Summary

Ten years ago, we started as a small church plant in Cincinnati’s westside, but we have always had big prayers and goals of planting more churches and spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout this city and region. Having grown and planted two churches, we are preparing to move into our first building, and it is in the heart of Cincinnati. While our own internal giving will enable us to procure the property, we are in need of external support to renovate it. It is our firm conviction that this property will be a great asset in the further spread of the gospel.

Overview of Financial Needs

Phase 1 – The property is being given to us for free, on the condition that we address two main issues: stabilizing the school building and repairing the steeple. We anticipate that this will cost about $500,000 and that we will be able to finance this ourselves.

Phase 2 – The main building is very dated and needs renovation, e.g., storm windows, a new kitchen, an updated fellowship hall. We estimate that this will cost us $300,000 and aim to raise this amount during this calendar year.

Phase 3 – The school building is in disrepair, but it is vital to our children, a Christian Education program, and accommodating growth. After stabilizing this structure (Phase 1), we will need to completely overhaul it. This phase will cost us approximately $700,000, and we pray that this will be accomplished in the next three years.

Updates

Early March – We have been investigating this opportunity since July 2022 and are preparing to bring it to the congregation for a vote.

Mid-March – We just learned that the school building can be salvaged. This is encouraging news, since the main building does not have any classroom or office space.

Mid-April – Both parties have signed a Memorandum of Understanding after our congregation voted (in overwhelming fashion) to pursue this opportunity.

May 10 – Lawyers are finalizing a contract that will articulate the terms of transfer (i.e., repairs to the steeple and stabilizing the school building). A capital campaign video is nearly complete. (Thank you, Jeff and Larissa!) We anticipate that work on the school building will begin in early June and that Phase 1 might be complete by September.

May 21 – The video is now finished, and our congregation gets to see it. Our capital campaign officially begins. Please, keep us in your prayers.

June 15 – Work on the school building has begun! This is preliminary and investigatory, in order to figure out the precise amount it will cost to stabilize the structure.

July 17 – We had the opportunity to worship in the Mount Auburn facility twice this month, and that was a blessing. We were just given the quote to stabilize the school building, and it was what we had originally expected. We anticipate that this job will be completed during the month of September. Two URC churches have already informed us of their intention to support us – and a number of individuals. Our internal campaign and pledge drive is well underway. We will meet with a representative of Reformed Mission Services on July 25. Keep us in your prayers as we seek funding for Phases 1 and 2 this calendar year.

August 31 – We anticipate work on the school building occurring in November and December and the repair of the steeple in October. This pushes our move-in date to sometime around Easter 2024. Our congregation is 80% of its way to its internal fundraising goal. This means we would be able to cover Phase 1 internally (~$500,000). External fundraising has been slow, but that is to be expected during the summertime. We have raised $61,500 of our $300,000 goal for Phase 2.

It seems that many of our sister churches did not receive our Tenth Anniversary Newsletter. It is available for viewing or download by clicking here:

Keep checking back for more updates!