE. I believe God honored our stewardship and allowed us to get a major "bang for the buck” on this project.

We have always prioritized the “response time” at the end of our services. This is a time where people can literally leave their seat and seek prayer or counsel as they take steps to follow God’s leading in their lives. The new seating in the auditorium provides adequate, almost luxurious, legroom between the rows so people can freely slip out of their seat to respond with minimal distraction to others. Be praying for people to respond to Christ in this new space!

Previously, there were hundreds of bad seats around the room. Many in the balcony where the lighting was poor and the seats were even more cramped and uncomfortable. Now, every seat in the room is a great seat. Our team has gone to great lengths to improve the lighting and sound so everyone has an equal and excellent experience every Sunday. You should notice that the sound is actually not as loud, by addressing the acoustics in the room we can operate at lower volumes and still provide adequate sound levels to the balcony and rear seats.

The physical renovations are like an embedded message of hope. This 40-year-old facility is transformed into a beautiful, state of the art space for ministry. Isn’t that what Jesus does in our lives? He takes our sinful lives and renovates us; He makes us new. Many people will walk through the doors and never know the hundreds of prayers and Bible verses written on the slab under their feet. They will never know the individuals who sacrificed financially to provide this space. But they will be changed. They will be made new. They will encounter Jesus. There is hope for them.

What I look most forward to in our new space is life change. I can’t wait to see hear Josh Maze say, “the tank is on the stage” as we baptize people. I can’t wait to hear your voices singing in worship. I can’t wait to see God transform hearts through the preaching and teaching of God’s word. Our kids will grow up in this place. This new space will be the place where so many spiritual milestones happen. These renovations are and always will be dedicated to the glory of God and the good of people.