Building Committee Update 2/1/09

Building Committee Update

The Building Committee continues to meet, absorb great amounts of information and act to responsibly continue the job set before us. Much was accomplished in 2008; much is left to do. As we move forward, we try to stay focused on our most important, common purpose: to reach others with the good news of Jesus Christ. HOW we best do that is often where the consensus ends…or, put another way, ‘the devil is in the details’!! Students of John Wesley might recall the ‘high church/low church’ tension that was constant throughout his ministry. We can’t help but note the parallels between that and our present-day challenge of meeting both contemporary and traditional congregational needs in a new building. (Prayers needed here!) In explaining this in our most recent Building Committee meeting, Brian Sommers wisely concluded that this challenge is perfectly consistent with the history of the Methodist Church; something to be accepted and celebrated instead of resolved. It’s just who we are, and it seems to work just fine. Thanks, Brian, we need to hear that!

Other milestones worth mentioning from our January meeting:

Pete Hall, vice president of operations for Curry Real Estate reported that he has shown our property to three prospective buyers and continues to aggressively market it through historically successful channels. However, in this market it’s going to take just the right buyer to give us the price we need in the time frame we need. We can but hope! (Prayers needed here.)
Ron Cowger provided a thorough update on infrastructure plans (grading, roads, sewers, detention and retention ponds, water, gas and electric, communication with the city of Liberty, MODoT, etc.) Ron has done a stellar job of using his talents to carefully determine the most cost-effective ways to successfully prepare our site for both Phase I and future phases. It’s a fact that a lot of money will have to be spent before we can even begin a new building. We continue to search for an entity that might want to occupy part of the property we own to help defray this cost, but so far none of the avenues pursued have led to a successful conclusion. (Prayers needed here!)
Ryan Coffey and Mark Stockton reported on their exhaustive research in comparing the final three construction companies vying for our project. Their expertise and doggedness in sorting through apples and oranges to get a true comparison of the three bids resulted in a recommendation that the Building Committee could confidently forward to our Board of Trustees for consideration. If selected, we would be partnering with a firm that has built 70 churches locally, has been in business 55 years and is willing to waive pre-construction fees – a huge coup. Furthermore, Ryan was able to negotiate cost savings below their initial offer. (Prayers of thanks here for Ryan and Mark!)
Spencer Fields gave a review of the visioning sub-group meeting with conference representative Bob Farr, in which he brought us down to earth a bit regarding how much our church can actually afford to build, especially if our current property does not sell quickly. Spencer is forming a financial sub-group to ascertain new real numbers for our architect and committee to work with going forward, and recommendations of how we might raise the money needed. (Prayers needed here.) Please contact Spencer Fields if you have particular expertise in the financial or banking sector and desire to serve on this committee; several of our members have already agreed to do so. The good news is, we’re moving closer and closer to our goal, even if it is with baby steps.
Saving the best news for last, it was reported to the committee’s applause that LUMC as of 2008 year-end is DEBT FREE! Yes, dear friends, Imagine Capital Campaign funds were used to pay down the last of our debt, and our current property and new property are now ours, free and clear. (ALLELUJAHS HERE!) We must enjoy this brief period while we can, because the remaining funds from building campaign pledges are simply not sufficient for Phase I of our new building. However, we are fortunate to have real assets to help us move forward to grow our flock, “feed our sheep” and expand the kingdom of God to include the as- yet-unknown members of our church family.
Those on the Building Committee can tell you we have had tremendous ups and downs in this journey, but our faith is strong that, with your help, we can accomplish this work. It is achievable, but it will take all of us working together in Christian love to make it happen. PRAYERS NEEDED HERE!
It should also be noted that every member of our hard-working church staff has met countless hours to plan, think and think again. Thank them for their hard work; it is invaluable.