LakeRidge United Methodist Church
Frequently Asked Questions about Our Building Program

Why did we do another Building Fund Campaign so soon after our last one?

• Our last full Building Funds Drive called “Life Changing Encounters” was conducted in the spring of 2003. The pledges were made for three years through the spring of 2006. This campaign enabled us to build our new 77,000 square foot education building which we occupied in August of 2006. However, funds were available to complete only one-third of the interior of the building.
• In the fall of 2006, we informally asked our congregation to continue giving to our building fund in order to complete the Activity Center (multi-purpose room). Our goal was to raise $575,000 by December 2007 and begin construction in January 2008.
• In the summer of 2007, three committees (Trustees, Finance and Church Council) discussed the timing of our next building campaign. I presented three options: the spring of 2008, the fall of 2008 or the spring of 2009. It was the unanimous consensus of all of these groups that the congregation was motivated to complete our needed facilities. Several persons cited the high rate of inflation for construction (12 percent) and urged us to get started as soon as possible. The longer we wait to begin construction, the more it will cost. All of these committees recommended that we have the next building fund campaign in the spring of 2008.
• Most growing churches conduct a full Building Fund Campaign every three years. Growing churches are in continuous need of expanding their facilities. We actually waited much longer than usual between campaigns—five years.
• In summary, the decision to have a building fund campaign in the spring of 2008 was made by three committees acting on the best information available at the time. When the decision was made in July of 2007, the economy was in good shape and construction costs were rapidly escalating. The decision to move forward and save money was a good decision.

Why did we start a new building campaign before the Activity Center was completed?

• The decision to have a building fund drive in the spring of 2008 was made in the summer of 2007. At that time, our committees operated under the assumption we would raise the $575,000 needed for construction by December, 2007. We planned to begin construction in January of 2008. Construction was estimated to take only three months. Our goal was to complete the Activity Center by March and begin the new building fund drive in April of 2008. Originally we anticipated completing the Activity Center before the next building campaign.
• We did not reach the goal of $575,000 until January of 2008. Construction did not begin until March and took longer than expected. We did not move into the new space until September of this year. Looking back it might have been better to wait until the Activity Center was completed. However, all the plans were made to conduct the building campaign which requires months of advance preparation. Hindsight is always 20/20!! The best decisions were made at the time with the information available.

Why are we building a chapel before we finish out our educational building?

• In July of 2007, our Trustees discussed the priorities for our building needs.
• They identified the following priorities:
  • Completion of a chapel to be used for a traditional worship service on Sunday morning and also to provide an intimate setting for small weddings and funerals
  • Completion of the unfinished space in our educational building for elementary children and adult classrooms
  • Elimination of our debt of $2 million
• The trustees hoped that we would reach our goal of $4.8 million in pledges during our “Transforming the World” Building Campaign which would enable us to complete all three of these needed facilities in four years.
• The chapel was selected as first priority because the completed space in our new educational building provided additional classrooms for our children’s ministry. The new activity center provided a play area for our children and a place for our entire congregation to enjoy Wednesday evening meals. For many years, a large segment of our congregation has requested a chapel for small weddings and funerals. Currently our members go to other churches or facilities for small weddings. Often families decide to have memorial services at funeral homes because our sanctuary is too large. A significant percentage of our membership has expressed a desire for a traditional worship service with the doxology, traditional hymns and the Apostle’s Creed every Sunday. A chapel would provide an appropriate setting for this style of worship.
• Since our children’s ministry benefited most from the last phase of construction, our Trustees decided that our next building priority should address the needs of those members of our congregation who are waiting for a chapel. The Trustees looked at the “big picture” of all the needs expressed by our congregation and adopted priorities to meet those needs in a timely manner. Human nature causes us to think that the most important priority is the one “we” would benefit from the most! Different groups in a large congregation tend to think that their needs should be met next!! The Trustees try to balance meeting the needs of all members of our congregation.

Why are we raising the cash before we begin construction on the remaining facilities? Why don’t we borrow the money while interest rates are low?

• Several people asked this question last spring during our Transforming the World Building Campaign. At that time, interest rates were low and construction costs were escalating dramatically.
• Our Trustees decided that we would not take on any additional debt. For a church our size, our debt load ($2 million) is relatively low.
• In light of the current economic crisis, we made a wise decision not to increase our debt. If we had borrowed an additional $4.8 million to complete the building project, we could be in serious financial trouble at this time. The economic crisis has impacted contributions to churches and non-profit groups throughout the country. By maintaining a reasonable debt load we will be able to weather the crisis with God’s help.

Is it true that our master plan calls for eventually demolishing our current Family Ministry Center? Isn’t this a waste of money? Why did we make improvements to the facility if we are going to destroy it?

• Our Family Ministry Center, including 3 acres of land, was purchased in 1998 for $750,000. It was built in 1978. The building was originally designed as a private school for elementary age children. It was never built to last!! It leaks like a sieve. It is very energy inefficient. The space configuration is extremely inefficient for church purposes.
• Having this large facility and acquiring additional land adjacent to our campus are tremendous blessings to our church’s ministry. We have used it to its maximum potential, but it is approaching a point of diminishing returns in terms of major maintenance expense.
• Some basic improvements were necessary to make the facility usable. The large area in the center of the building was not air-conditioned. It was built to be a play area for small children. To make it usable for worship, dinners and recreation we needed to install air conditioning. These units were installed in 1998. By the time we demolish the building in seven to ten years, these units will be at their life expectancy. Air conditioning was the largest investment we made in the building. Most other changes were cosmetic.
• We need to build a Youth Ministry Center and Family Life Center that is specifically designed to accommodate those ministries. Our youth deserve a first rate facility! We need to build a space efficient, multi-story facility that will free up space for additional parking for future growth. This is good stewardship of our facilities and land.

We have a few empty classrooms now. Why is there a need for additional adult classrooms?

• In order for our church to continue to grow, we need to offer a variety of small groups. Our plan is to offer small groups for adults on Sunday morning as an alternative to traditional Sunday school classes. (We will continue to offer traditional classes. We will add “small groups” as another option.)
• Ideally we need to have 20 to 25 additional classrooms in the next 3 years to accommodate these new groups. In order for those rooms to be ready when needed we must plan ahead.

How much did we receive in pledges for the Transforming the World Building Campaign?

• Our goal for the campaign was $4.8 million which would have enabled us to build a chapel, complete the education building and eliminate our debt.
• Pledges for the campaign totaled $1.5 million.
• We decided to do a low key, in-house campaign and minimize expenses. The Trustees, Finance Committee and Church Council believed that the congregation was sufficiently motivated to provide these needed facilities. We decided not to hire an outside consulting firm who would lead a full capital campaign involving many meetings and dinners. Instead, we offered ten “home fellowships” and two church-wide meetings. We asked the congregation to come to just one of those meetings to receive the information about the building program. Out of nearly 4,000 members only 200 came to one of the meetings. A packet was mailed to those who did not attend a meeting. Thus the vast majority of our members did not have adequate information about the building program. Our committees vastly underestimated the level of enthusiasm for our new facilities. The results of the campaign were disappointing.

Since we did not reach the goal for our Transforming the World building campaign, what is the current building plan?

• At this time we are publishing in the bulletin and newsletter the goal for building the chapel which is $1.8 million. We have received over $500,000 toward that goal.
• There are no plans at this time to do another formal fund raising campaign. Our trustees will evaluate our progress toward the goal when we reach the one year mark for our Transforming the World campaign in May of 2009.