Even if we put aside 10% (a significant portion!) of our regular annual budget, it would take us about 14 – 15 years to save enough money to accomplish our plan if costs remained the same. But they won’t! With inflation and rising building costs, each day that passes increases the price tag of any project we’d undertake, and a pledge campaign would be inevitable. Through this year of prayer and planning, we believe that we have the right plan and that the time is now to solve these physical facility “aging” issues and allow us to move forward to fulfill the purpose of our church.

While our primary goal is to fully fund this project through generous and worshipful giving, our Elder and Trustee Boards currently plan to utilize reasonable debt to complete the reroofing phase of the project. This isn’t about growing bigger, but about functioning better – creating secure, accessible, and hospitable spaces for fellowship and gathering, and reaching our community’s unchurched families with welcoming spaces and programs where they can connect with Jesus. We’ve successfully used strategic borrowing in the past to construct our education/preschool wing, and we saw God provide in remarkable ways to retire that debt much earlier than planned. We believe that moving forward in faith sometimes means being willing to make prudent financial decisions that enable us to better serve families and the next generation today while maintaining responsibility for tomorrow. We’re committed to careful stewardship, minimizing debt wherever possible, and ensuring that any potential borrowing would be manageable within our church’s financial capacity. Ultimately, our goal is to create facilities that best serve our congregation and community while faithfully stewarding the resources God has entrusted to us.

We plan to begin coordinated planning with an architect/engineering team in early 2026. You could see some of the year one projects begin construction in the summer of 2026. Projects will begin and be completed within the full timeline of the five-year Grace ReNewed campaign. You will hopefully get use to seeing “Pardon Our Dust” signs and we appreciate your patience and anticipation as we make some big changes and improvements !

If we do not receive sufficient commitments, we will prayerfully and considerately evaluate whether to adjust the project timeline, scope, or funding plan. We will prioritize the financial strength and stability of the church.

We recognize that a church is at its foundation much more than a building. It is founded first on Christ and on reaching out to our mission field to those who don’t know Christ. Pastoral staff are a key part of the plan to reach others, also supported with the building as a key part. The two key parts, however, use very different funding mechanisms. The Grace ReNewed campaign will utilize one-time funds to execute the projects. Those funds are no longer required once the project is complete. Creating and funding pastoral staff positions require recurrent funds that continue to be needed annually for as long as you wish to have that position. For most churches and most positions, that typically means forever. For the reason of the key difference between one-time funds and recurrent funds, the Grace ReNewed campaign cannot be used to fund pastoral staff positions.

Although the Grace ReNewed campaign is instrumental to our future plans as a church, maintaining regular giving is critically important. We ask that you make a commitment to the building without decreasing your regular giving, or as some would say “above and beyond” your regular giving."