Received Funding
$469K
Outstanding Pledges
$318K
Goal
$750K
Purpose
A healthy church is a growing church
God has blessed the Creekside family in amazing ways through the years! Recently He has paid off the debt on our building, allowing us to expand our vision to serve our growing community. Ellis county is experiencing exponential growth; there are more people right in our backyard who need to share in the love of God. Statistics show that many of these newcomers are families with children. Since we are already nearing capacity in our children’s ministry space, there is a clear need to expand and improve our facilities.
To meet this need we plan to convert the space that is currently office space and our cafe into new classroom space and bathrooms that will exponentially expand the capacity of our Creek Kids ministry. We will also be adding much-needed security doors to provide our children with a safe environment. These spaces will be used by our Creek Kids ministry and by the preschool that we plan to open in August of 2024.
We plan to convert the space that is currently our nursery into a coffee area to promote fellowship for our growing church family. This will be a great place to sit, have a cup of coffee, and share life together.
Expanding our Vision
At Creekside, our vision is Living Discipleship. As disciples, we are called to follow Jesus. With this mindset, we approach the challenge of raising capital to fund these changes. We want to be followers of Jesus and make disciples, and we pray that these funds allow us to expand our outreach in the community. When going through this process, we also desire that God would mold each of us more and more into the image of Christ.
What’s the Plan?
To wisely use our resources, building improvements will have to be spread out over two phases in two years.
The timing will be determined by our funding.
Our overall goal with these renovations is to create a safer environment for our Children’s Ministry and to provide additional teaching and fellowship space for our growing congregation. The plan includes relocating adult class space and adding a coffee/fellowship space in our lobby.
Project 1: Office hallway
The first part of our upgrade will be the demolition of the current office space to make room for children’s ministry classrooms for newborns to Early Childhood age. This area will eventually be enclosed by a glass security door to provide an extra layer of safety. Adult classes will be moved to the front of the building outside of the children’s area.
Project 2: Remaining hallways
The second phase includes construction in the back hallway and around the current cafe by the kitchen. Bathrooms, sinks, and cabinetry will be added to two of our existing classrooms. The cafe will be divided into two classrooms for our growing Creek Kids Ministry. The final glass doors will be placed in the kitchen hallway to secure all the children’s classrooms behind security doors.
Project 3: Fellowship Cafe
The current nursery will become a fellowship cafe and sitting area. Rooms 4 & 5, at the front of the building, will become adult class spaces and room 21 will be for adult classes.
The construction in Phase One will set the foundation for a future Preschool at Creekside. This phase will include getting city approval, state approval, and the certifications required to open. This process can take up to 6 months. The Director will begin to select curriculum, hiring, training, and marketing during this time. The preschool will open in the fall of 2024.
Developing a Culture of Giving
We are a generous church, and we want to further develop and build a Culture of Giving and wise stewardship here at Creekside. We believe that Giving is a natural extension of faith and an integral part of the New Testament church.
In 2 Corinthians 9:7, the apostle Paul said, “God loves a cheerful giver.” Paul encouraged the believers in Corinth to give generously, not “reluctantly or under compulsion.” Most importantly, he wanted them to rely on their inner convictions. We believe Giving to be something we do in a cheerful way, being filled with a sense of joy and thanksgiving for God’s goodness.
As we move Forward in Faith, we encourage you to consider God’s faithfulness. Consider your convictions and respond through your regular tithing and by your involvement in this campaign.
Questions?
What if we don’t raise enough money in time to cover Phase 1?
The contract will be written so that we pay as the contractor achieves project milestones. If money is not available for the project, it will have to be delayed in alignment with God’s timing.
What about offices for the church staff?
The staff offices will be available immediately and within the footprint of our building as we will be re-purposing space for offices.
What was the contracting strategy for selecting a contractor?
The request for bids was sent to numerous contractors but only three responded. As you know, these are challenging times in the construction industry. They are dealing with a shortage of materials, rapidly rising prices and a labor shortage.
What will happen with the daycare center currently located in our church?
The daycare owner is having their own facility built and is planning to move out of our building as soon as it is complete. It is likely construction will start before they relocate and a plan is already in place to allow construction to proceed and the daycare center to function as needed.
Why not borrow the money for the project?
Our church recently was able to pay off the outstanding debt on our building, which had limited our ministries. It is the desire of our church to pay as we go and not take on any additional debt that would limit our ability to minister to our community.
What about the meeting space needs of our youth and adults?
Allowances have been made for both groups to have adequate meeting space. With some minor adjustments, the current dedicated space for our youth will continue to meet their needs. Our adults will have one large meeting room (currently rooms 4/5) that can easily be divided into two rooms. Depending on how we allocate office space, we may also have Room 21 available as an additional adult classroom.
Will we be able to use our building during construction?
Yes, we can continue to use our building. It obviously will require some adjusting, inconveniences, and workarounds during construction, but it will be only for a short period of time.
Further questions can be directed to forward-in-faith@creeksidecc.com