Proposed Building Expansion
UPDATED THURSDAY, MAY 1.
Dear Christ Community Church,
Your Session would like to thank our church family for your continued prayers and patience, as we have sought the Lord’s direction for our building project.Your thoughtful input has prompted our deferral of the building of the Max Center, focusing on the more urgent need to create space for Christian Education, and for hospitality and congregational fellowship. In response, the Session is pursuing the following goals:
- Expand/enhance the Welcome/Gathering Area (WGA) for the church entrance, including new women’s and men’s restrooms
- Upgrade and relocate our Student Center, adjacent to the new WGA.
- Relocate staff offices; converting current offices to additional classrooms.
- Build a covered canopy at the church entrance, if funding allows.
Initial meetings with builders disclosed higher than expected construction costs; and the work required to align those expenses with fundraising projections requires an adjustment of our original timeline.
Those discussions also raised practical building code questions about fire suppression measures and a reconsideration of the wisdom of our original plan for the order of the work. Accordingly, we have decided to heed the advice of our new contractor and postpone the renovation of the Kids’ Wing until after the WGA expansion. Clearly, we are learning that flexibility is par for the course in making building improvements. One very welcome outcome is that we are confident that these adjustments will still permit us to offer Equip classes on Sunday mornings this fall. We hope to be able to provide an updated building plan with an updated timeline by July 31st.
Beloved, please pray with and for us as we recall the wisdom of James, our Lord’s brother: “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will [do such and such],’ yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that’” (James 4:13-15).
Sincerely,
The Session of Christ Community Church
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UPDATED Q&A
QUESTION #1
By not doing the Max Center, where or when will the Youth Room be updated since it was originally attached to the Max Center?
Thank you for your interest and concern in the Student Ministry, particularly since one of the objectives of our church addition is to provide an enhanced area for our students. In our current plan to enlarge our Welcome/Gathering Area (WGA), our desire is also to either upgrade the current Youth Room or construct a new Youth Room. We will be working with architects and contractors to determine which would be most effective, as we seek to be faithful stewards of our congregation’s generous investment in enhancing our facilities for Kingdom work. Whichever approach we end up taking, the Youth Room would be adjacent to and have easy entry from the enlarged WGA, affording additional gathering space for our students. This would reflect our heightened interest in our Student Ministry.
QUESTION #2
Have we considered that our current sanctuary meets the needs of both a gym and fellowship hall, especially with the already connected kitchen? Have we considered focusing on a more dedicated worship designed space in our plans?
Your two-part question and perspective actually support the decision to change our addition focus from the Max Center to the WGA. Our long-term objective is to provide a new sanctuary for the worship of our Lord. However, cost restraints prevent new sanctuary construction at this time. Only after the future growth of our congregation could we financially support that addition. Because of our current, crowded entry space, enlarging the WGA would help provide for our pressing needs and future growth. As a Session, we agree with you that our current sanctuary, well-placed to the kitchen, would be an excellent space to meet the needs of a Max Center/Fellowship Hall in the future. We are seeking to incorporate this idea into the larger updated plan.
This page will continue to be a place where information is shared and questions are answered. Please feel free to continue asking questions regarding the building process, and we will continue to regularly post a Q&A.