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Wisconsin Project Is Model of Collaborative Ministry
NEW RICHMOND, WI (July 17, 2001) - Thanks to extensive help from Northwest Conference churches, Prairieview Covenant Church in New Richmond is in the midst of an extensive construction project that will significantly enlarge its space.
Prairieview Covenant, with an average Sunday worship attendance of 50 people, is constructing a 12,500-square-foot facility, scheduled for completion by the end of the year, which will be five times the size of its current building. The congregation is receiving much of its help from churches in the Lake Pepin District as it attempts to pull off the ambitious effort in the rapidly growing community.
Pastor Rudy King and wife, Nancy, said Lake Pepin District churches have provided $45,000 of support for Prairieview Covenant. First Covenant Church in Red Wing, Minnesota, contributed another $50,000. National Covenant Properties, with offices in Chicago, also is participating in financing of the project. Meanwhile, a number of individuals - and one Wisconsin church in particular - made large commitments that have helped speed the building process, which was delayed because of heavy rains in the area.
Construction crews have poured a foundation and laid concrete blocks around the building's perimeter. Framework is scheduled to begin in August and the church hopes to be able to use some portion of the new facility around Christmas. A second stage, including about 4,500 square feet, is also being considered.
"I think this is the place the Lord wants us to be," said Rudy King of Prairieview Covenant. "The thing that intrigued me was the opportunity to start something from scratch. And we received the promise of help (from district churches). We had a three-fold mission of bringing healing to the congregation, to grow the congregation and to build a new facility on land that had already been bought. We're working on those areas and the congregation has been stepping up to bat quite a lot and have increased giving quite significantly. We're still in the process of building the congregation, but we're moving forward."
Al and Judy Nelson, members of First Covenant in Red Wing, and Charlie and Judy Holmgren, members of Community Covenant in Upsala, have been key figures in the construction process. The Nelsons and Holmgrens moved to the site with recreational vehicles and are providing full-time volunteer services.
Dave Swanson of Bethlehem Covenant in Minneapolis, a leader for the Covenant Mission Connection Builders team, has aided the project by recruiting volunteers and lending logistical assistance. The Kings hope this kind of collaborative effort to build ministry in the Northwest Conference will flourish throughout the denomination. Similar efforts in the past have aided other Minnesota churches suffering fire damage, including Foley and Biwabik.
"We're finding that a lot of other churches want to use Covenant Mission Connection (Builders Team) this way," said Nancy King, a longtime Christian education consultant in the Northwest Conference. "They've been coming to our church and hope that some day other churches will help them." (For more information on the Covenant Mission Connection Builders Team, contact Swanson by telephone at 612-276-1166 or by email at dswan55406@aol.com.)
The Kings have been part of church growth efforts before, helping Community Covenant Church in Upsala, Minnesota, which has quadrupled its attendance. They're hoping for similar results in northern Wisconsin, particularly because the site for the new church lies next to a major highway in the area. The fact that the New Richmond-Star Prairie site is in one of the fastest growing areas in the state doesn't hurt, either.
"We feel a little bit like Noah building the ark," said Nancy King as she noted the housing projects that seem to be popping up everywhere around the church. "Almost every week you see a house being put up in the area."
Prairieview Covenant Church recognized the growth potential in the 1980s and bought property in 1989. However, the congregation would not achieve the momentum to start a major building project until a decade later. In August 2000, a church building committee visited several Northwest Conference churches in search of ideas for a new facility.
The Kings arrived in December after serving a church plant in Albany, Minnesota, a daughter church of Community Covenant Church. Prairieview Covenant Church seemed a perfect fit for the Kings and Northwest Conference Supt. Paul Erickson agreed, obtaining congregational support before calling the couple to Wisconsin.
The Kings are grateful for the early support of nearby Covenant churches. United Covenant Church in Clear Lake, Wisconsin, built a storage garage that serves as a hospitality center and a construction office. First Covenant Church of River Falls, Wisconsin, sent construction help in the form of a youth ministry team including pastors Neil Bonkoski and Pat Richter. Bethany Covenant Church in Stillwater, Minnesota, and Roseville Covenant Church in Roseville, Minnesota, have also contributed assistance. Other congregations are scheduled to send groups or individuals later this summer.
Prairieview Covenant continues to seek people with construction experience to spend a week or more on site helping complete the project. For more information on the church and the building project, contact the Kings by telephone at 715-246-5578 or by email at prairieviewcov@pressenter.com. The church web site can be found at www.pressenter.com/~rudyking/prairieview/plans.html.
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