RESTORATION PROJECT | FAQ
We are thankful that you are interested in Calvary’s Restoration Project and have taken the time to find out more information. We pray the Lord allows us to accomplish His will for Calvary Church through this process. We have compiled below answers to some of the more frequently asked questions, which hopefully helps you understand our vision for the Restoration Project.
If at any point in this process, you would like to talk to someone about this project, please feel free to send an email to restoration@calvarylife.org or call 714.550.2465.
{ Update Q & A - April 2011 }
- The vote will be to Approve or Disapprove the following:
I approve the expenditure of Restoration Project funds up to $4.3 million, to Remodel Samsvick Chapel, build a new Nursery in the wings of the Worship Center, create a modified student space in the C Building basement, and perform critical campus repairs. The funds spent are not to exceed the amount of funds pledged plus unpledged Restoration Project gifts. I also authorize the church to use a line of credit for temporary construction financing, not to exceed 50% of the Restoration Project pledges and repaid in full by the end of the project.
- The current total as of March 31, 2011 is $2,975,175 from 537 individuals and families (207 of which are unpledged gifts)
- We plan to remodel Samsvick Chapel with new heating and air conditioning, chairs, paint, flooring, sound system, lighting, side window coverings, and roof repairs.
- We plan to replace the air conditioning in Buildings A, B, and N with more energy efficient units and repair the roofs on them as well as the Gym building.
- We plan to create a new Nursery in the wings of the Worship Center with new office space and storage space on the 2nd floor.
- We plan to create one large student room in the basement of the C Building with new bathrooms.
- If God provides the $4.3 million goal, we would complete conversion of the space upstairs in Worship Center to offices (which allows for additional ground floor Preschool Classrooms in Building D), create a student space that could accommodate both junior high and high school at the same time, enhance our signage, install a green playground space, improve the Samsvick Chapel organ wall and balcony, and repair the C building roof and air conditioning. All of these things can help improve and expand ministry but the $3 million plan still creates usable space that is not dependent on these phases being completed.
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Calvary received notice that the cost of steel is going up 10% by October, and other construction costs are projected to rise within the next year. Depending on when pledged donations are received, there may be times when expenditures for a month exceed project cash on hand. Calvary’s bank has offered a line of credit we can use to keep the project on track. Currently, we can borrow money and pay it off as needed currently at a 5% interest rate up to $1,500,000. With your authorization, we would not borrow any more than 50% of the pledges already made and we would repay all of it by the end of the Restoration Project. The line of credit would just be used as required for construction cost cash flow and does not create any long term debt.
- Much of this depends on the amount of funds we have on hand based on the pledges of our congregation and how each person gives over three years. We have funds available to begin the Building A, B, and N roof and air conditioning project this summer, and construction on the Nursery could start by January 2012, and the C building basement and Samsvick remodel could be started by January 2013. Project start times could be moved up or delayed for each phase based on how the funds are received.
- Currently we do not have enough funds to move forward on this phase of the project so the vote does not authorize this project yet. However, as vacancies become available, we will look to partner with ministries that would be in line with the Reach Center concept. We can give them great deals on rent while still covering our costs, which could improve in the future if God provides the funds to retire the debt.
- The Master Plan is currently being reviewed by the City of Santa Ana with these proposed changes in mind. The $3 million plan does not add any new external structures so it is a different permit process and will be started separately once approved by the congregation. None of the changes in the Restoration Project plans impact the zoning change we are going for in the Master Plan for potential future expansion. In fact, by moving the nursery to the Worship Center and reducing the amount of seats, it does reduce the number of parking spaces we are required to acquire under agreement with our neighbors.
- Calvary’s bylaws require the church members to vote on spending anything greater than 10% of our income for a building project (or approximately $500,000 currently) or to incur indebtedness of the same amount. We did ask the congregation to make commitments to the Restoration Project to see what the Lord would provide. Now that commitments have been made, we are asking for authorization to spend them in accordance with the motion which will be voted on April 17, 2011.
- Calvary’s leadership does not want to get into long term debt on this project. We do not want to spend money beyond what is pledged to avoid the additional cost of long term interest on a loan that needs to be paid off over an extended period of time. The Line of Credit we could potentially use on this project from Calvary’s bank (Farmer’s and Merchant’s) allows us to borrow funds on a month to month basis as needed for the project and pay them off as soon as the funds are received from our congregation. With the projected construction costs continuing to rise, Calvary’s leadership believes that this option has the potential to save the church money over the cost of the project. Our whole plan is to “live within our means” and not overextend ourselves in the process of restoring our lives, campus and community.
- The initial plan was for $6.5 million which included three phases including paying off the Heritage medical building debt and converting it to a Reach Center which was $2.6 million. The remaining $3.9 million was for the construction on Calvary’s campus detailed above. With the construction costs continuing to rise, our architect recommended we add a 10% contingency to that number resulting in a total price of $4.3 million. The additional factors were incorporated in the revised $3 million version of the plan. The project will be competitively bid and we will do everything possible to keep costs as low as possible, including using construction professionals in our church who have volunteered their materials and services. We have budgeted conservatively and plan to beat it if possible.
- Much of this depends on the amount of funds we have on hand based on the pledges of our congregation and how each person gives over three years. We have funds available to begin the Building A, B, and N roof and air conditioning project this summer, and construction on the Nursery could start by January 2012, and the C building basement and Samsvick remodel could be started by January 2013. Project start times could be moved up or delayed for each phase based on how the funds are received.
{ Frequently Asked Questions }
VISION
- Our goal for this project is to restore our lives, campus, and community through various initiatives described below and prepare ourselves for future ministry in Orange County and around the world.
- Our church purpose is to be a community where we CONNECT with God and others to GROW in our faith so we REACH Orange County and the world for Jesus Christ.
- By creating better utilized ministry space for connecting with our community, we provide opportunity for spiritual growth and reaching others for Christ.
- Specifically, this will provide new, young families with a more welcoming worship experience, knowing their young children are close by and well cared for. It will provide our great Jr. High, High School and College ministries with dedicated space for our growing student population. The repurposing of Heritage Medical Center takes our vision to reach Orange County to a much higher level of impact. In addition, necessary renovation & maintenance for Samsvick Chapel and our other facilities is good stewardship of our church campus.
- In faith, we are asking our church to pray as individuals and families, asking God what He would have each do to support the future of Calvary Church. It takes faith to hear God’s voice, obey, and persevere toward the vision He has for Calvary Church.
RESTORATION PROJECT OVERVIEW
- Repurpose the Heritage Medical Building to use its 10 suites for Reach ministry opportunities. We want to create a space where we can further our outreach activities in the local community. By converting suites in the Heritage Building to a Reach Center we have the ability to partner with organizations to use the space to bless the community and create new opportunities for Calvary to serve our community in areas such as: medical, job placement, education, and restoring relationships.
- Provide our Student Ministries a dedicated space for ongoing ministry.
- Make the Sunday worship experience more welcoming and convenient for new families with young children. We will move the nursery for infants to age 3 children from the basement to newly built rooms within both sides of the main Worship Center.
- Restore & equip Samsvick Chapel to better utilize this space for weekly adult ministry events, weddings, and memorial services.
- Make other necessary repairs to the roof and ventilation systems in campus buildings, improve campus signage, and provide a playground with artificial turf.
THE NEED
Worship Center:
- We have space for ministry in the Worship Center, but on a Sunday morning and Wednesday night, we are using almost all of our meeting rooms for various ministries. This project would allow us to better utilize the current space we have and by freeing up the current space where the Nursery is and moving student ministries there, we can use the Gym and Fellowship Hall for other ministries.
- Currently, parents of infants and toddlers must go down to the basement across campus in the C Building to drop off and pick up their young ones. This is not convenient as they have strollers and diaper bags. It is not a welcoming space as we try to invite more young families to our church. To increase our hospitality to new, young families, we have the opportunity to provide a nursery right in our Worship Center.
- Many options were considered, but there really is no better option, considering the space and facilities that the nursery requires. Church leadership has looked at many options and creating space for the nursery in the Worship Center is the best, long-term option. It is also more cost effective than building a brand new free standing building.
- The nursery will provide dedicated areas for newborns through 3 year olds, with check in areas on both sides of the main worship area.
- Young families and their children are our future. A church of all older Christians eventually dies off….literally. New families with children fuel our ministry for generations to come. They are moving into our established neighborhoods. Reaching them for Christ and providing them a solid “home” church is what God calls us to do.
- The seats to be removed are on the periphery of our worship center and were never optimal for worship. They are rarely used because they feel like they are on the “sidelines” and do not provide a good worship experience. In fact, those seats have gone mostly unused for years. We want to provide a warm, inviting worship experience for all in our services, in every seat. We don’t want to force people into seats that interfere with their personal worship experience.
- It will have 1900 seats which is more than double the number of seats that we currently use at any given service now (The current number of seats is 2700). We will still be able to accommodate a one service Sunday with our current attendance.
- If we continue to grow 5% per year, it will be about thirteen years before we need to make a change and if we grow more rapidly, we will be excited to add additional worship services
- While we haven’t started the formal construction drawings, this will be a consideration and contractors have assured us that it is possible to sound proof the barrier. On the other side of the new wall will be the Nursery hallway into their rooms so that will also provide an additional sound barrier.
- We currently only have one ramp by the bookstore so we would add an additional one on the back eastside of the Worship Center by the choir room which would help provide another access point for those with strollers or wheelchairs to enter. Within the new Nursery area, we would also have stroller parking available as well.
- Most of the events that use our facility will still fit in a 1900 seat auditorium. Only two outside groups that currently use our facilities will be impacted and the lost income is minimal.
Student Ministries:
- This dedicated space will provide our students a “place” and “space” to really be themselves, to feel comfortable and safe to really open their hearts to Christ. Student Ministries is moving from being just a “program” to building a “community” of students for Christ. It is less about programming and more about being a community environment where we can facilitate and build relationship with our students.
- We will have more space with a venue for up to 235 High School students and a venue for over 125 Jr. High or College students.
- Dedicated space for students will not limit their activities for when “space is available” in other rooms on campus. This will provide space for after school ministries for tutoring, counseling, and comfortable “hang out” and connection space. In addition, ministry pastors and volunteers will be able spend more time doing ministry directly with students versus their current schedule - about 34 total hours of set up and tear down each week. It also will free up Fellowship Hall, Samsvick Chapel, and the Gym for Adult ministries during the week and on weekends.
- More relational spaces for small groups, student leadership meetings, prayer ministry and different service formats.
- Provides space for after school ministries of tutoring, counseling, etc.
- It will be a “hangout” space where students can connect with each other and their leaders.
- The dedicated space will increase the ability for creative connection with students. This will eliminate visitors from feeling like they are attending a “show”, “concert”, “class” and make them feel like they are in a “family room.”
- The venues for worship and teaching will be created for that purpose rather than athletics or receptions and will have up-to-date sound, video and lighting.
Samsvick Chapel:
- We will restore and equip Samsvick Chapel to better utilize this space for weekly adult ministry like Bible studies and meetings, events, weddings and memorial services.
- Restoration would include: updating the seating and flooring; painting and restoration of the wood work and walls, upgrading the lighting, sound, video projection, and fixing the heating and A/C systems.
- No, the character and historical charm will be enhanced and restored, not negatively impacted. There would be no change to the classic stained glass windows and we will retain the pipe organ.
- With better lighting, sound, and video projection, we can use this for more adult Bible study meetings, concerts, children’s performances, and worship events. With flexible seating options and tables, we can host round table meetings and interactive small group and Bible studies.
- Currently, many of our members do not use the chapel for their weddings as the facilities are worn down. We want to carry on the Christ-based legacy of marriages in Samsvick Chapel for this generation and generations to come.
Other Necessary Repairs:
- We need to repair necessary roof and air conditioning problems in several buildings on campus, the direst are the A and N buildings and Samsvick Chapel.
- Yes, it will improve the use of utilities and reduce ongoing energy costs as we participate in energy conservation. There are even some rebates available for us for taking advantage of more energy efficient equipment.
- We do have a regular repair budget and we do budget for a few larger improvement projects each year. Over the next decade, we could accomplish some of these repairs in our regular budget over time. Some of these areas are deteriorating much more quickly than anticipated and a greater investment now in capital will cause us to save in future repair and energy costs, so it is good stewardship to be able to raise additional funds to accomplish the projects now.
- Our school and preschool ministries as well as our children’s and student ministries would love to have a green space to safely play that isn’t asphalt or have bark chips that get stuck in your shoes. We’d like to create a state of the art artificial turf area outside the gym where our kids can enjoy activities in a safer way without the ongoing costs of replacing bark chips. We will work with the school and preschool ministries, as well as playground experts, to select a surface that can be maintained effectively and is safe for children to play on.
TIMELINE
- In preparation for our 75th Anniversary, the Elders and staff starting a process of strategically looking at our ministry plan and campus plan to see where we have been and where we feel the Lord is leading us for the future. We also were presented the opportunity to buy our neighboring Heritage Medical Building at that time as well which we did. It had not been available for sale for almost 30 years and allowed us to potentially expand our current campus.
One of our goals at that time was to find a place to create a student center on campus. Our architect advised us that converting the Heritage building into a Student Center would be more costly than actually building a new one. We then looked at plans to remove the N building and replace it with a Student Center. We showed these plans to the City of Santa Ana and they suggested it would be better for us to complete an entire Master Plan of everything we could possibly dream of building on our campus so they could rezone us to something that would help with future height restrictions and approvals.
We have been working on the Master Plan process and while we were developing plans for future buildings including a Student Center, the economy collapsed so we scaled back our initial phase to include restoring and repuposing the buildings we already have.
We can provide dedicated space for a Student Center that can accommodate our current needs, and as that ministry grows, look to build a larger one in the future and easily convert the space in the C building basement to adult classrooms. It has been a wonderful journey that the Lord has had us on to be good stewards of the resources here and to think strategically about the future and what ministry will look like in years to come.
- There are many things that factor into the completion timeline including when the city would approve the building permits, the availability of construction personnel, coordinating with volunteer labor to reduce the project costs, the availability of the funding from the congregation, and scheduling with various activities to minimize the impact on current ministry. Our goal would be to start on a few of the smaller repair projects right away while working on the construction plans and obtaining the necessary city approvals. We also have to create the nursery space in the Worship Center before we can move them out of their current space in the C building basement. After finalizing the plans with the city, our construction project managers can give us a better timeline for when they can complete the project.
- We have many talented people at Calvary Church in various fields of design, construction, technology, media and marketing who will be invaluable in this process. The details of this are to be determined but we are seeking input on people with these skills or others that would like to be involved or even donate time and materials.
- Construction will take place during weekdays and appropriate partitions will be put up to minimize/eliminate any distractions for the weekend services. Some inconveniences are expected as per any “remodel” effort, but these will not create major disruptions.
MASTER PLAN WITH THE CITY OF SANTA ANA
- The Master Plan includes basic layouts for a Student Center, Community Life Center and Children's Center. The City realizes we are landlocked, so in order to accomodate future growth, our plans have to include adding multi-story buildings where we have single story buildings. If we get approval for taller buildings through a zoning change now, when we need the additional support for our ministries, the main approval process will already be completed. In looking at our future plans, the City of Santa Ana feels we can accommodate our parking needs through means other than building a parking structure, so that isn’t in the current Master Plan. We are still processing that part of the plan with the City though, so things might change.
- The City of Santa Ana is continuing its review with a public hearing to be scheduled as a next step. When a specific meeting date is available, we will notify the church to attend as support.
- These initiatives are an interim step in re-purposing our current ministry space for the future. They do not have to be approved as part of the Master Plan as they do not require any new construction of buildings.
- This is dependent on the process with the City of Santa Ana. It is hard to say right now.
PARTICIPATION & PRAYER
- First, give praise to God for our church family, ministries, and the opportunity to serve Him through Calvary Church.
- Second, pray for the ministries that we are investing in to reach new, young families and students in our community for Christ.
- Then, pray and ask God how He would have you give of your time, talent, and treasure to the Restoration Project to create these ministry spaces for His purposes.
- As the project gets funded and actual work gets started, we will have additional prayer requests made available for your prayer times.
- Thank you for praying!
- There will be numerous ways to get involved in The Restoration Project and help serve. There will be opportunities to help plan Restoration Project events, be on prayer teams, be involved in the actual construction process, and more. We will publicize these as we head into the Fall season and prepare more for this project. Email Ray Pertierra at rpertierra@calvarylife.org for more information.
- We covet your prayers for The Restoration Project and also please start praying and asking God how you might be able to help with your time, talent, and treasure.
FINANCIAL
- The estimated need is $6.5 million
- It will be funded by congregational giving to The Restoration Project over 3 years. Capital improvement funds are not taken from weekly regular offering funds. Weekly regular offering supports the day-to-day operations of the church. To put this financial need in perspective to our ongoing needs, our current annual general fund giving is $3.8 million and missions giving is $1.1 million.
- A pledge is the outcome of a prayer-led decision to give over 3 years. It is not a legal obligation, but it is confidential intent to give to The Restoration Project. It helps us plan our project budget similarly to how we use our Faith Promise pledges to plan our annual Missions budget. Restoration Project pledges will be held in strict confidence, but since the project extends over 3 years for budget tracking purposes, we do ask that pledges not be anonymous unlike the Faith Promise pledge.
- Calvary has always been a church that has focused on outreach efforts, especially with our Global Missions program. The Reach effort component of this campaign is to provide a building that can be used to further our outreach efforts in our Santa Ana and surrounding community. Our Faith Promise campaign will continue to fund outreach efforts here and around the globe and its projects will focus on overseas opportunities. We are exploring ways that the Reach Center might also be able to benefit our mission’s efforts that need a local Santa Ana base. This capital campaign is asking for funds in addition to your Faith Promise giving which currently supports many wonderful missions’ ministry opportunities all around the world.
- We are definitely in a tough economic climate and this is a question the church leadership has wrestled with and prayed about. As a church we want to provide for people that are out of work and struggling financially, and we have been blessed with an Emergency Needs Fund for that purpose. If someone is struggling financially, we do not want them to feel pressure to participate in an “above and beyond” faith adventure like the Restoration Project. The economy does offer a lot of challenges, but we believe God can provide in these difficult times and one of the bright spots is that there are construction cost savings as prices are lower due to the economy.
- Three years. From November 2010 thru December 2013.
- Capital improvement funds are long term investments in our church campus. They are not taken from weekly regular offering funds. Weekly regular offering supports the day-to-day operations of the church. Therefore, separate funds must be raised to make these capital improvements.
- Weekly regular offering supports the day-to-day operations of the church. Therefore, separate funds must be raised to make these capital improvements.
- It is also different in that a dollar amount is pledged and given over 3 years. The pledge is the outcome of prayer and acknowledging a promise of a gift amount for the three year period. It is not legally binding, but it is stated in good faith, backed by prayer, and a generous heart to give to God’s Work at Calvary Church.
- After essential repairs are completed, the phasing of new construction depends on funding and some practical construction timelines, but our goal is to prioritize them as follows:
- $2.4 Student Space, Nursery and Worship Center Remodel
- $1.5 Samsvick Renovation, Playground, Entire Campus Roof and Ventilation repairs
- $2.6 Reach Center Repurposing.
- There may also be some small portions of Priority 2 & 3 which can be completed close to the beginning as we wait on building permit approvals, but the primary projects will be accomplished in this order.
- Our building campaign is organized in phases so if we do not receive the full amount pledged, we could reduce the amount of phases we want to accomplish or reorganize them based on the amount that is pledged. The largest variable project is converting the Heritage Building to the Reach Center, which represents 10 suites that can be converted to ministry one at a time. We will convert them as we have the funding to do so. The Samsvick Chapel renovation can also be done in phases based on funding with the minimum remodel being new paint, carpet, and seating, but with full funding, we would work on the lighting, sound, projection, heating and air-conditioning as well. We want to accomplish all of these priorities and with complete funding believe we can. Our church leadership, Trustees, and Elder Board will help make these priority decisions based on the input they receive from the congregation, immediacy of the need, building permit approval process, least disruption to scheduled ministry activity, and recommendations from our contractors and volunteer help to minimize costs and be goods stewards of the Restoration Project funds.
- We would praise him for His provision and since the Restoration Project is raising support for our building fund, we would honor the donor’s intent by using the funds on future building projects which are delineated in our campus Master Plan. All expenditures over 10% of Calvary’s contributions (approximately $500,000) from the building fund for the Restoration Project and future projects will be voted on by our congregation, per our bylaws.
- The church strives to be debt free and continues to have this as our policy. We do understand that sometimes good stewardship includes using debt to finance expansion. One example of this is using debt to purchase the Heritage Building. We did continue to lease the building and the funds from the tenants are paying the mortgage. Any future indebtedness greater than 10% of Calvary’s contributions does have to have congregational approval per our bylaws (this is around $500,000).
- Financial oversight for this project, as well as church financial decisions, are reviewed and approved by the Trustees. In addition, the Elders of the church, Dave Mitchell (Senior Pastor), Michael Welles (Executive Pastor of Administration) and Eric Wakeling (Executive Pastor of Ministry) provide spiritual, as well as financial direction and approvals.
- Contact Michael Welles, Executive Pastor of Administration and Chief Financial Officer, at 714-550-2313 and he can provide you with the audited annual financial statements and answer any financial questions you may have. You can also see an overall summary of the church finances in each year’s annual report, which is available in print and also online at www.calvarylife.org/report.
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