Where is the Lord leading our Church in 2015?

With this as the focus, Whyte Ridge Baptist people met February 1, 2015 for a Family Meal and Equipping Seminar. In excess of 50 people gathered to share a meal and hear two brief presentations on our proposed building program. Attendees then participated in a time of discussion, questions and exploring where God is leading Whyte Ridge Baptist in 2015.

Capital Funds

John Wiltshire, Capital Funds Committee Chair, addressed the group first. He outlined the steps or process our church will go through over the next eight months.

Whyte Ridge Baptist has employed the services of a fund raising consultant – the North American Baptist Foundation. The NAB Foundation will help us determine the giving potential of our people for a building campaign. They provide assistance in a number of areas.

Case Statement

First, they assist the church in developing a Case Statement. The Case Statement is the document that identifies what the campaign is all about. The Capital Funds Committee is working to have this completed by the end of February 2015.

Feasibility Study

Next is the Feasibility Study. The Feasibility Study involves conducting 30-minute interviews with a cross-section of our people. The goal of the interviews is to test the interest and capacity of our people to raise the necessary funds. All of the interviews are strictly confidential.

While the Foundation will be provided with the names of people to interview, anyone in our church can be interviewed. If this is something you would like to participate in, please talk to John or any other member of the committee.

Immediately following the interviews, the Foundation will provide a preliminary recommendation to our Board of how much they believe our congregation can raise over-and-above their regular giving. One week later, they submit their final report. The Feasibility Study will be completed by mid to late May 2015.

Sources of Funds

The funds for a building campaign will come from four sources.

• Giving by Whyte Ridge People.
• Sale of current building & 2 acres of land the City of Winnipeg will expropriate from the McGillivray property for the expansion of McGillivray Blvd.
• Funds already raised.
• Borrowed funds.

With the funds realized from the first three sources, it is hoped the amount borrowed will be as small as possible. Because of the first three sources of funds listed above, we will NOT be borrowing eight or nine million dollars as some have suggested.

In addition, our leadership is committed to move ahead with a building campaign only if it does not starve current and ongoing ministry.

Building Committee

Chris Karam, Building Committee Chair, then gave a brief history of the work their committee has accomplished to date. The most recent activity was a meeting on January 27 to examine the architect’s proposed building plans. Present at the meeting were the Building Committee, the church staff, the church Board, and representatives from the Capital Funds and Prayer Committees.

This meeting resulted in a fairly significant list of requests and suggestions. These ideas were sent back to the architect to incorporate into the drawings. Once the drawings are ready, the same participants will meet again to work on finalizing the plans. These will then be given to the Capital Funds Committee to be used in the Feasibility Study.

Gist of Plan

Chris then verbally shared the gist of the plan. The building will be located on the North East corner of the property. The front of the building will face McGillivray Blvd. Early on the committee asked Architect Ray Wan to design the building to be welcoming for those in our community. As a result, the building will have an “open arms” design as you view it from McGillivray Blvd.

The foyer will be in the front centre of the building. The children’s ministry area will be on the left/West side of the building. The meeting/worship space will be on the right/East side of the building. The fellowship and office/administration areas will be in the rear/North side of the building.

The projected size of the building is approximately 50,000 square feet. To put this into perspective, our current building has 16,000 square feet when both the basement and main floor are included. The foyer in the new building will be the size of our present sanctuary space.

There will be a concerted effort to conserve the natural beauty of the property God has given us.   Walking paths will be constructed in amongst the existing trees. While the property borders on Muir Lake at the FortWhyte Alive Centre, we will, unfortunately, not have a direct view of the lake. The trees, growing bigger with each passing year, on the Muir Lake shoreline will obstruct such a view.

Time Line

With the information from the Feasibility Study and the building plans, the Board and building campaign committees will prepare a recommendation to the church. This recommendation will be presented to the congregation at a meeting in June 2015.

Beginning in the fall, the Capital Funds Committee will approach our people to make a commitment to give to the building campaign. This will be a commitment over three years.

Discussion, Questions and Exploring

Following the presentations by John and Chris, all present engaged in a time of discussion, questions and exploring. The goal: Discern what God might have in store for Whyte Ridge Baptist in 2015. Facilitated by members of the staff or one of the building campaign committees, each table worked through a list of questions.

Notes were taken of the responses and discussion arising from the table questions. These notes will be compiled and distributed to our church leadership—the Board and building campaign committees—for further thought and reflection.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. — Ephesians 3:20-21