Our discernment process

In consultation with Elders and church leadership, a capital campaign committee was formed. This group has been hard at work gathering information from ministry leaders, meeting with consultants, organizing our listening sessions, and dreaming together about what could be.

One of the first questions we asked is “how big?” We knew that something needed to be done, but how much would be required? The longer we sat with this question and the closer we looked at our needs, the more we realized that our building is not adequately supporting the ministry contained inside.  Not only are deferred maintenance projects accumulating, ministries are hindered by lack of physical space and the energy of our leaders is being wasted on unnecessary projects in attempt to work around the constraints of our building.

Rather than dozens of small projects to fix the dozens of small needs, we found wisdom in developing a single unified plan. This would allow us to explore an organized reconfiguration of space that would unify ministries geographically, streamline workflows for staff during the week, and create casual spaces for organic ministry.

A unified project would allow us to keep our mission the main focus, allow us to methodically address our needs, and create something sustainable that will bless the church and the community for generations to come. The committee found consensus on this concept from Elders, staff, and lay leadership. 

FAQs

How much will the project cost? It is too soon to know. A large scale project is very hard to estimate at the conceptual design stage. As we narrow in from a conceptual design to an actual architectural plan we will have a better idea of the total cost. The step of affirmation on April 28th will allow our committee to do the necessary research to bring an estimated cost to the congregation. We will know the total cost before beginning the capital campaign fundraising, so donors can make meaningful donations to the total goal amount.

Will the church take on a new mortgage? Ultimately, the campaign committee in consultation with staff and elders will discern the scale of the building project based on the money pledged by November 17th. If the money raised is significantly less than the amount needed, then we will revisit the scope and scale to build something in proportion with the amount of money raised. Our campaign committee is committed to being good stewards of your financial donations and will not send the church into debt that hinders ministry, however we cannot say with 100% certainty that we will not take on any debt. Large building projects might require loans to pay certain up-front costs. If we do require a mortgage, there will be time for congregational feedback and a formal vote according to our bylaws.

What is the scope/scale of this project? Ultimately, the scope of what we can accomplish really depends on the generosity of the congregation. Our goal is not to significantly expand the foot-print of our current building or to move to a different location. Rather the focus is on refreshing and reconfiguring the current spaces to better support the ministry inside and outside our church.

Why are we focusing on the building at all? Doesn’t ministry happen outside our walls?  Ministry happens both inside and outside of 9 Hart Street! Just as a body breathes in and out, so the body of Christ is both gathered and sent. Our building provides an important function as we gather both believers and those who are being drawn to the Lord for worship, discipleship, and community. As we are gathered, we are also sent to live out the gospel where we live, learn, work, and play. Additionally, our building is used for outreach and to bless the community through a variety of means, including Night to Shine, the REAL program (summer program for at-risk youth), Alcoholics Anonymous, community sports, Vacation Bible School, and more.

We also want to be good stewards of the building already given to us by maintaining it so it is able to serve our church and our community for generations to come.

As part of our commitment to serving a gospel movement both inside and outside our walls, we are considering whether there is an external mission partner who would benefit from receiving 10% of the funds we raise toward our campaign. Richard Wallace, our associate pastor overseeing outreach ministries is leading a team to identify the best ministry to partner with. If you are interested in joining our outreach team, please reach out to him!

How will we hold church services during construction? Because of the hard work and generous donations of the previous capital campaign in 2000, we have a beautiful gym and kitchen that would allow us to continue to hold worship services (in an air conditioned space!) temporarily while the sanctuary is being worked on. 

Can we phase the building project? Good question! It has become clear that some of our needed improvements require that we have a master plan (for example, as we replace our boilers, we need to reconfigure them to work in our future spaces). However, whether or not we will need to phase the building project based on this master plan will become more clear as we assess structural and code requirements, obtain a cost estimate, and begin fundraising. On the one hand, there are many obvious benefits to being able to take on the whole project now, including potential cost savings in quantity and more quickly addressing the needs identified by our congregation. On the other hand, we need to work within our financial means and may need to prioritize based on our fundraising. Let’s see what the Lord enables us to do through our congregational giving! Once designed, construction will happen in phases as makes logistical sense (for example: children’s spaces first, then fellowship/offices/classrooms, then sanctuary).

What about the old debt? The old debt is on track to be paid off in the next 1-2 years (if not earlier), out of our regular operating expenses and would not influence or impact this capital campaign.