Update 3/30/07
Brothers and Sisters
It has been a while. Sorry but I have been dragging my feet while we have been working though some very big challenges. Then we were waiting on our joint elders and deacons meeting on March 24. Since then I have been simply covered up in moving, more building details this week and supposedly holding down a job - I just thought I am semi-retired!
We scheduled a congregational meeting on Sunday April 15th at 11:00 AM, during the Bible school hour, for all of the adult classes. Larry, Scott and I will be bringing our church family up to date on our progress and introducing the "Gift in Kind Program" (GIK).
Since we last reported on our blog, we have been though major belt tightening on our new church project. Let us just leave it that we were way over our budget and many things have been revised to get down to something less than a total $2.7 million dollars. That number is the sum of the basic building costs with a number of "options". Not really so much "options" but separate items that we can endeavor to minimize costs in various ways. For example, we have $42,000 budgeted for kitchen items - we already know that the kitchen cabinets and equipment will be much less expensive locally than as budgeted. Another budget line item is for completely new furnishings throughout. We will be using all of our existing office furniture and equipment. Some of the furnishings will need to be new but some not.
The $2.7M total does not include GIK gifts. Our architect is pretty optimistic that we will receive something in the order of $400 to $500 thousand dollars in GIK donations. That will put us in the $2.2 - $2.3M range again including all options. I personally am praying and working hard to be in $2.0 - $2.2 M range when we are all done.
Our site engineer and excavator will be digging holes on the site in the next few days to closer look at the actual foundation footing conditions. Their objective is to closer determine the exact soil conditions so that there are no surprises during construction and that the actual construction costs can be more accurately forecast, read that "minimized". During different times on this project we will probably be viewed as big spenders at other times, penny pinching misers - goes with the territory ;-)
Because of our extended planning completion our "construction start" has been delayed a little while longer. Our site engineer and excavator think that is probably a very good thing - our soils are very poorly draining clay. The ground probably will not be dry enough get on with heavy equipment until later - read that drier.
Presently, we plan to have the construction documents complete in late April - the permitting process and site prep (driveway base, building site prep and parking rough in) complete late May or early June - start concrete work during June - steelwork July - framing in August-September - driveway and parking pavement very late fall and project completion January-February '08. We will probably not be in the new building during the Christmas season of 2007.
Please come to our April 15 congregational meeting for more information.
We all need to be on the same page. This project is a major step forward in the ministry and commitment of First Christian Church, Warsaw. We agreed several years ago to proceed forward on this project by letting our Lord guide us by opening and closing doors. It was amazing at our March 19th elders meeting that several of us have had a maximum price for our project in mind since our "Hearing from God" campaign. We all had arrived at that same $2.7M maximum amount last spring but had not shared the idea among the other elders - kind of made the fuzz on top of my head get curly.
Continue to pray that we are open to His will. The long reaching effects of this tool for His ministry is enough of a "reach" in many ways that all of us recognize that the only way it can be done is by Him and through Him. We need to keep constantly close to Him in prayer, our noses to the grindstone, go though the open doors and discern the closed ones and our checkbooks and pens coming together regularly. To God be the glory!
Larry and Dave
It has been a while. Sorry but I have been dragging my feet while we have been working though some very big challenges. Then we were waiting on our joint elders and deacons meeting on March 24. Since then I have been simply covered up in moving, more building details this week and supposedly holding down a job - I just thought I am semi-retired!
We scheduled a congregational meeting on Sunday April 15th at 11:00 AM, during the Bible school hour, for all of the adult classes. Larry, Scott and I will be bringing our church family up to date on our progress and introducing the "Gift in Kind Program" (GIK).
Since we last reported on our blog, we have been though major belt tightening on our new church project. Let us just leave it that we were way over our budget and many things have been revised to get down to something less than a total $2.7 million dollars. That number is the sum of the basic building costs with a number of "options". Not really so much "options" but separate items that we can endeavor to minimize costs in various ways. For example, we have $42,000 budgeted for kitchen items - we already know that the kitchen cabinets and equipment will be much less expensive locally than as budgeted. Another budget line item is for completely new furnishings throughout. We will be using all of our existing office furniture and equipment. Some of the furnishings will need to be new but some not.
The $2.7M total does not include GIK gifts. Our architect is pretty optimistic that we will receive something in the order of $400 to $500 thousand dollars in GIK donations. That will put us in the $2.2 - $2.3M range again including all options. I personally am praying and working hard to be in $2.0 - $2.2 M range when we are all done.
Our site engineer and excavator will be digging holes on the site in the next few days to closer look at the actual foundation footing conditions. Their objective is to closer determine the exact soil conditions so that there are no surprises during construction and that the actual construction costs can be more accurately forecast, read that "minimized". During different times on this project we will probably be viewed as big spenders at other times, penny pinching misers - goes with the territory ;-)
Because of our extended planning completion our "construction start" has been delayed a little while longer. Our site engineer and excavator think that is probably a very good thing - our soils are very poorly draining clay. The ground probably will not be dry enough get on with heavy equipment until later - read that drier.
Presently, we plan to have the construction documents complete in late April - the permitting process and site prep (driveway base, building site prep and parking rough in) complete late May or early June - start concrete work during June - steelwork July - framing in August-September - driveway and parking pavement very late fall and project completion January-February '08. We will probably not be in the new building during the Christmas season of 2007.
Please come to our April 15 congregational meeting for more information.
We all need to be on the same page. This project is a major step forward in the ministry and commitment of First Christian Church, Warsaw. We agreed several years ago to proceed forward on this project by letting our Lord guide us by opening and closing doors. It was amazing at our March 19th elders meeting that several of us have had a maximum price for our project in mind since our "Hearing from God" campaign. We all had arrived at that same $2.7M maximum amount last spring but had not shared the idea among the other elders - kind of made the fuzz on top of my head get curly.
Continue to pray that we are open to His will. The long reaching effects of this tool for His ministry is enough of a "reach" in many ways that all of us recognize that the only way it can be done is by Him and through Him. We need to keep constantly close to Him in prayer, our noses to the grindstone, go though the open doors and discern the closed ones and our checkbooks and pens coming together regularly. To God be the glory!
Larry and Dave
posted by Jack |
4:34 AM
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