Ready…Set…Grow! Places to Call Home

A Church is not a Building. A Church is the people.

Good Shepherd was a congregation long before it had a permanent church building to call home.

Before a single brick was laid for the Madison Campus, Good Shepherd members filled every corner of the Peterson Parsonage for Bible Studies, Sunday School, Council meetings and Worship.

It was home.

Decades later, Good Shepherd members would spend hours before and after worship services loading and unloading all the chairs, instruments and equipment needed to turn Badger Ridge into Good Shepherd’s place of worship and fellowship. There was no Verona Campus building – just a cornfield at that time – but there was a Verona Good Shepherd congregation.

A Church is not a building. A Church is the people.

And yet, we, the people of Good Shepherd have been entrusted as stewards of not one but two campuses.

They are where we worship together each week.

And thanks to the generosity of this congregation – they are places that allow people to experience and express God’s abundant gifts in countless ways.

Investments big and small make these experiences possible in ways you might not even notice – and maybe that’s the point.

• When hundreds gathered tightly together for the affirmation of baptism service, people were not thinking about the air handler that ensured a comfortable temperature.
• As a new family pulls into a clearly marked and well-maintained parking lot, they are not thinking about the potholes they did not run over on their way into church.
• High Schoolers hanging out in the newly revamped youth room might not be able to put a finger on why they feel “at home” in the Verona Basement – they just know it is a place they want to be.
• An Electronic Road Sign boldly proclaims welcome to all people – answering the question of “am I welcome at that church?” before they even walk through the door
• A beautiful instrumental is played by the bell choir at Madison Campus – free from the deluge of the rainstorm above thanks to the newly installed roof.
• The kindergarteners are spending their time jumping, clapping, and signing as loud as they want to – instead of trying to find a place to make a joyful noise

Every single day of the week – from morning to night – amazing things are happening at our campuses in Madison and Verona. Though these buildings are not what makes us a congregation – they are places we call home. Places where we welcome, forgive, and serve – today, tomorrow, and God-willing, for decades to come. Thank you for your generosity that makes such stewardship possible.