MRFM Update
Dear Hope Church Family and Friends,
I am writing to provide an update on our “Making Room for More” capital campaign. Church leadership and staff have received a number of thoughtful questions about the path forward with this initiative. We have created a FAQ to answer the most common topics. You can find that document below.
Allow me to highlight several important items (most of which are in the FAQ):
- The first is to assure you that the Session is completely and enthusiastically in favor of moving forward on this project. There is solidarity among leadership on the importance and urgency of this initiative. In that regard, we have authorized our architect, West + Stem, to proceed in creating detailed construction level plans. These plans empower us to proceed with the building as soon as the funds are available.
- The second item is to provide clarity on the scope of the project. The original budget was estimated at $8.6m. The final amount will of course change because of shifts in material and labor costs before we actually start. We have received pledges of over $5.2m and a lending offer of $3m. This moves our budget to $8.2m. When we are closer to construction we will have a clearer sense of our financial situation. At that point we may need to tweak the scope of the project accordingly. But we will wait to make that decision.
- The third item is to explain the timing of when we can start. Once underway, construction will take roughly a year. With the current budget this means that we need to have roughly $3.5m on hand in the building account, and the rest of the pledges scheduled to be received in the next twelve months. So, under the current pledge schedule, we could start construction at the end of the second year of pledges. While that delay is not ideal for folks like me who are raring to go, there is a tremendous opportunity. We do have agency in all of this. If we can accelerate the pledges and receive the funds more quickly, we can move forward more quickly, too.
In that spirit, I am very eager to share with you some very exciting news. Even though the fundraising period has just started, we have already received more than $720,000 in contributions, and a $1,000,000 gift is in process to be received next week! God is at work, Hope Family! Merely weeks into our campaign, we are already at close to halfway towards what we need to break ground.
This is the work of the God of “more” who we serve, who loves us, who provides for all that we need – exceedingly, abundantly beyond all we can ask or even imagine (Ephesians 3:20-21), and who has not brought us this far just to move away. He is faithful and he is giving us more and more reasons to trust him for today and for the days to come.
If after reviewing the FAQ document you still have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Blair Whitworth, chair of our finance team (blairwhitworth@gmail.com; 434.882.1142).
Grace and peace,
David (on behalf of the Session)