There was worthy celebration during the Growing Grace update Sunday as it was reported that our one-year, $1 million goal was reached in 9 months! God is glorified through the generous hearts of His people.
We are so close to starting Phase One of the expansion. I know many of you are patiently waiting to see progress on the ground. The contractor says that once the final numbers are agreed upon, then in two weeks construction will begin.
It was a year ago that we first presented the estimated cost of this expansion to the congregation. While we celebrate the milestone of God’s gracious provision, over the past year the cost has climbed a bit, and there remains some financial need to be able to complete the project if we want to do it without going in debt. Three factors contribute to this reality:
Prices always go up, and they have over the past twelve months. In particular, prices have been impacted by the unforeseen conflict in the Middle East. Gas and oil prices impact almost everything.
There were some revisions in the design since the initial estimate. For example, the new atrium was made a bit larger to have an entrance into the restroom & nursery area directly from the atrium. There was also the need to rework the HVAC above the current office area to accommodate the renovated plans.
Lastly, Fourth Elm has limited the level of volunteer involvement in the construction due to liability reasons. We understand them to be wise, and for that reason, we will not save as much as we originally estimated with volunteer labor.
With these contingencies, the final cost of the expansion has increased over the past year – thankfully, not as much as we anticipated. We’ll get the final numbers to you as soon as we can. But thank you for your continued faithful and gracious support, for your enthusiasm, and for your encouraging prayer. The Building Fund remains open for your generous contributions. God will provide because He has led us this far. This is His work, so let’s remain steadfast in our dependence upon Him.
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