Frequently Asked QuestionsPlease click on the question to reveal the answer. Clicking again on the question will conceal the answer. Making a Commitment/Payment How can I make a commitment to the Be a Part of the Story campaign?
You can obtain a commitment card by:
Once your card is completed, you can submit it by:
How can I make payments toward my commitment?
Payments can be made toward your commitment in several ways: Online The easiest way for you to make payments will be online. One-time and recurring payments toward your commitment can be made from the HFBC website. To make an online payment, visit the Intentional Reality page and click the “Online Giving” button. From there, follow the instructions. You may need to set-up a user account if you have not already done so. Tithing Envelopes Beginning in December 2007, tithing envelopes will have a designated line to indicate that the enclosed payment is for the capital campaign. These envelopes can be placed in the offering plates during Sunday worship services. You can mail your payments to HFBC, as well. Simply address the envelope to: Houston’s First Baptist Church Worship Center Initiative & Construction What is the Worship Center Initiative?
The Worship Center Initiative (WCI) is a group of seven members selected by Pastor Gregg and the Committee on Committees to review the needs of the Worship Center and to recommend actions to the church. The WCI includes two architects, two designers, an electrical contractor and representatives from all three worship services. What approach did the WCI take?
Requests for Proposals were sent to multiple architectural firms and general contractors to determine a project scope. From the returned RFPs, three architects and three general contractors were selected for live presentations. The WCI recommended to the Deacon Administrative Committee to retain Studio Red Architects and Tellepsen Construction to evaluate the needs of the Worship Center and present a proposal to bring the Worship Center up to current standards involving sound, lighting, screens, seating, staging, and carpet. Since October of 2006, the WCI has met with Studio Red on a consistent basis, at least monthly. What are the primary Worship Center needs that are being addressed?
The original challenge to the architect was to provide an environment in which each participant can focus on worship through music and the spoken Word, unhindered by constraints of poor lighting, sound, seating, screens, etc. Very early in the process, a cost estimate for sound and lighting exceeded $5 million. In addition to these infrastructure issues, other perceived needs included the elimination of poor seating under the balcony, a redesign of the choir/orchestra area, the addition of a center aisle for weddings and a redesign of the baptistery. Since two of our worship services use contemporary music, will the remodeled Worship Center still have a choir loft and organ?
Absolutely! The design for the Worship Center includes the choir loft and room for the orchestra, organ, piano, and other musical equipment. In fact, the acoustics are being adjusted throughout the Worship Center so that these musical elements of our worship services can be better heard and appreciated by everyone no matter where they are sitting. Will the seating capacity of the Worship Center increase?
Fire Code limits the seating to our current capacity of 3,335 theatre seats plus the choir and orchestra. Therefore, additional seating will not be added. When will construction begin?
Construction is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, March 26. This will allow the HFBC family to celebrate Easter in the current Worship Center on March 23, as well as allow Beth Moore’s Living Proof Bible study to conclude their spring semester on Tuesday, March 25. A minimum of four months of unimpeded access to the Worship Center would be needed to complete the redesign. Where will we worship during construction?
The CLC will be the primary venue for worship. Two thousand new seats will be purchased for this use. Following construction, these seats will replace aging chairs in our Bible study rooms. A stage will be erected along the east wall of the CLC with sound, lights and screens. This will remain in place from March through August. During this time period, the CLC will be limited to one basketball court during the week, as the stage and chairs will take up one court when being stored. For overflow crowds during the Gathering, the Fellowship Center and Chapel will be used. The combined capacity of all three areas is about the same as our current Worship Center. Where will Bible studies that currently meet in and around the CLC take place during construction?
The Education Staff is currently studying alternatives. Provision for each Bible study will be made well in advance of construction. Financing What will be done with capital campaign funds as they are received?
As monies designated to the capital campaign are received, they will be deposited into a bank account bearing interest at rates similar to institutional money market funds. It is anticipated that sometime in late spring 2008 through summer 2008, the church will have to draw down a loan for interim construction financing. It is further anticipated this loan will be outstanding for approximately 18 to 24 months. During this time period, monies designated towards the capital campaign will be applied directly to the outstanding loan balance as the monies are received. Following the payment of the interim construction financing, monies will revert to being invested in a bank account, with these proceeds available to address church capital projects and mission projects. Why are we not giving money to the mission projects first, as opposed to paying for the Worship Center renovation?
The renovation of the Worship Center will require the church to take on a short-term construction loan for a projected 20 months. If the church were to set aside 10% of donations as they are received beginning with First Fruits Sunday, December 2, 2007, for the purpose of applying them to the various mission projects, this would require an extension of the loan to 22 months. In addition, this would increase the total interest paid on the debt by approximately $100,000. In essence, this second scenario would require the church to borrow money in order to give to missions. The church’s Finance Committee decided that this was not good stewardship of the capital campaign contributions. Because Mission funding is occurring prior to the currently existing debt being paid off, the full funding of the Mission projects will occur sooner under the current schedule than if 10% of donations were set aside throughout the campaign. Why are we borrowing money for the Worship Center renovation? Why don’t we collect the entire amount of funds first, and then renovate the Worship Center?
One difficulty in waiting until all the funds come in is that construction costs are escalating. We are projecting that the interest paid on the loan will be less than the escalation in constructions costs. Because donations will be received prior to the renovation of the Worship Center, we will not have to borrow the full $12.6 million. A conservative cash flow model shows that our loan balance will not exceed $7 million, and we will have some loan balance for approximately 20 months, resulting in estimated interest expenses of approximately $370,000. What if we raise more than the targeted $20 million?
If we were to raise more than the targeted amount, all of the projects in the Be a Part of the Story brochure will be funded as planned—Worship Center Renovation, HFBC Capital Projects, Mission Projects and Debt Retirement. However, the amount earmarked for Mission Projects would be increased, receiving 10% of the total amount raised. Church leaders will seek the Lord’s guidance on how any remaining funds should be used to further the ministry of HFBC. For example, if we raise $25 million, the funds would be allocated as follows:
Miscellaneous Why don’t we just build a parking garage and solve our parking issues once and for all?
The average cost to build a parking garage is between $10,000 and $12,000 per parking space. To justify a garage on the HFBC campus, we would need to replace the spaces lost by the footprint of the garage, plus add hundreds of additional spaces to alleviate our parking shortage on campus. Therefore, a parking garage of just 1,000 spaces could have a price tag between $10,000,000 and $12,000,000—and that still may not be enough spaces to meet our needs. For now, the use of off-site parking locations is the best solution for HFBC. That said, a development company has asked permission to assess commercial interest in a project on our west parking lot which would involve a parking garage for our church’s use. We’re in a 90 day “wait and see” mode that began on September 15, 2007. To read the applicable Church Conference resolution, click here to view the minutes from the August 26, 2007 meeting. How does our study of Nehemiah relate to the Be a Part of the Story capital campaign?
In the Summer of 2006, Pastor Gregg sensed God’s leadership to teach Nehemiah not only to impact our lives by the truths found in that book, but also to prepare our hearts to start the rebuilding process that He was leading us toward. Studying how people with different backgrounds and gifts united to rebuild the wall provided us all with a biblical example of how we, as a church family, can do the same—and how each one of us can Be a Part of the Story. |
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