Small stake centers. Why?

[rstephenson]

Why did the church build small stake centers? The aren't enough classrooms and they have small gyms.
So if we want to do a large activity or use a gym for athletics we need to try and borrow from time from another stake that has a normal sized stake center.
All well and good until you are the stake with the small gym and you are now the stake that gets the leftover time slots.

[lajackson]

Why did the church build small stake centers?

I am not certain, but I would suspicion that is has to do with conserving funds. When ours was built a few years ago, we got a meetinghouse large enough for the biggest of the wards that would meet there, and then they tacked on some stake offices. It wasn't even the largest ward in the stake, so we got the second largest meetinghouse they were constructing at the time.

Because of that we have never had the entire stake together since for stake conference, except for one time that the visiting general authority told us to have the FM Group rent a facility big enough that he could look the entire stake membership in the eye on Sunday morning. And the rest we webcast.

But if you only try to do that two days out of the year, do you need a facility that sits quietly for the other 363 days? Apparently someone thought not.

[rstephenson]

I'm sure it's a cost saving matter. It's just frustrating when you're the outcast with the small building and getting the scraps that fall on the floor.

[lajackson]

The rooms in most meetinghouses have been small for over 30 years. One meetinghouse in a former stake has a bishops office large enough to squeeze in about six folks at most.

And I know of a branch that needs to reach regular attendance of 70 to request an expansion according to policy. But if they put 70 into the current facility for sacrament meeting, the fire marshal will shut them down for overcrowding. I could tell you some real stories from over the past 40 years, but then I wouldn't get to post much any longer.

[RLLawrence4]

Back in 1976 the Camarillo California Stake was formed. Within a few years the Church built a new Stake Center. It was a large building, with a pipe organ, a large gym, multi purpose room. During Stake Conference the entire stake at the time could listen at the Stake Center. As the Stake grew we ended up having two sessions of Stake Conference. The grounds for this Stake Center included a large park, with a baseball field. The Cub Scouts for the area would use this space for the yearly Day Camp. Stake Primary held events there. The Stake and Wards held weekend parties on the park area. Back when this stake center was built the members gave additional funds and assisted with the building project. The promise was always held that in time the members in Oxnard California would eventually have a Stake Center of their own.

As the Stake grew into 12 or 14 units the idea was to split the stake. In the mid 1980's the members in the less economically advantaged city of Oxnard California were promised a new Stake Center. All of us envisioned the same kind of building and grounds that we had worked so hard to build just ten years earlier in the city of Camarillo. Most families had donated money and time to build the Stake Center in Camarillo. We all figured that the same would happen from the members in Camarillo for our new building. Especially since we were still all members of the same Stake.

Times had changes I suppose. As the new building, instead of having its own park and private outdoor facilities, was built next to a park and that part of the project was not off the table so to speak. The new building was smaller than the building in Camarillo, although Oxnard had more members and more wards. Many in Oxnard felt as though we helped Camarillo build their magnificent building along with donating money for the Building and it turns out few families in Camarillo returned the favor. In Oxnard we were promised a pipe organ similar is design to the one in the Camarillo Building. The Church Building Department told us that the money for a Pipe Organ could go to help build buildings in other areas. Members in Oxnard raised additional funds to pay for the pipe organ. We ended up with one that was beautiful, although not as large as the one in Camarillo.

Members felt that promises were made and not kept. I realize these are first world problems. The money could be better spent in other parts of the world. As it is the Oxnard Stake never became a thing. The members are all still part of the Camarillo Stake. Many of the old timers that watched this transpire remember the words from General Authorities that had visited and gave words of advice. The area started to lose members, either from moving away of leaving altogether. As the Stake declined the words of advice were that growth will not happen until both the members of Oxnard and Camarillo came together as Brothers and Sisters in the Gospel, working together.