Francis Chan's church, Cornerstone Simi Valley, has been busting at the seems for years now. They were planning on building a huge building (obviously, right?), but decided instead, as a matter of stewardship, to build an amphitheater, a community park, office space for Children's Hunger Fun, and a Water Treatment Plant!

Why are they doing all this? The building project website says this:

"The idea of building an outdoor sanctuary rather than an auditorium sprung from a desire to save millions of dollars.  It came from a belief that God would rather we spend that money in other ways.  It comes from a thought that God would receive more glory from seeing His children sacrifice for others- namely, those around the world who lack basic necessities.  The idea then evolved into developing the property into more of a park-like setting that could be enjoyed by the church and community throughout the week.  In this way, we would be giving to our community as well as to the needy around the world."

Here's a video that shows more of their heart behind the project (they say some pretty challenging things):

"It is a church building campaign that saves money and creates a place that prioritizes serving the people outside of their church rather than self-serving their own needs." - Kent Shaffer (thnku Church Relevance!)

What do you think of this? The video says some interesting/controversial things? What do you agree with? What do you disagree with?