MORE Update - August 18, 2024
PRAISE THE LORD!
In the fall of 2022 and in the spirit of Ephesians 3:20-21 our church began asking God for MORE! As a part of that desire, the church approved the vision for a new worship center with staff offices to accommodate our growth and bless the next generation. We asked the Lord for $15 million in gifts and pledges to begin construction. In less than two years, the Lord has given us even MORE!
First, we honored our MORE Campaign commitment to give $1.5 million to Global Missions over the last two years. As God has blessed us, we have blessed the nations! Even after sending out those missions gifts, we have more than $12.8 million in our Building Fund. In addition, our overall church giving has been so strong that we can use $5 million of our reserves toward our MORE initiatives. We currently also have $1.8 million in pledges that people have promised to fulfill. Counting the $5 million in available reserves, we have $19.6 million in gifts and pledges! Not so coincidentally, the cost of our new building is $19.6 million.
But God has done MORE than that. Over those two years, our attendance has grown 33 percent, and our budget has grown 34 percent. God has given us more people and more resources to accomplish MORE.
The plans are done! God has provided! He has given us more than we could have imagined, and we need this space more than ever. The time is now. We are ready to begin construction as soon as possible!
Because of God’s continued provision and our continued growth, we have expanded the scope of this project to a total cost of $22 million. This total includes more essential office space and parking. We are currently debt-free and intend to finish these projects debt-free. The church’s elected Administrative Team unanimously recommends that the church vote to approve the propositions below.
PROPOSITIONS FOR VOTE on Sunday, August 25:
The church’s elected Administrative Team unanimously recommends that the church vote to:
- Use $5 million of church reserves toward our MORE Building Campaign and increase our MORE campaign total to $22 million to include new campus parking and to start construction immediately on all projects.
Unrelated Proposition
- Accept an offer of $16,095 from Athens-Clarke County for the county’s purchase of 1,900 square feet of road frontage at our 767 Oglethorpe Avenue property leased by Athens Pregnancy Center.
Questions?
For questions, contact Tim Luke at 678.618.4451 or