Our insurance has been finalized and the checks are deposited in the bank. But again, this has been a process that was hard to report on every couple days. However, fyi, we now have a little over $300,000 in our building fund thanks to those insurance checks. This is a good amount of money, but it is not near enough to give us the green light to go ahead and start building. As a church, we have decided that it would be good for us to have at least 50% of the cash we need for our new building on hand before we start the project. This would mean that we should realistically have somewhere between $400,000 and $500,000 in the bank. We have a long way to go, so now is the time for you to take a serious step up to the plate! We need to see that the finances are there before we are comfortable to start.
A church meeting was held to discuss this situation the last week of June and all the details were rolled out. A survey was passed out and we have received an excellent response. Thanks for taking the time to fill out yours and pass it back. The results of these surveys, along with an update on giving, will be mailed to every church home in the next week or so, but in case you don't get a piece of mail, the overwhelming responses were that we should build a 2 storey building, being a finished basement and a main floor; we should have 50% of our capital on hand before building and finance the rest through a mortgage of 5 to 10 years; if necessary financially speaking, we should look at doing this project in stages, i.e., the important things like the sanctuary, washrooms and classrooms first and additions of fellowship hall and kitchen later, and we could even finish the main floor, move in and then work on the basement as time and money allowed. Again, thank you for your responses to the survey. They were great and will give us a good deal of direction throughout the remainder of the planning stages.
Also at that meeting a plea was put out for finances. Our financial situation was laid out above and suffice it to say, now is the time to give. After 3 Sundays, we have had 8 responses to this plea, with the amount given and pledged somewhere in the ball park of $50,000. This is a good initial response, but we do need to continue to ask for more. What is it that you feel God would have you do? I know this is sacrifice. We are asking for monies above and beyond what you would normally give. But please prayerfully consider what it is God will enable you to do and be prepared to listen to His direction.
Within the next few weeks, the grass will be mowed and signs will be erected on our property to let the world know that Havelock Wesleyan Church will soon be erecting a building in Hassetts. Plans were discussed at length in a building committee meeting this week and we are meeting again soon to continue that process. It is exciting to see the possibilities for a new building and put a plan for it together.
Please continue to pray for our church as we press on. We are desperately seeking God's direction and timing in this whole thing and we don't want to miss out on what He wants. It is not an easy process, nor without it's hurdles and difficulties, but it is an exciting time, waiting and watching to see what God can and will do with us. And patience, tempered with lots of prayer, is going to be the key that pulls it all together!
Keep watching for more!
