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UPDATE: Local Covenant Church Building Projects

CHICAGO, IL (October 11, 2002) - Following are several updates on building projects that are in various stages of construction in local churches and institutions of the Evangelical Covenant Church.

Reports are gathered from more than 200 newsletters received each month by the Department of Communication and are grouped by conference.

CENTRAL

• Mount Prospect, Illinois: Northwest Covenant Church has approved the final drawings for its new facility and hired a contractor. The current facility is still on the market - a move is contingent on the sale of the current facility.

EAST COAST

• Thomaston, Connecticut: The Covenant Church of Thomaston is in the midst of a 6,000-square-foot building expansion project that pastor Tim Olsen hopes will conclude at the end of February. The building skeleton is up and the roof is on and interior work is being finished this winter. Two years ago, the church's nearby parsonage burned and the congregation decided an addition was needed to the current church that includes a fellowship hall, classroom space and a kitchen. The total cost of the project is expected to be $610,000.
• East Greenwich, Rhode Island: Christ Church is negotiating with the Rhode Island Department of Transportation to acquire adjacent land for parking at the church. The parking lot would serve as a state-sponsored Park-and-Ride parking lot during the week and the church would use the lot on the weekends. The congregational leadership is discussing whether to build a facility that would cost around $2 million or to construct a facility that would be less permanent and would cost about $800,000.

ECCAK

• Eagle River, Alaska: Community Covenant Church hopes to complete an addition to its current facility by December 10, said office manager Cheri McDonald. The 5,800-square-foot addition will include classrooms, two nursery spaces and junior and senior high rooms. Building began in July for the addition, which has an estimated cost of $850,000.

GREAT LAKES

• Allegan, Michigan: Christ Community Church has decided to put a building project on hold due to a difficult economy in western Michigan, said pastor Pat White.
• Grand Rapids, Michigan: The construction of 105 independent residential units is well under way at Covenant Village of the Great Lakes. The $16 million project is expected to be completed next fall, said Deborah May, director of marketing for the facility. Groundbreaking for the project occurred in July. Once the first 105 units are finished, construction for another 82 units will follow. The 187 units will be built on 30 acres. To learn more about the project, call May at 616-735-4541 or 888-655-0165. The project can also be seen on www.covenantretirement.com or through the Retirement Communities drop down menu link found on the Evangelical Covenant Church web site www.covchurch.org.
• Jamestown, New York: Zion Covenant Church is readying for a capital campaign that will raise $2.5 million for an addition to the church, said pastor Brad Bergfalk. The addition will include remodeling of the sanctuary and the construction of a family life center, among other things. A master plan is in place, added Bergfalk, and funds raised in the early stages of the capital campaign drive will determine how soon construction can begin.

MIDSOUTH

• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Life Church is in the midst of two building projects. The west campus is in the middle of a project for a 30,000-square-foot, 2,000-seat auditorium/gymnasium. The walls are up and roof trusses are being set. The church expects the west campus project to finish in April, said Kevin Penry, pastor of multi-campus development. On the east campus, the church is nearly finished with staff offices in the basement of a 48,000-square-foot three-story training center building. Besides the offices, the church is improving worship space in the existing center, which seats 1,600. The worship center and the top two floors are expected to be finished at the end of the year.
• Tulsa, Oklahoma: Redeemer Covenant Church is in the middle of its building project, said director of ministry development Glenn Chalker. The church is building a 32,000-square-foot facility, including a sanctuary/worship center to seat 800 people, a nursery wing with education space and a prayer chapel. Construction for the building began in March and will cost $4 million, including site preparation. The church, which was founded in 1987, averages more than 700 in worship attendance. For more information about the project, call Chalker at 918-299-1989 or check the church web site at www.rcctulsa.org

MIDWEST

• Salina, Kansas: Construction workers have been digging a foundation for a new 45,000-square-foot facility this fall at First Covenant Church, said associate pastor Doug McHenry. Costs are expected to exceed $6 million on the project, which had its groundbreaking ceremonies June 16.
• Shawnee, Kansas: Community Covenant Church has recently chosen an architect and contractor for a building project that will begin in 2003. It is hoped that a groundbreaking will occur next summer, said Betty Meador, the church secretary. Community Covenant bought 12.2 acres of land during the past year about four miles from the current church facility.

NORTH PACIFIC

• Clackamas, Oregon: Eastridge Covenant Church has bought land for a new church, with the assistance of National Covenant Properties, and is seeking state approval for a 9.5-acre facility in a suburb of Portland. A petition to the state was sent by the church in August and is awaiting approval. The church currently meets in a local school and has been in the permit process at multiple levels for more than two years.
• Bellingham, Washington: Bellingham Covenant Church has begun building and a foundation has been poured on one-third of the area where the project will take place, said Leslie Bartosch, administrative assistant for the church. The church will begin framing in the coming weeks once a city permit is secured. National Covenant Properties has approved the church's loan application and the church hopes to be using the new building next August.
• Olympia, Washington: Grace Community Covenant Church, which built a family life center last year, is rebuilding a 1,300-square-foot youth center that suffered storm damage last winter. The previous building was torn down to the foundation and volunteers are constructing the facility to reduce costs.
• Olympia, Washington: River Ridge Covenant Church is planning on moving into its new offices later this month pending final city inspections. The church began building a new addition in February that includes Sunday school classes and an administrative wing. The project cost is around $500,000, said Debbie Lewis, the church's office manager. National Covenant Properties helped with a loan to begin the 4,800-square-foot expansion.
• Sammamish, Washington: Pine Lake Covenant Church has most of the outside construction finished on a Family Life Center and the task for the fall is getting the inside completed sufficiently enough to use the $3.7 million facility by early January. A capital campaign has received $1.2 million in commitments ($805,000 has been received). National Covenant Properties has provided a loan for the project and a dedication for the building occurred in May.
• Selah, Washington: Selah Covenant Church is still in the process of looking for land for a new church, said pastor Marc Strobel. A three-year capital campaign is being started this month and an architect has been hired. In August 2001, fire burned the annex building near the current church facility and the congregation eventually decided to build a larger facility.

NORTHWEST

• Baudette, Minnesota: The Evangelical Covenant Church of Baudette has saved $160,000 toward a building project that has been considered for a few years. Land has already been purchased and the church is trying to resolve water and sewer issues in its area. Pastor Scott Christensen said that the church hopes to construct a facility that includes a sanctuary seating 150. He added that a recent grant application to the Northwest Conference has been approved and the church is readying an application for a Kingdom Builders Frontier Friends grant as well.
• Biwabik, Minnesota: The Evangelical Covenant Church of Biwabik has been working on insulating the church this fall and will be sheet rocking the walls and ceiling in hopes of moving into a new building by Christmas. Four years after losing its previous building due to an arson fire, the church continues to be blessed by local assistance, said pastor Jeffrey Jones. "Bit by bit God has been providing," he said. Poplar Covenant Church in Poplar, Wisconsin, and Covenant churches from Little Falls and New London have given needed assistance in recent months and a grant from The Oldham Little Church Foundation has helped the church secure the materials to construct the floors of the facility. More than a dozen local churches contributed $8,700 to help defray other costs in July and August.
• Dawson, Minnesota: Dawson Covenant Church began digging trenches on its new building site in early September and the foundation walls were poured with cement later that month. The "Opening New Doors With Christ" capital campaign has already raised more than $250,000 in pledges, according to the church's October newsletter. Groundbreaking for the 9,984-square-foot building project was June 23.
• Duluth, Minnesota: Lakeview Covenant Church is halfway to its financial goal of $450,000 to break ground for an addition to its facility.
• Sioux Falls, South Dakota: Prairie Hills Covenant Church sold its building and preliminary site work is being done for a building project that will be completed next year. Estimated cost for the project is $1.9 million for an 18,600-square-foot facility on 12 acres of land.

PACIFIC SOUTHWEST

• Granite Bay, California: Bayside Covenant Church has completed paving work on its 34.57-acre construction site. Foundations have been completed for the Children and Youth/Adult buildings. The church has received building permits to begin construction of a 42,500-square-foot (floor space) multipurpose building that will accommodate worship services, banquets and large group events. The volunteer team at Bayside Cove nant has received pledges for almost 8,000 hours of help from 175 individuals. The church hopes to reduce building costs by $1 million by using extensive volunteer assistance. The project (involving construction on 18.95 acres) is scheduled to be finished in December 2003.
• Pleasant Hill, California: Hope Center Covenant Church has received conditional approval to build an extension to its current facility, although no firm plans are in place at this time. A capital campaign will be completed this month, said associate pastor Tom Patitucci. Hope Center Covenant will celebrate its 25th anniversary in January.
• Santa Barbara, California: Montecito Covenant Church began its capital campaign this month with plans to break ground for a new facility next April. The $4.25 million project will include a new sanctuary and remodeling of existing buildings. The county has approved the project. About $2.5 million in pledges and giving have been committed. The campaign will conclude with a special morning worship service and evening dinner celebration on November 24.
• San Leandro, California: Creekside Covenant Church is nearly finished with a building reconstruction project that will likely be completed in mid-December, said pastor John Bruce. The building project has received final approval from San Leandro city engineers. The completed 23,000-square-foot facility will include a 400-seat auditorium/sanctuary. Bruce said the project is estimated to cost $3.8 million, financed through capital campaign pledges and a loan from National Covenant Properties (NCP) in August 2000. Nine years earlier, the building had been a restaurant. "While the new facility is large relative to its existing membership, this reflects Creekside's broader objectives to host both its own membership and services and act as a community center for its San Leandro neighbors," said Bruce. "As such, the facility has planned uses for the San Leandro Adult School, a child care center, exercise and performing arts classes, recovery groups and offices for (nearby) Wellspring Covenant Church. To date, the reconstruction project has proceeded well with overwhelming local support from both citizens and local government, albeit on a longer time frame and higher cost than originally anticipated."

SOUTHEAST

• St. Petersburg, Florida: Faith Covenant Church has been working with architects on design work, plans are awaiting city approval and the church is communicating with the neighborhood before deciding how to proceed. The church bought an extra acre of property adjacent to the church in recent months, to facilitate future expansion efforts. Pastor Jeff Burton said the multi-phase project will take seven years to complete if all goes according to plan. A capital campaign began in May and nearly $900,000 has been pledged over three years.
• Greensboro, North Carolina: Trinity Church is nearly finished with a building project for a Family Life Center and hopes to gain occupancy by December, said secretary Sara Pozil. The Family Life Center will include classroom facilities, a gymnasium and a kitchen. The church received a loan from National Covenant Properties to assist the project. Trinity Church originally came from the Methodist Church and was a non-denominational church before becoming affiliated with the Evangelical Covenant Church. It has more than 350 members and an average worship attendance of around 250 under pastor Marc Putnam.

For learn more about building projects in Covenant churches and facilities around North America, regularly visit the Covenant web site at www.covchurch.org. To have news from your local church included in periodic update reports, mail your monthly church newsletter to Newsdesk, Department of Communication, Evangelical Covenant Church, 5101 N. Francisco Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60625, or email it to newsdesk@covchurch.org.

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