The energy and enthusiasm in our growing congregation is wonderful to behold. I speak from the perspective of 21 years of pastoring this church. It is exciting to see the crowds attending our Sunday services. The blessing of God is evident. We have had our clean-up day and could stand to have a few more. Over 100 members participated and a striking amount of work was accomplished. We need to have another one in six months or so. Thank you to all who pitched in and helped. But in another sense we have bigger fish to fry. We are bumping up against physical realities and limits in space for people and parking, downtown and at Point Pleasant. The wear and tear on our buildings is considerable. The larger issue, however, is that we are growing beyond the capacity of our facilities as currently configured.

Our Sunday School classrooms are packed. We now have 60 children, 3-years-old and under, stuffed into our nurseries. Our dearth of parking, if left unaddressed, will continue to suffocate the future growth of our ministry. We had 300 or more in attendance on six different Sunday nights this summer at Point Pleasant and averaged 280 in attendance in a building designed for 250! Only one of two things can be done about physical limits. One can accept them and stand still, or one can build, overcome them, and continue to grow. I don't see any other options. Do nothing, and we smother growth that would otherwise have occurred. Physically and materially accommodate growth, and we move forward.

What do we need to do? Build and renovate Sunday School space, purchase additional Sunday School space, find additional parking, build for Sunday nights at Point Pleasant and renovate throughout. What will this require? Here are some very, very rough estimates: $5.5 million downtown and another $2.0 million at Point Pleasant. We have just put $713,656 into renovating our steeple, an unanticipated repair job. We have $750,000 in capital donations in the bank. But these funds will only scratch the surface. Here is the way it breaks down.

Whitaker Street Building - $2.3 million
Build on existing property

Sanctuary - $200,000
Carpet removed, floors restored, pews resealed, cushions repaired/replaced

Administration Building - $130,000
Carpets removed, floors refinished, 2nd and 3rd floors repainted

Education Building - $200,000
Restrooms renovated, carpets removed, floors refinished

Lane - $670,000
Complete renovation with landscaping, new lights, new walkways, security cameras

Parking - $924,000
Purchase adjacent property

Additional Sunday School Space - $750,000
Purchase adjacent property

These are, I repeat, very rough estimates, but clearly we will need to undertake a new fundraising effort after the first of the year. Fundraising is never fun. But the growth that makes it necessary certainly beats the alternative. These are intriguing times for us.

The current financial crisis is unsettling and could upend the best of plans. Yet, the blessing of God is clearly evident. We have watered and planted, but He is causing the growth (1 Corinthians 3:6,7). More growth may be in the offing, but bold steps are necessary if we are to make room for it.