“A TIME TO BUILD UP” LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE ATONEMENT
OUR CONGREGATION AND OUR MISSION
In 1961, Atonement was founded as a mission church of the American Lutheran Church in the beautiful rural community that was Barrington. Fast forward to 2008 and the Barrington area is still beautiful, slightly less rural and has a population that has grown by 350% over those 47 years. In that time, our congregation size has increased tenfold.
Our Mission is “Reach Together for Jesus”. We reach together through our many and ever-growing ministries which foster the building of the Body of Christ in the Barrington area and throughout the world.
OUR GROWTH AND ISSUES WE FACE
Atonement’s first building, what is now the Knudsen Center was built in 1961. In 1964, we added the office and classroom space that now connects the Knudsen Center to the worship space. The worship space and our fellowship hall were built in 1986.
Over the last 20 years, we have increased our average worship attendance by 45%, added significantly to our ministries, and our program staff has doubled. It is important to note that all of this growth has been accomplished without any significant improvement to our physical space. It is exciting to think about how much greater our growth could have been and can be with a larger, more functional facility.
The need for expansion and renovation has become increasingly urgent. We have had to “make do” with facilities inadequate to house the many programs and staff on the premises. Some examples include:
· Our youth programs on Wednesday afternoon and evening for those aged 4 through 18 are constantly vying for meeting/worship space. We want to encourage our young people to be comfortable, active participants in these mid-week programs.
· The Day School uses space in the lower level during the week and one of their classrooms was recently flooded, prompting a quick re-location plan, which in turn, necessitated the move/delay of other youth programs. This flood was in large part the result of inadequate storm water detention on site and of an overmatched drainage design.
· Sunday mornings bring parking bottlenecks as well as “people congestion’ in the worship space entrances and in the Gathering Place/narthex. This inhibits community building and slows attendance to youth Sunday School and Adult Education opportunities.
· While Atonement staff is both gifted and dedicated, we presently have 3 offices shared by 6 ministry professionals, and one administrative office shared by 3 staff members and many volunteers. Work is sometimes inefficient and confidentiality is not always obtainable at optimal levels.
· We have recently committed to two new pastoral positions. The increases to our ministry staff will help us grow our younger adult and youth populations both relationally and numerically.
Atonement’s Congregational Council and Pastoral Staff have spent a great deal of time discussing and praying about the right solution to our space concerns. We recently engaged a Christian consulting firm named “Kairos” to advise us on an appropriate means for addressing this issue. Kairos is the Greek word that means “now is the time.” And, following this consultation, that is exactly our collective conclusion and recommendation – If we are to realize our full potential for Atonement’s ministries, now is the time to address our long-standing space constraints. As found in Ecclesiastes 3:3 – it is “A Time to Build Up.”
Here are the expansion/renovation focus areas:
- New classrooms for the Day School and youth ministries to meet the demands of these programs, as well as possible new programs such as adult day care
- Expanded on-site parking, from less than 70 spaces to up to 200 spaces
- Improved storm water detention and site grading
- Expanded entry and gathering areas with new drop-off zone to reduce congestion
- Additional office space and meeting rooms
- A new multi-purpose room with space suitable for many program activities such as mid-week and Sunday youth programs and recreation activities, other youth gatherings and “lock-ins”, Atonement Christian Day School daily play space and alternate worship space, as well as outreach activities such as community athletic activities, concerts/plays/performances, large dinners/receptions, outside organization meetings and events (AA, scouts), polling place, etc.
THE BUILDING PROGRAM
We engaged the architectural firm of Eckenhoff Saunders to consider our expansion/renovation focus areas and to develop some preliminary renderings of the new and improved physical space. We also asked for their views on the cost to complete the entire project. Eckenhoff Saunders estimates that the full scope project would cost approximately $8 million. They also believe that construction should be staged in order to allow for functionality of the building during construction (e.g., to assure program continuity, additional classrooms should be constructed before existing classrooms are renovated.)
Kairos conducted an advanced assessment of our congregation’s collective ability to fund this project. Their view was that we could raise $2.5 to $3 million through a capital appeal in 2008 and a like amount in a follow-on capital appeal 2-3 years later. If we are not able to raise the entire $8 million required for the full scope project, we may consider financing a portion of the capital costs. Our advisors believe that we could prudently increase our annual operating budget by 20% to cover debt service requirements. This implies a debt financing principal amount of approximately $2 million.
Based on the construction and financial considerations set forth above, the building program will be completed in phases. The priority of the expansion/renovation focus areas will be based on several considerations, including capital availability, functionality of the building during construction phases, and nature and timing of requisite approvals.
A timeline for the building program could be as follows:
February 2008 Launch capital appeal
Late 2008/Early 2009 Phase 1 groundbreaking
Late 2009 Phase 1 occupancy
Early 2010 Phase 2 capital appeal
Late 2010 Phase 2 groundbreaking
Late 2011 Phase 2 occupancy
WILL YOU BE A CATALYST FOR GROWTH?
These are exciting times and we need your help! It is a “Time to Build Up”, to further Christ’s mission in the setting we are called to serve in. Will you help us with your generous giving in the coming years (2008-2010) so that we can build these new facilities for ministry? Will you be a strong partner as we undertake this bold building project, a project that is rooted in the conviction that God is our abundant provider? Together we can make this a reality.
