At Life Church, we recognize that the church is not a building but a people. We also understand that to better serve people both within the church and in the community, a building is a powerful tool. It is with great excitement we stand before you today to share with you a status update on our building project. With God’s help, we will be building a new 15,000 sq.ft. facility on the corner of Routes 2&4 and Cox Road in Huntingtown. (Approximately 2.8 miles away) This facility will be built in two phases with the first phase being approximately 10,000 sq.ft..
In April 2017, we began seeking approval for our project with Calvert County Planning and Zoning. This process has been arduous, to say the least. Thankfully, in January we received a unanimous approval by Planning and Zoning, pending our compliance with a few remaining comments from various departments. As of today, all those comments have been addressed and we fully expect our final approval to be issued at any time. Once we have the final approval, we will be able to apply for our building permit.
In October 2017, we presented renderings and floor plans for the new facility. The cost to complete the initial phase of Life Church’s new home is $2,200,000. Nearly $1,000,000 of that total is for site work to prepare for the building. To date, we have invested over $80,000 in costs towards this project including site engineering and building design. We have met with lenders and believe we have a sound plan in place to secure financing.
To receive a loan approval from any lender we will need the necessary down payment. For this project, the down payment required is $575,000. This amount includes a cash reserve for mortgage payments to be held on an account as requested by the bank. We recognize that financial situations are fluid. Interest rates, construction costs, lending markets, cash flow etc… all impact any future approval decision. The amount necessary for the down payment may go up. It could also go down. Upon counsel from of our lender, we believe a solid and responsible goal of $575,000 gives us a high probability of success. While we would like to break ground this year, we will not be able to do so until financing is secured.
To date, we have raised $184,450 or 32% of our goal. From a budgetary standpoint, we are looking for ways to be frugal without compromising our ministry or our core values. Moving forward, all excess funds given by your general tithes and offerings are being allocated to the building fund, in addition to your designated offerings for the building fund. Some individuals and families have already begun making specific offerings above and beyond their tithes to help reach our goal.
If you have been here for any length of time, you know that at Life Church we don’t pass an offering plate. Nor do we come before you weekly and ask for money. We have intentionally tried to remove the stigma that churches are more concerned about money than people. You matter to God and to this church as a person. We believe that if the church is truly loving people and fulfilling the calling of making fully devoted disciples of Jesus Christ, God’s blessings will rest upon us. It is only natural that we, His people, will live wholly surrendered, with open hearts and open hands. We will respond by joyfully giving of all that we have, our time, talents, and treasure to the work of the His Kingdom.
We would like for everyone to prayerfully consider participating in “Building Life Together” our capital campaign. We need everyone to pray. Pray for this project and God’s favor. We also ask that you pray and ask the Lord what he would have you do to see our new home built. We will be sharing some ways you can partner with us monthly in the coming weeks.
Since 2011, Life Church has grown from a small family of thirty to a larger family of a few hundred. We recognize with this growth we need to adjust how we do things. This includes how we function as a church body in the area of church governance. In an effort to provide more transparency and accountability we have updated our constitution and bylaws as well as created a clear method on how one can become a “partner” with Life Church. We will be sharing with you these documents and provide opportunities for those who would like to partner with Life Church a means to do so. Partners will receive annual reports and financial statements.
We want to encourage you to visit our dedicated website for this project. It is building.lifechurchcalvert.com. There you will see our latest information along with our current building fund total.
Please continue to pray for this church. Pray for one another. Pray for your pastors and leaders. Pray for the Campus Development Team. Nothing of any good is accomplished apart from prayer. God is moving in us and through us and deserves all the glory.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to speak with a member of the team or your pastors. We are here to serve. God bless.