Answering capital campaign questions

Hey, thanks again for sending in questions related to our recent sermons. As you know, we are in our Next 85 series, um, envisioning how we’re going to begin our next 85 years at Bridges, which includes some facility enhancements, new construction, renovation. We’ve received um a number of questions about this project and um we will continue to reply to anyone who asks us questions individually, but we want to reply corporately because some of you may have the same questions that someone asked, you

just haven’t asked it. Um, so first, uh, again, why pledge cards? Why do we do this? Um, as we covered in our sermon this last week, a lot of it really is for your planning, so you can think through the best way for you to participate. Um, and that might be increasing your regular giving, that might be pulling from stored assets, it might be a combination of both, it might be starting to give for the first time.

All of that’s wonderful. Hopefully, hopefully this really just helps you sort through the best way that you can participate. If you turn it in to the church, as we’re asking everyone to do this week, um, and then we’ll continue to ask in future weeks to turn it in. If you turn it in, which you don’t need to, but if you do, then um it helps the church plan, helps us anticipate what funds are on the way, even if they’re not here already, which helps us know when we can start construction, um, helps

us know, you know, where we are in relation to the need. So that’s that’s that’s really why these cards. Um, another question is is why why one fund? Why why are we why are we not having our regular giving um as, you know, a general fund giving and then a second um, you know, special fund just for this project?

Well, there’s several reasons for that. One, um we’ve heard, we’ve been counseled by people who are helping us with this effort that um if you give people two goals, it’s more distracting than if you give people one goal. And so we want to have one goal for what we need. Um, we need uh we we need about another, you know, 4.8 million on top of our regular giving, which over the next two years, what that means is we need around 8 million um for our for our for our for our general fund, more than that. Um, and

so we’re just going to hit this going to go for this one target. So we have one goal, so we’re focused. Um, some of you have asked about, you know, previous projects, leftover funds that we have from when we did an initiative called when we can. What happened to those funds? Yes, uh, so those funds will be added to this one fund so we can get toward our goal. Um, people have asked, what if we designate?

You know, I look on the website and there’s just there’s just one place to give. It’s next85/general giving or general fund. So can I give specifically just to this project? Yes, you can give specifically just to this project. If that’s how you designate your gift, uh when it comes in, you know, if you write that on the memo line or for people who are giving stock, you know, let Jackie know this is specifically just for our project.

That’s fine. Uh, we’ll keep track on the back end um kind of which which giving is um associated with um our general operations funds and which giving is associated with uh with our project. We’ll keep track of that on the back end. Um, and so when you give, if you want to designate it, that’s totally fine to designate it.

That’s all that’s questions on on the giving side. Um, and the good news with because we have these leftover when we can funds, we’re not starting with zero. We’ve had we’ve had people give already, actually. We had people give before we even did a public announcement of uh what we’re doing. So we’re not starting at zero with our initiative.

We already have some funds uh in the bank. But then, yeah, we need a lot more people to participate. We really want 100% engagement. With the project itself, uh people have asked about um, okay, we’re moving nursery through fifth grade right next to the worship center. Well, what about their playgrounds?

Their playgrounds are still all the way on the back of campus. What are we going to do about that? Or for nursery, their playground is, you know, over by the family center. Are we going to, you know, have have nursery kids toddle across the parking lot to get over to their to their old nursery playground?

No. We’re moving nursery and preschool playground to be right next to the new building uh that we’re having. If you look um in your booklet, you see a little map of what’s of what’s happening there. So they will have a playground. Um, people have asked, what happens with our youth group, our middle school and high school?

Don’t they use that space where our um where our nursery through elementary is going to be now? Are they going to be displaced? Well, as we’re moving everybody around to different parts on campus, what this allows for is for our middle school and high school to go back to what we used to call the fourplex, now we call the kids building. Um, and so they will have they’ll have more space than they do right now. Um, certainly won’t have less space.

We’re not taking anything away from our uh middle school and high schoolers. They’re going to increase what they have. Um, you can see that in your booklet as well. And then, you know, where the preschool playground used to be can become kind of an outdoor hangout spot for them. Um, and so we’re we’re looking forward to them having their own building, their own space, them feeling, you know, valued and uh, you know, kind of kind of independent from where from from the worship center.

They have their they have their own uh they have their own area, which will, you know, include a nice outdoor space as well. So, um, thanks for these questions. Keep asking them. You know, don’t of course, we’re we can’t we can’t detail every little nuance of this project and and what we say in our sermons.

Of course, we can’t of course, we can’t do that. Um, it’s a huge project. And we’ve had these focus groups, you know, that lasted for two hours for for each focus group because there’s so much to talk about. So we can’t cover it all in sermons. As you have questions, please ask. Um, ask anyone in our leadership, elders, staff. They’re in the know, okay?

So you can ask them. Um, and you can send in questions like you always do on sermon questions. We want all of us in on this. We want it to be our project, not the project of some of us, the project of all of us. Um, and so asking questions about it is is a key way that you can engage. So thanks for doing doing that. And uh we’ll see you next time.