Joel Committe Recommendation
Executive Summary
As the first step in St. Paul’s long-range planning process our Church Council appointed eight members to serve on a Joel Committee (late 2005). Joel Chapter 2 speaks of young men seeing visions and old men dreaming dreams. The St. Paul’s Joel Committee is a diverse group of men and women, respected leaders, commissioned for dreaming and visioning regarding a specific issue. They were asked to review viable options and recommend a course of action regarding our facility needs. Through the years, a variety of facility development ideas have been discussed at St. Paul’s. With potential changes in the surrounding community, we wanted to review our options and develop a plan for moving forward.
To move the process forward, we engaged Church Planner Darrel LeBaron, from Station 19 in Minneapolis, to guide us through a process that started with our Vision to Serve People. We looked at our membership and attendance patterns; studied our space for worship, fellowship, education, and administration; and looked at issues like accessibility, parking, and building efficiency. We learned that while community population and church membership have steadily grown, our worship attendance has been flat for 40 years. We have come to believe that one of the significant factors may be our facilities.
The best feature of our building is the sanctuary--it is not only beautiful but has capacity for growth—but in comparison; the rest of the building is “under-built”. We don’t have enough space for fellowship, education, or administration. We baptized 132 children in the last three years, but our children’s room has capacity for only ten kids. We have 13 sets of stairs in the building and our stairs are difficult for many aging members. We only own about 50% of the parking we use, and we must borrow the other 50% from our neighbors. Our building clearly lacks curb appeal from Millard Avenue.
Based on its in-depth assessment, the Joel Committee recommends that we proceed with a very significant facility renovation expansion project--specifically, that we take down the old sanctuary and the old fellowship hall and build a new facility between the existing Sanctuary and Millard Avenue. It would include a new Fellowship Hall and kitchen on the same level as the Sanctuary to serve a variety of purposes – some churches call them a Family Life Center. The renovation would include a two-story education facility with adequate education space for all. It is our hope to preserve some of the appearance of the “old church” on the corner (perhaps a bell tower and steeple on Millard Avenue). We want to add lighting and windows so people can see vital activity as they pass by.
We have made some very preliminary and rough cost projections. Assuming 20,000 square feet at $120/sq. ft, the raw cost of new construction will be $2.4 million. Adding 20% for demolition/remodeling, contingency of 10%, 15% for fees and furnishings for a total projected cost of $3.6 million. We also have $1 million of debt remaining from the sanctuary project in 2004. Initially, we thought it best to pay down the debt, but given the projected increases in construction costs, it makes more sense to proceed with the project now. The key to our success will be broad participation with giving.
In a broadly supported capital campaign, we can expect to raise 1½ to 3 times our church’s operating budget. Assuming a figure in the middle of that range, we would raise $1.6 million in a capital campaign. We would need to borrow somewhere around $3 million, well within the acceptable guidelines for church loans. If we are serious about offering top quality ministry with youth and children, then we need to put our financial resources to this use. A detailed financial summary is available.
The Joel Committee proposes that we hold a series of congregation and home meetings to present the recommendations and listen to member input. The most aggressive project timeline has a Capital Appeal taking place within the next year, with building design underway simultaneously. Construction could start in spring 2007, with occupancy in summer 2008. (If the congregation chooses to move at a slower pace, that is certainly possible). Over the next 5 to 10 years, the Committee recommends that we put together a strategy to acquire nearby properties as they become available to help meet long -range parking needs and other long-range building possibilities. (A more in-depth six-page question and answer packet is available from the church office and elsewhere on the St. Paul’s website.)