A letter I stumbled upon in the school archives
As we begin the next phase in God's provision of facilities for Hill Country Christian School, MAC construction, I find it comforting to reflect on His faithfulness in this regard. Recently, I stumbled upon the article below in the school archives, written in 2004, just before the occupation of the building that currently houses most of our classes and events (as well as the main sanctuary). For reference, the "athletic field" in the article refers to the school's original practice field on Little Elm Street, which was repurposed for HCBC parking after generous donations to the Annual Fund provided the Hatch Road practice field in 2011.
The Lord has been abundantly faithful providing facilities for His ministry at Hill Country Christian School, as we seek to provide an excellent, Christ-centered private school option with high academic standards to more and more families in North Austin. So, we are confident, as we move forward in faith, that He will continue to provide for us. For His glory.
In Christ,
Dr. Jeff Marx
God's Provision of Facilities
Author Unknown
We have seen God's provision of facilities for Hill Country Christian School over and over again. First, because we are a ministry of Hill Country Bible Church, we have access to a 53-acre campus with over $30 million of facilities. What is amazing about these facilities is that God provided the initial 30 acres in 1995 for $330,000. Two years later, the church sold 1.5 acres of this original acreage for $550,000! In essence, God provided the 30 acres for free and put $220,000 in the bank for us!
In 1998, the church was in desperate need of larger worship facilities and undertook a capital campaign with the goal of raising $5 million in pledges to be paid over a three-year timeframe. When the pledges were counted, the people of HCBC pledged $6.7 million, and when the campaign ended three years later, the actual amount received was almost 105% of what was pledged. As a result, the church paid off the note that had been taken out to cover the difference in pledges and construction costs one year after the building was completed. We believe this was God working in the hearts of people at HCBC.
The school also saw God move to provide a school-specific facility need. Our athletic field was at one time a rocky piece of land with an 18-foot drop in elevation from one end to the other. As we investigated what it would cost to level the field and turn it into a usable athletic field, we were looking at an investment in the range of $100,000+. We began to pray that God would provide for this need and He did so through multiple avenues. First, a father in the school who owns an excavation company approached us about allowing him to dump some fill material from a job site he was working. He offered to put the fill on the field and spread it free of charge. This got the drop off down to 9 feet. Several months later, another family approached us who had connections with an excavation company. They had negotiated a discounted rate for the needed fill and leveling work and also made a financial contribution to the school to cover this cost. We now had a level surface that needed topsoil and grass. God provided this need by bringing another donor forward to cover the cost of the fill dirt and by providing a father in the school who happened to be the grounds superintendent of the Austin Country Club. This father put in the grass for us, and we ended up with an athletic field that is one of the nicest playing surfaces in the area. We give God all the glory and praise for this provision.
Finally, we are preparing to occupy a new 120,000 square foot educational building in late February that is nothing short of a miraculous provision. In May 2001, HCBC undertook another capital campaign to raise funds for a 17 million dollar expansion that included the new educational space and an additional 25 acres of land. Through the miraculous working of God at a time when the economy was down, the people of HCBC pledged nearly 20 million dollars! In a few weeks, we will occupy this new space which will bring the school under one roof and provide several facility upgrades for the school, such as a new library, art room, and school office space.
