Early this morning the concrete trucks were on site and by noontime the floor of the main sanctuary was poured. The floor for the back half of the building should be poured next week on Tuesday. The carpenters have started framing the walls of the sanctuary. We are hoping to finish the roof and have the outside walls on by Christmas so that the indoor work can continue through the winter.
The steel is here! Today the steel was delivered and the back half of our building is going up. The steel work should take between 7 and 10 days. Carpentry, plumbing and electrical work are continuing on the job site. Currently, the plan is to pour the concrete slabs by Thanksgiving and to have the walls and roof on by Christmas.
By Thursday of this week the copper work will be finished on the cupola. The cupola is now scheduled to be lifted onto the roof next week on Tuesday (9/23/08) at 10:00am. If you want to witness it, be there before 10:00am and bring a camera.
Monday (9/22/08) - plumbing work will begin.
Tuesday (9/23/08) - the cupola will be lifted into place.
Wednesday (9/24/08) - electrical work will be started.
Thursday (9/25/08) - carpentry work to begin on the roof.
Tuesday (9/30/08) - steel will be delivered for the back half of the building.
!!!PRAYER REQUEST!!! We are asking for the Town of Montgomerys approval to hook into their fire suppression loop which ends across the street on Bracken Road. If approved, we would then have to run piping under Rt. 208 to the building. Then it could be hooked up to our buildings fire sprinkler system . Please pray for this to be approved and for it to happen quickly so that it doesn’t delay the project. Thoughout our building project the town has been very good to us and we are grateful to them for all they have done for us so far.
On your way to church this weekend, drive by the building site and see the impressive beginning of the church building. It has been a very successful week, the massive laminated wood arches are standing in place, the window frame arches have been installed and the roof work has begun. If you are impressed by what you see, remember only half of the frame is up, the back half of the building will be constructed out of steel ( the steel will arrive on site on 9/29/08).
The highlight of next week will be the completion of the cupola which will stand about 35 feet high from the center of the sanctuary roof. The top eight feet of the cupola is a cross covered in copper. The cupola is currently being constructed and is on the ground next to the building. On Friday of next week a crane will be used to lift it up on top of the roof.
Over the rest of September, some plumbing, electrical and roof work will be done.
Our mortgage application to the ECCU ( Evangelical Christian Credit Union ) was dated September 25, 2007. Today, almost one year later, we finally closed on our mortgage! We now officially have the money we need to build our new church building. When this process began, about six or seven years ago, it was considered by some an impossible dream at best. Look at what God has done. Take a moment to consider it, breathe it in. We stand amazed at His mighty power and His glorious love for us. We are the recipients of continuous and overwhelming blessings. Let the building begin…
The closing date for our mortgage has been pushed to next week, Friday September 5th at 2:00pm. As it stands right now, all of the conditions for the closing have been met and our lawyer is finalizing the details with the banks lawyers. I am confident that we will close next week.
Concrete work continued this week, the footings and foudation walls are done, the slab will be poured after the laminated wood and steel are erected.
The laminated wood ( which is already on the site ) will be erected the week of 9/7/08.
The steel will be delivered the week of 9/14/08.
The concrete slab will be poured either the end of September or the beginning of October.
We have alot of good news to report!
The new mortgage closing date is currently scheduled for 8/28/08.
The shortage in our “cash on hand” requirement is down to $14,000.00, so after this weekends offering we will be good for the closing.
More of the concrete foudation walls were poured today. The estimated completion date of the foudation is 8/29/08.
Alot of lumber has been delivered to our building site this week. Sections of the wood are currently being assembled. During the week of 9/08/08, the wood frame of the sanctuary will be erected.
The steel is scheduled to go up the week of 9/15/08.
Thanks to the extremely generous people of Goodwill, we have now passed the 50% mark in collecting our pledges even though we are only in the 15th month of a 36 month pledge campaign. We have now collected $572,096.00 of the $1,142,137.00 that was pledged.
Throughout this process we continually enjoy a great outpouring of Gods amazing grace, love, faithfulness and provision. So far, every need has been met. Everytime that it seems we could experience a shutdown in the project, God provides a way. We stand amazed at what He has done so far. We give Him all the Glory!
The concrete work is back in action this week. Between this week and next week most of the foundation footings and walls should be completed. The laminated wood is scheduled for delivery on August 19th and will need about 2 weeks of on site processing. After Labor Day we should see the laminated wood start to go up. Somewhere in that time frame the steel should be delivered and put in place also.
This week the bank has informed us that the closing date for our mortgage will probably take place between 8/15 and 8/29. We are expecting to hear from them next week to schedule a definate date.
More Good News! This past weekend the people of Goodwill continued their giving. Our shortfall for the mortgage closing is now only $30,000.00. Our “cash on hand” requirement is $350,000.00 and we now have about $320,000.00. In every step of this process God proves His faithfulness to us over and over again. Our confidence is in Him alone.
Not much happening at the construction site this week, the concrete work will start up again next week.
This week the bank requested more documentation from us before we can set a closing date, so we are working on their requests. Please keep this in your prayers, this is our last big hurdle. Once we get through the closing, things will start moving very quickly .
In less than two weeks time, God has greatly blessed us and changed our situation dramatically. Almost two weeks ago, I announced in church that we were short by $400,000.00 for the “cash on hand” requirement for our loan closing. Well, between the giving for the building from the congregation and the reduction of the requirement from the bank, the shortfall at the moment is $65,000.00!!! The new closing date has not been set yet, so we still have time to raise the rest of the money. Please keep praying. To those who are able to give the balance of their pledge now, please bring it to church this weekend . Thank-you to all who have given and to all who are planning to give to eliminate this shortfall.More concrete work was done this week, the foudation walls are about 60% done.