The April Central Prayer Meeting was themed ‘Let’s Go!’ and allowed the church family to think through the upcoming changes that will result from the building project and to commit it all to God.
John Marland (Chair of BftF) had some exciting and encouraging updates for the church family on what the BftF team has been up to recently and what could be expected in the next few months.
The church family had opportunities throughout to give thanks to God for his blessings to us and to pray for what is to come.
Please see a short video below that was shown providing an update from John, Emily Knight and Richard Coekin.
What has been happening?
Since receiving planning approval in October 2017 and completing fundraising in January 2018 a lot of work has gone in to:
- taking a building design from a concept into a mature design ready for tendering construction contracts; and
- negotiating a development agreement with our development partners along with the associated legal frameworks.
We will soon be out to tender on the contracts for the building that, God willing, will see us sign the development agreement and leave the Factory ready to start the new church year out on mission from 8 September.
The team have worked very hard to get a set of plans that deliver on all our current and foreseeable ministries. Unlike the current building where we inherited a layout that is sub-optimal, the new building has all rooms purpose built and fitted out for both Sunday and mid-week ministries.
Changes to the plans
We have made some changes to the plans from those that were last displayed to the church family:
- the biggest of which is to the main meeting room which has seen a re-orientation by 90° to permit an exciting U-shaped balcony giving a total capacity of 650;
- we have removed the double height kids hall and added a second large meeting hall for the kids and youth ministry on the 2nd floor;
- the massing of the flats has changed to reflect the local market and we have increased the total number of flats from 15 to 18 within the same overall volume.
Other smaller changes include:
- a lift that goes to all floors to make the whole church accessible
- the dedicated provision for a buggy park
- a dedicated reception area in the lobby
- a baptism pool in the main hall
- shower in the toilet area for staff
There is so much to be grateful for so please be thankful to God for:
- giving a clear vision for how to reach our community with the Gospel and that this new building will enable more effective outreach;
- all that we are learning as we continue with the project and that he would continue to grow each of us into the likeness of his Son;
- the amazingly diverse and talented team that we have been able to assemble from within the Church; and
- the very privileged position we are in to equip this generation and future generations with a building purposely designed for a wide range of ministries.
What’s happening next?
In terms of design and build. the next steps for the professional team will be to:
- complete the building design – this will allow us to tender the build contracts and finalise costs;
- finalise the internal design and the look and feel of the building;
- finalise costs;
- commence the sale of 16 Abbot Avenue;
- start the internal marketing of the 18 apartments; and
- (in the not too distant future) we will be ready to sign the development agreement with Green Pastures, our development partner.
These images show what the interior design might look like:
