Church Conference

Church Conference

Last Sunday during the morning worship services, I announced that we have scheduled a church conference on Sunday, June 12, at 10:00 a.m. in the sanctuary for the purpose of electing a building committee. Today, I would like to offer a little background information that led to this announcement.

Over the course of the last year, members of the finance committee have been working with our banker to establish a plan to eliminate our church’s indebtedness, which currently is $8 million. While this is not an unusual amount of debt for a church our size, we believe that it has the potential to prevent us from accomplishing some of the mission and ministry opportunities we see on the horizon. Therefore, we have been pro-actively talking with our banker about a five-year financial campaign to eliminate the debt.

At the beginning of the year, as we were preparing to bring this to the congregation for consideration, members of the Program Council asked, “What is the next major capital campaign that we anticipate undertaking and when would that campaign take place?” Well, the church’s long-range plan that was on my desk when I arrived nearly three years ago recommended a new youth facility as our next project. Logically, if we move forward with a debt-retirement campaign this year and carry it forward for the coming five years, the youth facility would be a part of the next campaign in six or seven years and would come online just about the time the third graders who received their Bibles last fall are preparing for their senior year in high school. Obviously, that answer was disconcerting to the members of our Program Council.

Peachtree Road is blessed with a growing ministry with middle school and high school students. Those who have attended Youth Sunday over the last few years can testify to the visible growth in that ministry – both in number and in spirit. You have heard them share their faith in word and deed, and you know of their participation in mission outreach projects at home and abroad. You may not know that they meet in cramped space on the third floor of the Rollins building. Also, the reality is that we have over one thousand children on roll in the elementary department (kindergarten through fifth grade), and there is no way we are going to be able to retain them due to our lack of space in the youth department unless we do something.

Therefore, at the recommendation of the Program Council, we initiated informal conversations with groups throughout the church concerning the possibility of combining a capital campaign to construct a youth facility with the planned debt-retirement campaign. And the response from all quarters has been most enthusiastic – from Sunday School classes to Disciple Bible Study groups to the past Administrative Board chairs to the Staff-Parish Relations Committee to the Trustees to the Finance Committee to the Program Council. In fact, many believe that we will be more successful in this dual campaign than we would attempting a debt-campaign alone. Earlier this month, the Administrative Board voted unanimously to go forward with the exploration of this dual purpose campaign.

So, we will hold a church conference for the purpose of electing a building committee. This is the first of three church conferences we anticipate having. The second will probably occur in the fall when the building committee presents preliminary drawings of a youth facility and cost estimates, and the third would occur when we have final drawing, costs, and a financial plan to underwrite the scope of the entire project. I do not anticipate the meeting on Sunday, June 12, at 10:00 a.m. to last long. Our only item of business will be to elect members who have been nominated to serve on the building committee. I hope that you will give us a few minutes and be present at the meeting.

I hope this information is helpful. Most of all, I hope that you will be in prayer for our church as we go forward into a future with hope. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

I look forward to worshiping with you Sunday!

Bill