Dear Church Family,
Ten days ago, during our State of the Church meeting at Spencerville Academy, Pastor Chad shared that, due to the extraordinary efforts of our project management firm, we’d finally received our demolition permit from Montgomery County. This news was met with a cheer and applause, not about the destruction of the building, but that our receipt of the permit and the demolition itself represents the necessary next step in the process of rebuilding church home.
This morning, I was on site with Pastor Chad, our Head Deacon, Tom Henkel, and our project manager, Patrick Weber, for a final meeting with our contractor just before they began the demolition process at the back of the building. While the photos (more below) are heart-breaking, they’re also encouraging, as starting demolition means that progress is now being made in earnest.
Important Instructions When Visiting the Site
Now that work has started, we realize that some of you will be curious and may want to see it in person. We appreciate your interest and are glad to have you stop by! However, there are serveral things to keep in mind when you do:
- Please enter using the north driveway. This is the entrance marked below in green. Even if the south driveway gate is open, use the north driveway as heavy equipment will be accessing the site primarily through the south driveway. The snow and ice will be removed from the North parking lot early next week, so you may want to wait a few days before visiting the site.
- Please DO NOT enter the fenced area for any reason—the red line below—as it is now an active construction site.
- Parking is available outside the fence in the parking lot on the north side of the church building—the black area in the image below.
- Do not stop or park in the driveways. Please pull all the way into the parking lot, as heavy equipment will be entering and exiting the site.
Thank you for following these guidelines. Doing so will keep you safe, and will keep things moving for the contractor and the workers assigned to our project.
A Word from Pastor Chad
“I invite you to join the pastoral staff and our elders as we pray for the safety of the workers during this project, and for God’s direction on its progress. We’re mindful that every interaction is an opportunity to be witnesses for Jesus, and this includes our vendors and the contractors involved in every phase of the project. We’re grateful for the memories from this building and we look forward to the new memories and the future kingdom impact that will come from our new church building.”
A Word from Costin Jordache, Building Committee Chair
“A significant amount of preparatory work has taken us to this crucial point in our rebuilding process. The demolition of the burned structure signals our opportunity to fully rebuild once design, permitting and financing are in place. Much appreciation for our Building Committee, which continues to make careful decisions, guiding our process. We are also very grateful for the team of contracted experts who worked diligently with our county to secure our demo permit and several other prerequisite permits. We now carefully, prayerfully and confidently move to the next phase of our project!”
Photos: Patrick Weber/Orr Partners and Chad Stuart