Covenant News - Covenant Churches Launch Building Projects

Covenant News

Covenant Churches Launch Building Projects

CHICAGO, IL (July 11, 2002) - Numerous congregations throughout the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) are in the midst of building projects. Following is an update on some of them, listed by conference or region:

CENTRAL

Mount Prospect, Illinois: Northwest Covenant Church's building process is on hold as the congregation awaits the sale of its current building. The "Build the Vision Campaign" drive has raised enough funds to pay for architectural fees. Northwest Covenant averages more than 250 in worship attendance. The pastor is Dr. Herbert Jacobsen.

ECCAK

Eagle River, Alaska: Community Covenant Church celebrated a groundbreaking ceremony for the future construction of a children's wing June 9. The 5,800-square-foot wing includes Sunday school classrooms, a nursery and two youth rooms. The church hopes to complete the project in November. Community Covenant averages more than 550 in worship attendance under Senior Pastor Mark Meredith. The church is located 12 miles from Anchorage.

EAST COAST

Thomaston, Connecticut: The Covenant Church of Thomaston hopes to complete a project for a new Christian education wing by early next year. The 6,800-square-foot facility will include a kitchen, classrooms, a library and a nursery, among other things. The cost is about $600,000, according to Pastor Tim Olsen. On May 29, construction workers began digging the foundation. The Covenant Church of Thomaston is averaging more than 150 in worship attendance and new children's ministries have energized the congregation.
East Greenwich, Rhode Island: Parishioners at Christ Church have committed $900,000 in pledges or "faith promises" and the church is beginning to collect funds in order to begin building. Elder Greg Hudson said that the church is re-evaluating facility needs. The church completed a $1.6 million building project a few years ago, but rapid growth has necessitated another building expansion Christ Church averages around 450 for Sunday worship and serves more than 700 per week via youth programs and other organizations. Lyle Mook is the senior pastor at Christ Church.

GREAT LAKES

Allegan, Michigan: Christ Community Church's "Building on the Promises" campaign has been put on hold until necessary funding develops for facility expansion efforts. Phase one of the project includes building additional classrooms and will cost around $640,000.
Jamestown, New York: Zion Covenant Church voted to launch a capital campaign this fall following a May 14 presentation outlining plans to renovate the church sanctuary and expand the narthex, among other things.
Powell, Ohio: Sawmill Covenant Church purchased land recently with the help of National Covenant Properties and will begin fundraising activities this fall, said Pastor John Atkinson. The church is also seeking additional land adjacent to the property just purchased. Sawmill Covenant currently has 180 in average worship attendance. The church, which officially began in November 1998, is located in a suburb of Columbus.

MIDWEST

Salina, Kansas: First Covenant Church celebrated a groundbreaking service June 16 with Midwest Conference Supt. Kenneth Carlson attending. The congregation is in the second year of a three-year capital campaign for a new building east of town. The estimated cost of the project is $6,390,000, according to the church's most recent newsletter. Work on the project is expected to begin later this month. First Covenant, whose senior pastor is Dan Pietrzyk, has an average worship attendance of 764, according to recent statistics provided by the denomination. The church will celebrate its 125th anniversary in 2003.
Shawnee, Kansas: Community Covenant Church is beginning a building project with groundbreaking scheduled for the fall of 2003. Church officials have organized a building design team and the church recently approved relocating from its current site. The church has 12.2 acres of land for construction purposes. Community Covenant has 600 members and an average worship attendance of more than 600 under Pastor Thomas Anderson.

NORTH PACIFIC

Bellingham, Washington: Bellingham Covenant Church will conduct a groundbreaking service August 4 for a new facility that is expected to cost more than $4 million, said Pastor Dan Boyce. The 30,000-square-foot, one-floor building will include a sanctuary that seats 400, along with gymnasium, a youth center seating 195 and an administrative area. The church has already had two capital campaign drives that raised a combined total of more than $1 million. The congregation also sold its previous facility. The congregation of 200 is located in northwest Washington in a town of 65,000 located about 30 miles from the Canadian border. The church will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2005.
Olympia, Washington: River Ridge Covenant Church is well into its building expansion project of 4,800 square feet, according to office manager Debbie Lewis. The church hopes to have the expansion project finished by mid-August. The expansion includes five classrooms and an administrative wing that includes four offices, said Lewis. The church, which was founded September 1993, has an average worship attendance of 400. The pastor is Mark Orr. River Ridge had received a loan from National Covenant Properties to help expedite the process of expansion of a facility that opened in February1997.
Selah, Washington: Selah Covenant Church is putting together committees to find a new building site for its church. The congregation recently voted to move to another location after fire destroyed the church annex last August. Four sites are being considered, said Associate Pastor Marc Strobel. The Department of Church Growth and Evangelism, through its representative Steve Dawson, is assisting the church with the search. A capital campaign is being planned for the fall. Selah Covenant has 240 in average worship attendance. It was founded in 1908 in a town of 6,000 located in central Washington. Marc Peterson is the senior pastor.

NORTHWEST

Biwabik, Minnesota: The Evangelical Covenant Church of Biwabik, through a "Catch the Vision-Finish the Work" fundraising project, raised about $30,000 by the end of May. It will use those funds to work on a new fellowship hall, education space and bathrooms for a church facility being constructed on 7.3 acres of land. The church had hoped to raise $60,000, which would have allowed the church to further work on its sanctuary. It has been nearly four years since fire destroyed a building on August 23, 1998. A wonderful gift to the church is the donation of 47 windows by Marvin Windows and Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis. Pastor Jeffrey Jones said the church hopes to finish most of the inside construction work later this year and move into the new facility by Christmas. It has been worshiping at a local senior adult center since August 2000.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota: Prairie Hills Covenant Church is entering negotiations with a potential buyer for its current church building while it readies for a building project that could begin later this year. Pastor Dawn Burnett said that details for financing are being discussed before the church considers a groundbreaking date. Estimated cost for the project is $1.9 million for an 18,600-square-foot facility on 12 acres of land. Prairie Hills Covenant has an average worship attendance of 140 in a city of 130,000 located in eastern South Dakota.
New Richmond, Wisconsin: Prairieview Covenant Church is about 75 percent finished with its building project, as the first 12,000 square feet of the 16,000-square-foot building plan is nearly completed. Landscaping has begun and the church plans to blacktop the parking lot soon. Thus far, more than $500,000 in construction costs has been saved, thanks to 19,000 hours of donated labor. The son of a Covenant pastor repaired and refurbished the church's stained glass windows for free and the relative of a parishioner installed a countertop in the church kitchen and donated the materials as well. Carpeting was installed free and a local resident gave money to pay for a steeple.

PACIFIC SOUTHWEST

Chandler, Arizona: Hope Covenant Church is expected to complete a $1.4 million building this fall. The church building, a 14,000-square-foot facility on five acres, will include a sanctuary that seats 400. The congregation hopes to move into its new facility in October, said Associate Pastor Brad Kindall. National Covenant Properties aided the project with a substantial loan. A kickoff campaign called "40 Days of Purpose," a five-week focus on five earmarks of a Biblical church, will coincide with the move. Hope Covenant was founded in 1987 and averages more than 200 in worship attendance. The senior pastor is Duane Cross.
Davis, California: University Covenant Church finished design development drawings six weeks ago, said building committee representative Scott Agee. Estimates are that the building project will cost about $5.8 million, including design, construction and additional items. A total of $2.6 million has been pledged in a recent capital campaign drive and a donor gave another $200,000 to the campaign. Phase one of the project includes a multipurpose room that will serve as a temporary sanctuary. It will begin in the coming months. Agee said the church hopes to finish the first phase next summer and start phase two of the project in about five years.
El Dorado Hills, California: Lakehills Community Covenant Church is planning a groundbreaking ceremony later this year for a new church, according to youth director Chad Caubin. A capital campaign drive is also in the works.
Granite Bay, California: Bayside Covenant Church's ambitious building project is well under way as the church began work following a Memorial Day weekend groundbreaking ceremony. The building project was approved in court last fall by Placer County administrators and survived an appeal by local residents. Frank Calton is the volunteer building coordinator for the church, whose senior pastor is Ray Johnston. Bayside Covenant's facility totals 94,500 square feet with 883 parking spaces. The church has started a second capital campaign to pay for construction and is enlisting the help of National Covenant Properties to help them explore financing options. Founded in 1995, Bayside Covenant has an average worship attendance of about 4,000, according to the latest Covenant Yearbook figures. Ray Johnston is senior pastor at the church, which is located near Sacramento in Northern California.
Hilmar, California: Hilmar Covenant Church hosted a groundbreaking June 2 in the beginning of a building project entitled, "Building For Christ, The Next 100 Years." The building project will include a new gymnasium, Sunday school and other office space. The estimated cost is $3 million, which will include renovating the current church.
Pleasant Hill, California: Hope Center Covenant Church is meeting with the city planning commission July 23 in hopes of getting a project plan approved. A capital campaign has netted over $655,000. The goal of the campaign was $1.4 million. The goal is to build more classroom and office space, along with a kitchen. Hope Center Covenant is located in the East Bay area of Northern California, within 20 miles of San Francisco. The church, which was founded in 1979, has an average worship attendance of 584. Dean Honnette is the senior pastor.
Santa Barbara, California: Montecito Covenant Church completed a step in the process of getting county approval for a building project - a conditional use permit. The next step for the church is to get approval from the county's land use committee. The church building project includes a new sanctuary and the renovation of the existing facilities for other uses. A capital campaign is set to start in September. Montecito Covenant averages about 300 in worship attendance under Pastor Curt Peterson.

SOUTHEAST

St. Petersburg, Florida: Faith Covenant Church is in the midst of a building project called Expand Faith Together, which recently finished a capital campaign that netted commitments of more than $850,000 to be paid over three years. The church's building committee has selected an architectural firm to work with the congregation, although no plans for a groundbreaking ceremony have been made.
Greensboro, North Carolina: Trinity Church is halfway through with a building project for a Family Life Center. The project started last year and the church hopes to complete the building by the end of the year. The Family Life Center will include classroom facilities, a gymnasium and a kitchen. Trinity Church originally came from the Methodist Church and was a non-denominational church before becoming affiliated with the Evangelical Covenant Church. It has more than 350 members and an average worship attendance of around 250. The pastor is Marc Putnam.

To learn more about various building projects going on throughout the denomination's North America churches, regularly visit this ECC website at www.covchurch.org. Many of the above-mentioned churches have web sites that can be found under the "Directory" tab on the Covenant home page.

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