Vision Presentation – Sun Mar 5, 2017 Good Morning! I’m so excited to share some plans and visions with you today that have been months – years – in the making. The prophet Habakkuk, as paraphrased by Eugene Peterson in The Message, said “GOD, I've heard what our ancestors say about you, and I'm stopped in my tracks, down on my knees. Do among us what you did among them. Work among us as you worked among them. And as you bring judgment, as you surely must, remember mercy.” (Habakkuk 3:2) Those of us who have been at Crossroads a short time have heard stories about how God guided and provided in the earliest days of our spiritual family. We’ve heard about the great days at the Best Western, and then at the Monticello Middle School, and then as our property in Monticello was purchased and our first building was built. Exciting times and wonderful stories to tell and retell. Many of us have been praying that God would do incredible things in our midst – again! And, indeed, He has…and He is. In fact, I would say that much – if not all – of what I’m sharing with you today is a result of prayer. God has really been at work since our Prayer Ministry Team hosted a Prayer Gathering on Wednesday evening, February 8 th . Thank you so much for faithfully praying. By the wa y, there’s another Prayer Gathering coming up on Wednesday evening, March 15 th at 6:30 PM. Everyone is welcome. You don’t have to be on the Prayer Ministry Team to come pray. There are many things on the horizon that we are trusting God to accomplish in our midst. Before long we hope to welcome folks from many locales to participate with us through Gather services streaming live on the Internet. And, of course, we are continuing to pursue the person God has for us to fill the role of Youth Pastor on our Staff Team. We can see God at work and prayerfully we will have someone to introduce to you soon.
Today, however, I want to focus on facilities and space – both in Monticello and in Bement. The visions and plans I’ll be sharing are coming to you from our Elder Team as well as our Pastoral Team – so, about 10 people in all. First, let’s talk about our Monticello space needs. Many of you are aware that we began, nearly two years ago, renting space across town from our main building to have some dedicated space for our Collide Student Ministry. Recently, our Elders and Pastors have been evaluating the space used, the times it is used, the cost for rent and utilities, as well as what other options might be available for Collide – and other – ministries to use. After looking at several options including continuing to rent, leasing or purchasing portable classroom/building space, and even using existing space in our current building; we believe the best solution both for the short-term and long-term is to construct a new building on our existing property. This building would be a pole-barn type building with steel siding and a metal roof. The building’s color scheme would match our current facility and would be located where are current garage/shed is located. Tentatively, the building is planned for about 2,000 to 2,500 square feet and will include a couple of bathrooms and a small kitchen as well as large gathering space to meet the needs of our Middle School and High School students. Obviously, other groups and events would be able to utilize the building as well. The minimum amount needed for this facility is approximately $55,000. This number would include the concrete work and erection of the building being done by licensed contractors. The interior work and finish would then be completed by volunteers from our church family. I know there are many here today who have dreamed about the day when we could have space for our students on our own property. That day could be here soon. Anticipated completion of this facility would be prior to the start of school in August of this year!
Before we leave this topic, I want to say a special thank you to our Collide students, parents, and ministry volunteers who have helped us through this transition. And, especially Paul Roberts, the leader of our A-Team Construction Ministry, for pursuing and sharing this vision with me and then with our Elders and Pastors and helping us see how feasible this facility can be. Thank you, Paul, for helping us advance this vision forward and bring it to reality. By the way, in the future, should future building expansion include a family life center and/or a gymnasium and/or a large multi-purpose facility, then the building we are proposing now would not necessarily be needed for Collide Student Ministry. At that time, the proposed building would become a garage, or storage space, or whatever would be most needed or prudent at the time. In other words, it would still be a very useful building on our property for many, many years to come. Second, let ’s talk about our Bement space needs. As you know, Crossroads Bement was talked about and prayed about for several years prior to our Grand Opening back in October of 2015. God has done – and is doing – some amazing things in Bement. On many recent Sundays, there have been 50+ and even 60+ people gathered for worship. Last Sunday, a new record attendance was achieved when 70 people joined together to sing, hear God’s Word, and share together as a spiritual family! What’s particularly encouraging about those numbers is that many, many weeks the attendance includes 20+ kids. That’s right, 20. 2 – 0. Originally, Crossroads Bement was renting the Second Story Conference Center at 111 E. Bodman in downtown Bement right along Highway 105. Unfortunately, the building was badly damaged last fall on November 2 nd . Perhaps you remember the tornado sirens going off that evening. Not only did the sirens go off, but the roof of the Second Story Conference Center was ripped off. Extensive damage was done to the roof requiring it to be entirely replaced.
So, Crossroads Bement has, since that night, been renting the old Bement Opry building currently owned by the Bement Lions Club. Thank God, this building was available. God has used it for His purposes. However, it does not have adequate space for us to use long- term – particularly with the number of children who are attending. Imagine Brenda Wolf and her helpers trying to minister to 20+ children in about a 13 x 15 foot space. Yeah, right! That’s a lot of kids in a little space. A few weeks ago, the property owners of the Second Story Conference Center contacted us and asked if we would be interesting in having, or owning, the property. It soon became apparent to Pastor Randy that they were considering giving the building to Crossroads! Before I go on, I want to stress with you that the owners of the building have asked us to do our very best to keep this just within our spiritual family. They would prefer to remain anonymous, or known only to the Crossroads Family. They would not like public recognition. They would not like this news spread via newspaper, social media, and so forth. I’m sure many of you here today know what it’s like to want to give something away without drawing attention to yourself. I want to ask you to help me honor their request and simply thank God for what He is providing for us! Amazing! You can see this building on the screen. In addition, you’ll notice that the building includes adjacent property with several parking spots and lots of frontage on Highway 105. I want you to know that significant time has been invested to consider the costs of needed interior repairs from the water damage that occurred both during and after the storm last November, as well as what the costs of insurance and utilities would be if Crossroads were to own the building. The roof has recently been entirely replaced at a cost in excess of $100,000. So, here’s some more good news:
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