One of the biggest challenges we have had at NewPointe is to park the hundreds of cars that come in a short period of time. Anytime you have several hundred cars arriving at a location in a 15-20 minute time frame you have the potential for chaos.
That is why we have a parking ministry. This group of volunteers is dedicated to making the traffic flow and not jam up. Many hours of thinking and preparation have gone in to this area of the church. We have talked to other churches and people that deal with traffic and came up with a system for parking cars and helping people have a great experience.
Since opening day in December of 2006 we have made adjustments and changes to better accommodate the many people coming and going each week. This group of 20 some volunteers have endured bad weather and never complained.
I want to personally thank each member of the parking ministry for their patience, dedication and commitment. These guys are the best! They try hard to make every ones experience enjoyable. They get here early and stay late. If they would not be there for one week we would all feel the effects. I can’t express how important their ministry is.
Currently we have two teams that alternate every other month. We are looking to form a third team so that each team will serve every three months. That gives these guys two months to rest and get involved in other ministries or be with their families for church. If you would like to volunteer for this important ministry please contact me at the church office. There are openings for 8-10 more people.
Here are some helpful tips for parking; spread the word:
1. Try to arrive a little early, usually 20-30 minutes before the service is ideal
2. Please follow the instructions of the parking team. They are in communication with each other and know where the open spaces are. They are also trying to keep traffic moving. A 30 second delay at the peak time will cause traffic to back up on Rt. 39.
3. They fill the North (front) parking lot first. When that lot is full, all cars go to the South lot. We do this to avoid confusion.
4. Handicap parking is available on both sides of the building. The South entrance has sliding automatic doors that are more convenient for wheelchairs. It is the same distance to the auditorium from both sides.
5. If you are a volunteer arriving early (before 8:30) please park on the East side of the building or farther away from the building on the south side, along the edge of the lot. If you park in the middle of one of the lots it disrupts the flow of traffic (they have to park around you). That slows down the parking process.
6. Motorcycles should park on the East (Dover) side of the building as well. We want motorcycles on the concrete. There are concrete spaces that will be reserved for motorcycles. That will keep our asphalt in better shape.
7. Please drive slowly when coming up the hill and through the lots. There are lots of people walking to and from their cars. It is also safer the the parking team.
8. You can drop people off on either side of the building. It is best to drop off on the South (Back) side of the building because of easier access (Auto Doors) and the larger parking lot.
9. If you have special needs the Parking team will try to accommodate you. Simply role down your window and explain your situation. They may ask you to pull out of the flow of traffic to take care of your need.
10. Have patience, remember that we have new people coming every week and we want their experience to be great. The parking team is here to serve everyone that drives onto this campus.
If anyone would like to talk with me about the parking I would love to hear your feedback. Our aim is to constantly be improving every area of ministry as best we can. We want to remove any distractions like a bad parking experience so that people will want to come back. We can only do that if we all work together.
I encourage you to take the time to thank the parking attendants
Chad, All I can say is ditto to appreciating these great people that are so dedicated to this ministry. They stood out there during the cold and wind and just smiled. Ted and I were commented on how we pray that they get a special blessing for their service.
T
“were commented”? Anyway, you know what I mean.