The facility team meets Monday mornings in order to lay out expectantly the week to come and through the start of 2022 we spoke so much about “scalability” and “room to grow,” and the last 12 months has seen us put these pieces to the test. We have seen our building use rise 60% in the last eight months, over the previous eight months as we came out of the pandemic. Our current building usage is also approximately 20% higher than it was pre-pandemic.
So what keeps the building busy you may ask?
We are so fortunate to be able to utilize the space for so many variations of ministry, and outreach, and community events. Bible studies, sermon groups, wedding, funerals, business meetings, affinity groups, retreats, concerts, and the list goes on. If I look at our bookings calendar for the first quarter of 2023 for example, it shows that our church housed on average 37 bookings per week. This is outside Sunday services and children’s programming on a Sunday. This shows that there is such a desire to be in this beautiful space gifted through God’s abundant goodness where His name is spoken above any other.
A large project that was undertaken recently was the replacement of our fire water storage tanks. As we are on well water, there is a certain storage capacity needed for our facility to have fire flow available in case of emergency. These tanks became compromised and therefore we had to undergo a large excavation to unearth and replace the tanks. The new fibreglass holding tanks, made here in Alberta, are expected to give us a longer lifespan than what we had initially. This project allowed us to upgrade some piping and valves as part of our water system in the basement as well.
Another large expenditure in the last year was the replacement of a roof top heating and cooling unit. The unit replaced served the upstairs offices of our children’s and family pastors and support staff as well as our finance team.
The rest of 2023 and into 2024 sees us taking on numerous mid-size projects as we continue to deal with a building starting to age and equipment meeting its life cycle end. We will be doing repairs in the parking lot, some aging roof membrane repairs, as well as facelifts to many spaces throughout the church. Paint, flooring and furniture in spaces like the NE entrance, the youth center and the prayer room are updates that you can expect in the coming months. Also an update to the theater room lighting is on the horizon. It’s through the continued and faithful giving of so many that we are able to confidently have all these projects in the budget and be able to refresh our well-loved spaces for many more people to come and enjoy and be blessed.
Thank you for supporting our team.
Whether it is the hosts, or janitorial staff, or the team taking bookings, or the kitchen cooking for an event, or the maintenance staff going about a project in the halls or setting up for an event, we love our church community and serving all of you. We cherish and appreciate the “Hello’s” and the “Thank you’s” that we receive as we are going about the numerous activities throughout the church building and grounds.
