April 29, 2021
What a climb up mulch mountain. I just finished extracting the last shreds of mulch out of my boots. I am now ready to write.

I imagine that if I were in your shoes I might be feeling a little antsy, perplexed or frustrated about the lack of specific communication about the the progress of the building. This update will not give you what you want - a floor plan, or an exact timeline for groundbreaking, or the particulars about the financial terms of the loan. None of those have been finalized. I want to give you an overview of all the work that has been done to move us toward those exciting answers. 

Since the completion of the commitment phase of the Faith Forward campaign in December (if you have not made a commitment yet and want to be part of this amazing project, you may do so here), we have been in the enviable position of having received almost 40% more than our targeted goal (our goal of 3.25M in commitments was exceeded by 1.25M for a total of 4.5M in commitments). This is an incredible gift from the God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills and everything else (Psalm 50:10), as well as the collective gifts from generous, obedient stewards. Thank you!

The result of this happy blessing has been to reconsider the proposed phases of our master plan (3 phases) in order to build most of phases 1 and 2 during this first construction phase. This has taken time and lots of effort to reconsider. Ronda Hobart has led these efforts with the building committee, our construction company (O’Brien Robinson), and our architect (M+A architects). The timing was affected by COVID issues on the part of our partners, which delayed the progress of these newly refashioned options. We are still in the process of making final decisions, but there are some very exciting ideas being considered.

Meanwhile the finance committee, led by Shawn Vadala, has been busy doing their very best to determine how much we should borrow based on our desire to build a fantastic tool for worship and mission (the building) without being “church poor.” This has included multiple conversations with multiple banks and other lending institutions to find the best overall terms for our church, as well as lots of discussion about what we should spend and borrow. This too has taken plenty of time and effort. 

Finally, the elders are tasked with making the decisions on these matters in order to present them to you, the congregation. We have been discussing all of this at every monthly Session meeting. At our last meeting on April 7th, we spent a couple hours with Ronda, Shawn and Lisa Rathburn (the chair of the building steering committee) to hear updates and then discuss the various options in front of us. We have another Session meeting scheduled on May 5th where we will continue the conversation. Please pray for wisdom and clarity from the Lord. 

This is a very exciting time. Hang in there, be patient, and we will give you concrete updates as soon as we can. If you have any questions, please reach out!

Climbing the mountain together,
Pastor David

Visit our Faith. Forward. page to stay updated on the Building in progress.
Worship: 6600 E Dublin Granville Road (NAMS) New Albany, OH 43054
Office: 6648 Walnut Street Suite 100, New Albany, OH 43054 | 614.933.9680