First Christian Church of Medina, Ohio

How does our facility reflect who we are?

The two and a half year building process forced us to concretely (and in concrete,) define who we feel God has called us to be. Many discussions resulted in a list of “Core Values” which we worked to honor in our final design. Our greatest hope is that we were able to reflect the unique character of First Christian in our building.

Our facility must he recognized as a Spiritual Caring Center, a Sacred Place. We must look like a church.
If you drive past the corner of SR 3 and SR 162, particularly at night, you’ll catch a glimpse of our glass cross, built into the exterior wall of our sanctuary. It is seen from outside and lit from within. We hope this reflects what we do. Our sanctuary is surrounded, embraced, by all the other ministry space in the building. We hope this reflects that our worship is central and core. Our Sanctuary incorporates elements of light, stone, wood and glass, all combining to give a sense of a holy and lofty space. We seek to make it a place where spirits can be lifted and lives can be changed.

It must be built with a concern for the environment.
From the outset, we chose an architect who advocated incorporating earth friendly features. The building is oriented with a southern exposure, to reduce energy costs for heating and cooling. It is situated to protect Wetland areas and use them to provide stormwater purification. The parallel trusses in the sanctuary are composed of laminated timbers, which makes old growth timber unnecessary. Lastly, most of the woodwork throughout the interior is locally harvested, and is No. 2 or No. 3 grade, which carries high imperfections and is frequently discarded (Sycamore, Sassafras, Locust). We have attempted to he good stewards of God’s earthly resources in all aspects of our building project.

We must be accessible to any person of different physical abilities.
Our idea behind the building layout is that an adult could park their car, attend Sunday School and worship, visit the library and take care of any office business without encountering any steps. The building reflects this. The lower level of the building has outside access from the lower parking lot, and contains all children and youth Sunday School rooms and the main dining room. In addition, a vertical lift operates between the two levels so that people of restricted physical movement can easily go from upper to lower level for coffee hours, pot luck dinners, etc.

It must be built with the purpose of making it available for the community.
Our- Adult Library provides an excellent meeting place for Community Adult Enrichment Classes. We provide space for the Wellness Ministry, offering low-cost professional counseling to the community. We installed a shower in the lower Men’s restroom so that we could house Operation HOMES and youth Mission Trips. We seek to be of service to the community around us.

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:6

Last modified: 10/10/06

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