It is amazing to think that one year ago, we were just starting to use our newly expanded children’s wing and beginning to turn our attention to the Worship Center expansion. Time has flown by and one year later it’s difficult to imagine a Sunday morning without those additional areas! S&B Construction and all of the subcontractors who worked on our project delivered a beautiful building that has met all of the needs we had. Just a couple of weeks ago, a representative from S&B was onsite to look for any warranty issues and thankfully the building is in great shape and, other than a couple of very minor items, everything continues to function well.
By adding onto the building, we knew it was just a matter of time before the parking lot would need to be expanded. Our existing lot does not have enough spaces for the capacity of the building, and it has become increasingly difficult, especially between services, to get everyone safely parked. So, just as we were all getting used to pulling into a parking lot with no construction materials onsite, we will soon begin a new project to expand our parking lot. The project will give us an additional 100 spaces, meaning our parking lot capacity will soon match the capacity of our building. Weather permitting, the lot will be done in the next few weeks with a minimum goal of having gravel down by Easter. The funding for this expansion was included in our 2017 budget and will not impact our building fund or our short-term construction loan. We continue to work toward having the construction loan paid off by the end of this year, two years before it is due.
One other project you can expect to see in the next couple of months is a new playground. The playground was included in our estimate for the children’s wing expansion but, due to some difficulty getting a new layout, was delayed until this year. We now have a design that fits within the new area and our allotted budget.
With both of these projects being outside, there will be construction equipment and materials onsite. We ask that you please do your best to stay out of these areas so that no one is injured.
We are thankful for how the Lord has provided for us in so many ways through the continued prayers and generosity of everyone in the church. As of this week, between pledged and non-pledged donations to the building fund, we have received 86% of our goal. This puts us in great shape as we work towards paying off the construction loan as quickly as possible. As we near the end of our three-year building fund pledge, please continue to give as you are able and be prayerful that we are good stewards of everything God has blessed us with.
As always, if you have any questions about the upcoming projects or the finances of the expansion, please do not hesitate to contact me ( ).
Pastor Chris
