From Colonoscopy to Community

**UPDATE: Now you can see some pictures! See the end of the post.**

There have been a lot of changes in my life and ministry over this summer. Honestly, I cannot remember a more change-filled time personally or professionally. I thought I might highlight some of those changes over the course of the next week or so. Today, I will start with our space.

The Christian Campus House has nice facilities. They aren’t extravagant, but they get the job done. We have a cool old house with a new ministry center connected to the back. The ministry center houses a large multi-purpose room as well as our offices, a kitchen, and bathrooms.

It struck me a couple of months ago that, while our facilities were adequate, we weren’t using them to their full potential. One of our core values at CCH is “community,” yet our facilities did not reflect this. If I could pick a way to describe our facility prior to this summer, I would choose: hospital room. Everything was colorless and industrial. There was not much that was inviting about our place.

Instead of screaming “community!” our space was screaming “colonoscopy!”

And so we set out to change this. We wanted our space to reflect our values.

And so, in our large room, we got some table lamps as well as a few coffee tables and end tables (all donated or snagged at garage sales). We set our couches and chairs up into small circles to foster communication and connection. We asked the art department at our school if we could commission some students to create art for our walls. Now, it feels different. It’s comfortable and inviting. It feels safe, as though a new student could come in and feel at home, finding themselves swallowed up by friends on the journey and conversation.

We slapped up some green paint in our offices and hung pretty curtains. I have a throw rug on the back of one of my couches and a tall floor lamp offering soft light as opposed to harsh fluorescent light. A few whiteboards offer a place for creativity to flow. Ample couch seating invites students to sit and me to nap. It’s good.

And I’ve noticed that my productivity has increased. I feel comfortable in my office, and so do students.

This all sounds so simple, but that’s the genius in it, right? All in all, these changes cost us some time and about $100.

Now, instead of hospitable room, I would describe our space as family room.

Resources well spent, if you ask me. What can you do to your space?

Our entry way.

A look at the south side of our meeting room.

A look at the north side. Notice the cool “art” on the wall. It’s a rug depicting Da Vinci’s “Last Supper.” Got it at a thrift store for $4. Score.

East side of the big room. We are still waiting on a few lamp shades.

This is my office from the entry. Sorry for the darkness.

Here is the view from my desk.