Update 5/27/19

Happy Memorial Day!

Thanks to a group of you who showed up to help this weekend, there is another trailer full of copper ready to take to salvage.  Some estimate this is close to double what was harvested last weekend, so we're hoping it's worth about $5000.  For reference, that is about equivalent to New Hope's KidsLIFE budget line for a year.  That's a good day's work!

Other things in motion this past week included...

• Preliminary movement of the property boundary between the hotel buildings and the North building was successful as part of being ready to sell the North building.
• The Finance Team and Cultivating Team have both been working behind the scenes to help New Hope be successful in communication and financial stewardship through this building project.
• Initial calculations were done to begin assessing realistic costs of sustaining a future building.  The core building team will continue to revisit these numbers as we work through the facility plan.
• A storage pod was purchased and moved onto the property to house the new mower along with P-TAC units and other salvaged goods yet to be delivered to buyers.
• Demolition work was scheduled for mid to late June, but may be contingent on flood emergencies around town in the coming weeks.

Between now and mid-June, people will be at the property working on Saturdays.  Consider coming out to help!  If Saturdays don't work for you, let us know and we can get you (and your family or small group) set up with a project to be completed when you're able.  Any time and effort is appreciated.

Update 5/22/19

The core building team is working to finalize dates and details related to demolition in June.  As that looms near, efforts to salvage materials from the hotel buildings continue.  There are door locks and P-Tac units (air conditioners) that still need to be pulled out, and plenty of miscellaneous furniture and small appliances that could be useful to someone.  A group of folks have been working diligently to remove copper piping throughout the buildings, and that has proven to be a worthwhile effort.  The first day's effort resulted in this check!

In recent weeks, as both the Cultivating and Building Teams have met, momentum has been gaining towards the building master plan.  The cultivating team has been putting together a plan for communication, and working to get tools in place to enable them to engage our community well.  Additionally, the building team has continued to work on pre-design concepts, discussed building costs, and is working on initial numbers for a sustainment plan.  These conversations will continue to be worked out as our teams move back and forth between them.  Pray with us that the master plan picture becomes more and more clear as we drill down through these things.

One thing that continues to stir a sense of worship is to see how God has given people within our community such a wide variety of gifts and temperaments.  We pray that this building project would continue to be a process that cultivates teamwork in New Hope as we each offer our strengths and vision for God's work.  Continue to pray and consider how God might want to use your skills and resources, both for the building and for His redemptive work among people.

REMEMBER...THERE IS A LINK FOR VOLUNTEER NEEDS AT THE TOP OF THIS BLOG PAGE.

Update 5/6/19

This is an exciting picture!  During this week's Core Building Team meeting, Brad Buser got us started working through a predesign process for the church facility plan.  It was exciting for the team to start talking about specific spaces and functions for the building.

As we discussed various aspects of the church building, we drew on knowledge gained from previously going through the church's ministry plan.  It was encouraging to realize that the disciplined work of past months was bearing fruit in giving our group direction and vision for how spaces could be used well.

Here are just a handful of snippets that have stuck out to our group as we have processed the ministry plan.  We envision that a building of our own could equip us to have/do these things...

• Spaces (with more varied functions than the Greenhouse provides) that can be used all throughout the week by New Hope members and others in the community
• Sound and audio/visual equipment that can stay in place from week to week
• A designated space for our Fusion youth to meet for large group times and for smaller studies
• Multipurpose space(s) that can be setup to function in different ways for different groups/times of the week.
• Opportunities for more than one group or ministry to meet on site at a time
• Parents could have more natural opportunities to overlap with Fusion students and their events
• Designated KidsLIFE rooms that are outfitted specifically for the kids/teachers using them each week with no need to set-up and tear down
• A configuration that provides increased security for our children's ministry
• Classrooms to provide childcare options for groups meeting throughout the week
• Possibilities for community outreach and hosting events
• Space for partner ministries to meet and hold events
• A playground and inviting outdoor space to encourage connection
• A welcome/information center where it is more clear how to get connected and involved
• Comfortable spaces for small groups of people to sit and talk
• More visibility to the community and accessibility to a different pocket of Manhattan

These possibilities are exciting to us as we've prayerfully considered what makes our church unique!

Please continue to pray... 

• for guidance and discernment for this next stage of planning. 
• for volunteers to help with mowing and upkeep at the property this summer.
• that God would continue to captivate our hearts more than a building.