Sharing Buildings, Building Community
By Madeleine Pointner
Collaboration Project Administrative Assistant
How can churches use their building space in a collaborative way? Here are 3 impactful stories of ways that Dane County churches are currently sharing space for the greater good:
1 When Stephen Feith (Madison Church) and Andy Twiton (Trinity Lutheran) first connected in their Missio Madison cohort, they probably would never have guessed that several months later their churches would be sharing the same building. Trinity Lutheran is an established Madison church on the Isthmus, dating back to the early 1900s. With an expansive building at their disposal, the church had begun discussing how they could share their space. Madison Church is in their first decade of getting established as a church plant, and was without a permanent meeting location. Stephen was on the lookout for a new place for Madison Church to meet, and thought of Trinity Lutheran. Sure enough, when he called up Andy, who had already been wanting to pursue ways Trinity could share their space, they both realized there could be something special in this opportunity. Andy has also seen the partnership as a chance to remind his church of where they’ve come from–Trinity Lutheran had been meeting in tents and theaters when they were first planted. He encouraged his church to “imagine what our community was like eight years into existence!”
A couple months into the collaboration, if you were to stop in on a Sunday morning at 1904 Winnebago Street, right off of Willy Street, you would find Trinity Lutheran meeting at 9:15am in the sanctuary, and Madison Church meeting at 11:00am in the basement. When I spoke with Andy and Stephen, Stephen noted that the basement space perfectly suited what Madison Church wanted and needed as a smaller congregation. He also said that since moving to 1904 Winnebago, Madison Church has welcomed two new households per week to their services: “the only thing we changed was the address.”
Through the generosity of Trinity Lutheran, Madison Church, as a church plant, has the opportunity to thrive in their new space. Andy also noted that, “another congregation reminds us that God is up to way more than we see him doing in our own congregation.” This sharing of the building has opened up an opportunity to build community amongst churches and to spur each other onward toward Kingdom work.
2 While members of Westwood Christian Church and Christ Church Madison were working alongside each other at For Dane last year, they struck up a friendship. When Westwood’s pastor, Adam Tomlinson, found out that Christ Church was struggling to find a venue for their mid-week prayer service, he offered Westwood’s sanctuary. Westwood is an established, long-standing church on Madison’s West Side, and Christ Church Madison is a new church plant renting space from Edgewood High School on Sunday mornings. Westwood saw this as an opportunity to bless Christ Church as a new church plant seeking to reach Madison with the Gospel.
Westwood’s initial invitation led to Christ Church now having the opportunity to use Westwood’s sanctuary every Wednesday morning for their morning prayer service, as well as using the space for an occasional mid-week service. Kaitlyn Wallett, the Ministry Director at Christ Church, said that “Though our traditions and communities are pretty different from each other, we’re so grateful for Westwood’s hospitality towards Christ Church!” She also noted that if it hadn’t been for becoming friends through Collaboration Project at For Dane, “we wouldn’t have connected in the first place.” Thanks to Westwood, Christ Church has the opportunity to hold weekday services and extend their ministry beyond Sunday mornings for the sake of the community.
3 Manuel Ramminger of Ethical Trade Co. found their business in need of a new storefront. Ethical Trade Co. is a local Madison volunteer-run, non-profit dedicated to eradicating Human Trafficking by partnering with fair trade manufacturers around the world. When Manuel spoke to Jon Anderson at Collaboration Project about their need, Jon suggested he reach out to Common Grace, a recent church merge on 3565 Tulane Ave. Staci Marrese-Wheeler remembers that when Manuel called about needing a space, she and the other pastor of the merge, Pat Siegler, said, “Let’s have the conversation!” Common Grace had hoped that their space would be one that would bring the community together. When they discovered Ethical Trade Co. was in need of a space, they were eager to extend hospitality.
Manuel noted that since being based at the Common Grace space, the business has been encouraged by the support from the Common Grace leadership and congregation. Not only that, but the excitement about Ethical Trade Co. has spilled beyond the walls of Common Grace into the surrounding neighborhood, and this has been noted in the sales! Pat noted that it’s also been key for the Common Grace congregation to have their eyes opened to something beyond their local sphere–that the purchases we make do impact others: “[it’s] eye-opening to see a volunteer non-profit that is evidence of a person’s call to make a difference in systemic injustice.”
Not only does Ethical Trade Co. have partnerships with global manufacturers, but they also are partnered with local businesses, such as one of their coffee beans suppliers, True Coffee Roasters. Common Grace has been thrilled with the upgrade to their coffee and chocolate at Fellowship Time, now that they’re buying super locally from Ethical Trade Co.!
Manuel ended our interview with a reminder that it all points back to Jesus; Ethical Trade Co. seeks to restore the value of what it means to be an image bearer to each and every human being. That’s why Ethical Trade Co. is doing this work. For Manuel and co-founder James Ferret, this is missions work: seeking to eradicate human trafficking by reshaping the purchases people make. And Common Grace has provided the space to make their work possible in Madison. If you want to stop by to see the work in action, Ethical Trade Co. is open every Saturday, 12-4pm or by appointment.
These three stories are compelling examples of local churches thinking creatively and sacrificially about how their building spaces can bless the greater community. What an incredible way to maximize use of space and work together to God’s glory in Dane County!
We invite you to partner with us in telling stories that highlight how God is working in and through the local church by supporting Collaboration Project today.