THE IMPERIAL CINEMA //We have been looking for a new venue for over two years and have had agents show us many possible locations. The majority of these failed to fulfill even the basic requirements of providing a column-free auditorium space for 500+ people in a reasonably accessible location. We have considered using a hotel ballroom or convention facility but the logistics and price make it very difficult, and we would lose the 24/7 style of church which has become so much part of The Vine. In Hong Kong, land and facilities to do this are just not available at affordable prices.
The Imperial Cinema came onto our radar quite early on in the search but we seemed to be greeted with some indifference and an outrageous purchase price. We reluctantly left the situation thinking ’If only…’ However in late 2008, after fruitlessly looking at alternatives we became aware that circumstances had changed and that the building had been leased to a business which could not get the necessary permits to operate. After a long series of negotiations, first with the prospective tenant and then with the owner himself, we were able to secure a reasonable long-term lease (15 years), at a rental price only slightly more than what we are currently paying at Chinachem Plaza. We believe that we have seen God’s leading through this whole process as we have seen one ‘giant’ after another looming into view and then being defeated by God A REAL NEED //
- Our Sunday services currently serve a combined total of 700+ adults in three services, in a space which accommodates 180 people.
- Our current building does not allow a fully-equipped kitchen and this prevents the feeding of our refugees and asylum seekers and the expansion of this service. This also stops any similar ministry feeding and ministering to the less fortunate.
- The children’s ministry and the crèche serve more children than space allow because we do not want to turn children away and their activities are limited due to crowding and space limitation.
- Our facilities can only accommodate 12 mothers and their babies but we have a list of 20+ who have registered to attend this support group.
- Only one ministry can be held on any one given day/evening, limiting the growth of the impact of our work.
- There is currently no room for the development of new ministries.
- The Vine hosts a number of educational and evangelistic concerts and conferences and these currently are a financial strain due to the need of renting external large venues.
- With the growth of the church, we need to employ more staff to keep up with the administration to ensure the smooth running of our work. However this is not possible due to limited office space, so currently our workload is increasing with the same number of staff
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