"So, I hear you are a pastor" he says. "That's right. I'm the pastor at Ingleside," I reply.

"Where is that church located?" he asks.

"On Wimbish Road, just off Riverside Drive. Perhaps you have seen it. It's a beautiful white brick building nestled among the pines."

"Yes, I have seen it. Is that a Baptist church?"

"Sure is."

"How big is it? I hear it's really growing."

"Well, we have more than 2,500 members now. On a typical weekend about 1,600 or 1,700 folks will be there. On Easter Sunday, though, more than 2,700 showed up."

"Wow! How do you get them all in that building? It doesn't look that big from the road."

"On Easter Sunday we met under a big tent. But, usually we have four services."

"Every weekend?"

"Yep. Take your pick: 6:00 on Saturday night or 10 'til 9:00, 10:00, or 11:10 on Sunday morning. Each one is the same."

"So, is it your church that's doing all that construction work on Wimbish Road?"

"Yes, we're in the process of building a new worship center. It will seat about 1,650 people."

"I bet that will cost a lot."

"Well, based on the "guaranteed max" price we've received from our contractor, we are working with an overall project budget of approximately $16.4 million, furnishings and all."

"How long will it take to build?"

"Right now the contractor tells us to expect completion around February 2004."

"Well, when it's built do you plan to have just one worship service?"

"We hope not. We are planning to have three services every weekend. Maybe one at 9:00 and another at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday morning. And, we plan to continue our Saturday night service."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. We believe there are folks in our community who can't come on Sunday morning but are excited about the opportunity to come on Saturday night."

"I might even come on Saturday night."

"Great! I look forward to seeing you there!"

Your Pastor and Friend,

Tim McCoy

TMcCoy@Ingleside.org