Capital Campaign FAQ’s

The following questions were presented to the Capital Funds Campaign Committee, answered by members of the Building Committee.

– A majority of the funds will come from the sale of land (1.8 million). If the land does not sell for expected value where will the remaining fund come from? Or will the project be scaled down?

At this stage, the cost estimates are very rough as we have yet to develop a specific building design and won’t know the actual site design (and cost) until we have a buyer for the land. It’s possible the estimates are high and funding won’t be a problem. It’s also possible the estimates are low and we may not have adequate funds even if we received $1.8 million for the land. Once we have a firm sales agreement and are able to better define site and building design and cost, we will be better able to evaluate if we have adequate funds. If it appears that we are short of funds, we may decide to delay construction and let our funds grow through investment, downscale expansion and/or downscale the remodel of the existing building. In other words, we’ll consider every viable option once we are able to better determine our projected funds and costs.

– When do you expect construction to start?

Since most of the funding will come from the sale of the land, the construction timeline will be contingent on the sale of the land. Once we have a binding sales agreement, we will be able to refine our costs, adjust the project if necessary, and proceed with a specific design plan and land use and building permit process with the city of Beaverton. We estimate site work will start approximately 12 to 16 months after we have a binding sales agreement assuming no issues with funding.

– The new sanctuary will accommodate approximately 100 more people. Do you expect the growth to come after completion of the building?

The proposed sanctuary is based on the long term master plan we developed for the property, which is based on the long term strategic goals we developed for the congregation five years ago. We don’t know how much, if any, growth will occur immediately upon completion of the expansion, although it’s not uncommon for new people to visit recently built or expanded churches.

– Do you think we will lose some of our closeness when the church expands?

It’s possible, but the feel of the space can vary greatly based on the design and the type of building materials used. During the process of selecting an architect, the Building Committee visited a number of churches and was very impressed with the intimacy and comfort of a sanctuary that held several thousand people. The proposed sanctuary is only 10 feet wider and 15 feet (back of rainbow room) to 40 feet (excluding rainbow room) deeper than our existing sanctuary.

– There are a lot of issues going on in the world with hunger, natural disasters such as the recent cyclone and earthquake. How would you suggest our priorities be set in regards to supporting the building campaign as compare to world and local issues?

We wouldn’t presume to set priorities for you. Hopefully, you will do that in communication with God through prayer. What we do know is that we have talked about and planned for this addition for a number of years. We are a loving church family whose own plans for programs have been hampered by the building we have been living in for so long. Those programs will allow us to minister to ourselves and to those around us. We’ve planned and prayed, and now is the time.