What are we Doing?
After nearly 20 years in our current location, we’ve identified several areas of improvement and expansion that are needed to enhance safety and meet the needs of a changing culture. We hosted a special church family meeting on May 21, 2023 to share these needs in detail, answer questions, and explain how you can give toward these projects. The full video of this hour-long meeting is available below.
What’s the Process?
It is our long-standing policy to not go into debt for building projects. This means we do not sign any contracts or begin any work until all necessary funds are in hand to pay for new construction in cash, trusting the Lord’s timing and provision for every need. Work on each of the projects below will only begin as gifts come in to the building fund.
Another tradition when Grace Church builds is the “faith promise.” This is an opportunity for each household to prayerfully consider what they might give over the next 36 months, write down that number, and anonymously place it a giving box without compulsion or manipulation. Through this mechanism, the elders get a sense of how the Lord is at work in the hearts of our church family and allow that to direct our timeline. Faith Promise cards are available throughout the building, or you can download a printable card if you’d like to mail in your support.
The faith promise is completely between you and the Lord. We use the total amounts promised as a guide to our overall planning, but this is only an estimate since no actual work begins until funds have been given. This means we have no set timeline for the projects below and will continue to rely on God’s provision at each step along the way.
What Needs to be Done?
We have identified four initial projects based on issues of safety, capacity, family needs, and modernization. The total for these four projects is $6.3 million. The list below is chronological — each project will begin in order as gifts come in to the building fund.
Children’s Area
Overview
Cost: $500,000
Urgent updates to security systems and traffic flow for the safety and convenience of our young families.
Status
Underway
This phase of our project has been funded and construction work is now in progress.
Details
Keeping our children safe has become a more pressing concern in recent years. Strategies and tools for doing so have changed significantly since our children’s area was built, and it’s time to update.
There are currently seven different entrances into our children’s area, and two different places where adults regularly pass through on their way upstairs. These will be combined and eliminated behind secure access points.
Upgraded locks, cameras, glass, and fencing will work together with the new construction to provide the safest possible environment for our little ones.
The Loft
Overview
Cost: $1,500,000
Utilize unfinished space to create a large gathering room for meals, seminars, and community events.
Status
Presented
The Grace Church family have been informed of the need for this project and are considering their support.
Details
Our facility currently lacks an ideal meeting space for gatherings of two to three hundred people like seminars and dinners. This project will finish out unused space above the offices to provide such a room.
This space will also be used for hosting outside organizations who often ask to use our facility for fundraisers and banquets. Having a dedicated space will reduce wear on our auditorium and the burden placed on our building team.
Finally, this space will also provide important overflow seating to be used while our main worship space is under construction.
The Commons
Overview
Cost: $1,500,000
Create a new area downstairs for our church family to connect, grow, and serve together throughout the week.
Status
Presented
The Grace Church family have been informed of the need for this project and are considering their support
Details
The large grassy area south of the Main Hall has always been reserved for future development. We believe it’s time to create a large, comfortable meeting area currently missing from our facility.
Spacious design and a variety of seating options will be available on Sundays and throughout the week to encourage quiet conversations, friendly fellowship, and meeting together to serve.
Our existing Dining Room will be opened up and expanded to the east to better accommodate larger ministry needs.
Worship Space
Overview
Cost: $4,000,000
Renovate our multipurpose auditorium into a permanent worship space with additional seating.
Status
Presented
The Grace Church family have been informed of the need for this project and are considering their support.
Details
The auditorium where we gather every Sunday morning was not designed to be a permanent worship facility. It was originally intended to be a multipurpose gymnasium with a future auditorium to be built next door.
As the years have passed and the prospect of a new auditorium becomes more expensive, the elders believe that a renovation of our existing space into a dedicated worship facility is the best option. In this renovation, the aging basketball flooring and gym lights will be replaced with materials more suitable for the room’s purpose.
Additional seating will be added through the construction of a wraparound balcony, bringing the total capacity past 1200 people. Access to the new balcony will be possible from the upstairs classrooms through a rooftop walkway or by stairs from the floor below.
The balcony photos shown here are from a church in Oklahoma who underwent a virtually identical renovation from basketball gym to worship space with effective results. They represent the general direction of our remodel, as well.
How Do I Get Involved?
First, we appreciate your prayers and attention to the Lord’s leading as we make these changes together. To add your commitment to our Faith Promise total, please fill out an anonymous card and place it in any offering box located throughout the building. You can also download a printable Faith Promise card and submit it by mail. When you’re ready to give, you can designate any gift placed in an offering box as being for the building fund. Doing so will directly help fund the next project on the list, and your gift will be treated with the same anonymity as all giving at Grace Church. You can also click here to give online toward the building fund at any time.