Do we really need additional church space?
That all depends on how you feel about sharing the wonderful spiritual experience
and loving acceptance of our church, with other new people who might be
searching for the same things they we all were searching for at one time.
Rev. Joyce, the Board of Directors, and the Trustees of the church have all agreed
that if we have the room to expand (which we have), and if we are capable of
raising the necessary capital (which we will), we do indeed need to “make more
room for God.”
Did we consider buying a vacant church somewhere?
Yes, the Board and the Building Team looked at various options. Vacant churches
close to our Bon Air location are non-existent. One option was to buy raw land that
might be properly zoned for a church, but that would have put us further west and
possibly into Powhatan County to find the needed space at a reasonable price.
After considering all the options, the Board of Directors decided that we stay put
and expand the existing building. This is why we purchased the adjacent property
for the additional parking spaces that would be needed with any church expansion.
The Board and the Trustees feel that we already have the perfect location in Bon
Air. We have 5 acres of land which is very unusual for any church in all of
Richmond. We have 2 acres of incredible gardens that has recently been called
“the premier Meditation Garden in all of Chesterfield County” by a top
official from Chesterfield County Planning & Zoning Department. Plus we have
14,000 cars going by our church everyday on Buford Rd. (VDOT 1998 figures).
What will happen to the brick house adjacent to the church?
Extensive research was done as to the question of what to do with the house next
door. Our first idea was to rehab the house and use it for additional classroom
space, especially for the YOU group. But after performing several building
inspections and doing the proper cost analysis of what it would take to bring the
house up to the current County Building code for “classroom use”, we determined
that it would not be money well spent (over $100,000).
We have had substantial talks with Habitat For Humanity in an effort to get the
house moved to one of their vacant lots. Habitat, at this time, does not have a
vacant lot near-by nor do they have the funds to move the house. They would need
a corporate sponsor to step forward with the necessary capital to move the house,
approximately $40,000.
Unless there's a dramatic change in the above situation, the house will be torn
down.
How many new parking spaces are we going to have?
As everyone knows, parking needs has been a major problem for many years.
As we expand the sanctuary from our present seating capacity of 100 to a new
sanctuary capacity of 180 seats, we also need to add more parking spaces.
We have done extensive monitoring of our present parking situation and have
found some very interesting facts. Our church is not the traditional church norm
where one car is carrying 2 adults and 2 kids. In fact our church averages only
1.2 people per car. Another way of looking at this… for every 10 cars in our
parking lot we need 12 seats in the sanctuary. With the addition of the new
parking lot, there will be a total of 147 spaces.
Who is on the building team committee and what do they do?
The Building Committee’s main purpose is to look at options, ask questions, talk
and listen to the professions, brain storm, and basically try to funnel down all the
massive information into workable choices that the Board of Director’s can both
understand and make intelligent decisions on. The Building Team members are
listed in this website.
What about handicap accessibility?
The new church will all be on one floor (slab construction). There will be no stairs,
no ramps, no elevators. The entire church will be 100% handicap accessible.
There will also be 5 new Handicapped parking spaces right at the front of the
church. The new front sidewalk will have a smooth transition to the asphalt
parking surface (no curbing).
Where will services be held when this construction is underway?
One of the nice advantages of building a new church behind the existing church is
that we can continue to hold services in our existing building until the new church is
completed. Our congregates will be able to look out the back windows of the
church each week to see the construction progress. Once construction has
finished 100% on the new church and we are able to get our Certificate of
Occupancy from the County, we will move into the new church and then remove the
existing building. Removal of the existing building will take approximately 5 days.
How much will the project cost?
Preliminary figures that we are using based on square foot costs and industry
averages, is that the total project will be around $1.7 Million. This includes
everything, the new church and the new parking lot (plus alterations to the existing
parking lot).
When will construction begin?
Our Master Plan has already been submitted to Chesterfield County and thing’s
are moving ahead nicely without any major hitches. We’ll still working on the final
blue prints for the new church and will soon be talking with several department
heads at church in an effort to fine tune the plans. If everything falls in line,
construction could start by Fall of 2010. Completion time will probably be in the 8
month range.
How many classrooms will there be?
There will be 4 classrooms in the new church plus a separate Nursery.
What are our current short and long-term debt obligations?
The church has no mortgage and is debt free. The Capital Campaign that started
in May 08 has now reached over $1 Million in pledges (3 year pledges).
When it’s all said and done and the new church is completed, we hope to either
have no debt at all or possibly a small mortgage. But with a 180 seat sanctuary,
two services, new parking spaces, and Making More Room For God and all the
new people who will be coming to our church… it will just be a matter of time
before any mortgage that we might have, will be paid off in quick fashion.
As Rev. Joyce says...
"let's get cookin"
That all depends on how you feel about sharing the wonderful spiritual experience
and loving acceptance of our church, with other new people who might be
searching for the same things they we all were searching for at one time.
Rev. Joyce, the Board of Directors, and the Trustees of the church have all agreed
that if we have the room to expand (which we have), and if we are capable of
raising the necessary capital (which we will), we do indeed need to “make more
room for God.”
Did we consider buying a vacant church somewhere?
Yes, the Board and the Building Team looked at various options. Vacant churches
close to our Bon Air location are non-existent. One option was to buy raw land that
might be properly zoned for a church, but that would have put us further west and
possibly into Powhatan County to find the needed space at a reasonable price.
After considering all the options, the Board of Directors decided that we stay put
and expand the existing building. This is why we purchased the adjacent property
for the additional parking spaces that would be needed with any church expansion.
The Board and the Trustees feel that we already have the perfect location in Bon
Air. We have 5 acres of land which is very unusual for any church in all of
Richmond. We have 2 acres of incredible gardens that has recently been called
“the premier Meditation Garden in all of Chesterfield County” by a top
official from Chesterfield County Planning & Zoning Department. Plus we have
14,000 cars going by our church everyday on Buford Rd. (VDOT 1998 figures).
What will happen to the brick house adjacent to the church?
Extensive research was done as to the question of what to do with the house next
door. Our first idea was to rehab the house and use it for additional classroom
space, especially for the YOU group. But after performing several building
inspections and doing the proper cost analysis of what it would take to bring the
house up to the current County Building code for “classroom use”, we determined
that it would not be money well spent (over $100,000).
We have had substantial talks with Habitat For Humanity in an effort to get the
house moved to one of their vacant lots. Habitat, at this time, does not have a
vacant lot near-by nor do they have the funds to move the house. They would need
a corporate sponsor to step forward with the necessary capital to move the house,
approximately $40,000.
Unless there's a dramatic change in the above situation, the house will be torn
down.
How many new parking spaces are we going to have?
As everyone knows, parking needs has been a major problem for many years.
As we expand the sanctuary from our present seating capacity of 100 to a new
sanctuary capacity of 180 seats, we also need to add more parking spaces.
We have done extensive monitoring of our present parking situation and have
found some very interesting facts. Our church is not the traditional church norm
where one car is carrying 2 adults and 2 kids. In fact our church averages only
1.2 people per car. Another way of looking at this… for every 10 cars in our
parking lot we need 12 seats in the sanctuary. With the addition of the new
parking lot, there will be a total of 147 spaces.
Who is on the building team committee and what do they do?
The Building Committee’s main purpose is to look at options, ask questions, talk
and listen to the professions, brain storm, and basically try to funnel down all the
massive information into workable choices that the Board of Director’s can both
understand and make intelligent decisions on. The Building Team members are
listed in this website.
What about handicap accessibility?
The new church will all be on one floor (slab construction). There will be no stairs,
no ramps, no elevators. The entire church will be 100% handicap accessible.
There will also be 5 new Handicapped parking spaces right at the front of the
church. The new front sidewalk will have a smooth transition to the asphalt
parking surface (no curbing).
Where will services be held when this construction is underway?
One of the nice advantages of building a new church behind the existing church is
that we can continue to hold services in our existing building until the new church is
completed. Our congregates will be able to look out the back windows of the
church each week to see the construction progress. Once construction has
finished 100% on the new church and we are able to get our Certificate of
Occupancy from the County, we will move into the new church and then remove the
existing building. Removal of the existing building will take approximately 5 days.
How much will the project cost?
Preliminary figures that we are using based on square foot costs and industry
averages, is that the total project will be around $1.7 Million. This includes
everything, the new church and the new parking lot (plus alterations to the existing
parking lot).
When will construction begin?
Our Master Plan has already been submitted to Chesterfield County and thing’s
are moving ahead nicely without any major hitches. We’ll still working on the final
blue prints for the new church and will soon be talking with several department
heads at church in an effort to fine tune the plans. If everything falls in line,
construction could start by Fall of 2010. Completion time will probably be in the 8
month range.
How many classrooms will there be?
There will be 4 classrooms in the new church plus a separate Nursery.
What are our current short and long-term debt obligations?
The church has no mortgage and is debt free. The Capital Campaign that started
in May 08 has now reached over $1 Million in pledges (3 year pledges).
When it’s all said and done and the new church is completed, we hope to either
have no debt at all or possibly a small mortgage. But with a 180 seat sanctuary,
two services, new parking spaces, and Making More Room For God and all the
new people who will be coming to our church… it will just be a matter of time
before any mortgage that we might have, will be paid off in quick fashion.
As Rev. Joyce says...
"let's get cookin"
Questions and Answers