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Dear Church,
On Sunday May 4th we held a family meeting with discussion and a congregational vote regarding the timing of our capital campaign. The vote resulted in the decision to delay discussions of a capital campaign until a later date (Of the 55 total votes, 48 voted to delay and 7 voted for a fall 2025 campaign). We anticipate having those discussions in early 2026 to prepare, if it is the desire of the church, for a campaign either in the Spring or Fall of 2026. We are grateful for the unity and clarity from the congregation in both the discussion and the resulting vote.
While some might be disappointed in the decision to delay, we sense the wisdom in slowing down our process. We were also encouraged by the unified sense that we can’t delay forever – something needs to be done soon to address the needs of our facility. Read on for some implications of this vote.
Here are some benefits from this decision:
- We can fully focus on our governance process in 2025.
- In the meantime, we can gather feedback about designs over the coming year as we continue to refine the scope and scale.
- We can also discuss how to best share our financial resources and the use of our building to serve a gospel movement with projects and ministries outside our walls as it relates to a capital campaign.
- In 2026, or whenever the church discerns the timing of a campaign, we can fully focus our time and energy on it.
Here are some drawbacks from this decision:
- Some small maintenance projects still require attention. Expenses here could have been avoided if we took on a larger project sooner, but in the meantime, some of our 2026 budget will need to go towards this deferred maintenance.
- Of course this also delays any benefits we would receive from a renovated building such as improved multi-use spaces, enhanced wayfinding, etc.
And here are some unknown aspects of this decision:
- Our furnaces in the education wing are near the end of their life. We don’t know exactly when they will stop serving us, but if they do we would need to address this with emergency funding.
- Costs of construction materials may go up or down based on decisions out of our control.
If you call NSCBC your church home, we hope you would consider two things:
Explore membership. This year there are many decisions we need to make, and our constitution requires formal membership for your full participation. Visit this page to learn more.
Participate. Our congregational polity works best when all members engage in the discernment processes we have set up. Exploring Scripture Groups run through May and June and you can still join.
This is an exciting time for our church! Phase 1 construction is underway and is anticipated to be completed by July 2025. In this decision to delay, know that we are not abandoning our plans to make improvements to our building, rather we are slowing down to do things well. Please continue to pray for our leaders and decision makers. Pray for our Scripture study and discernment. Pray for the culture of our church to be continually transformed toward the gospel, community, and mission. And in all things, pray for God’s will to be done!
In Joyful Hope,
NSCBC Elders and Building Campaign Committee
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