This past Sunday, Riverside began its discussion of the various facility options that have been proposed by the Leadership Team and Development Committee. Please click HERE to see more information.
Riverside will pick up where last week’s discussion left off following the worship service this upcoming Sunday, July 25. Childcare will again be available, along with a pizza lunch. Please try to attend as we desire everyone’s participation in this process. We anticipate that the meeting will last approximately 1 hour.
In an effort to have the greatest participation possible in our discussion, we have also created a space online for you to share comments and questions. You can find this HERE. You can also hear an audio recording of last week’s discussion HERE.
Furthermore, we have put together some additional information that was requested at this past Sunday’s discussion. Also included is a very brief summary of the issues and points that were raised. These are below.
1. Questions were raised about the debt Riverside would incurr. If Riverside chooses to purchase the land it will cost $500,000. Riverside has sufficient cash to put $50,000 down. We would then have an interest only loan through our denomination for $450,000. The interest rate would be 4% resulting in a minimum monthly payment of $1,500 ($18,000/year or 5% of budget). That amounts to $347/week or $2.16/week per adult attendee (based upon current average attendance). Additionally, the County will be purchasing at least 2 acres of the land for the new Cumberland Avenue. The County’s appraiser expects the 2 acres will be purchased for at least $25,000/acre, resulting in at least $50,000 that could come back to Riverside and reduce the debt on the property to $400,000 or less. Riverside’s current summary of assets and liabilities and potential summary of assets and liabilities if the property were purchased can be accessed HERE.
a. Past Budgets
2008 – $285,486
2009 – $24,510 (8.6%) increase to $309,997
2010 – $32,572 (13.4%) increase to $351,569
b. Discussion was had regarding Riverside’s comfort with debt.
i. Some shared that the land was a good investment, would likely increase in value to lessen our risk, and a new facility would provide space for new ministries.
ii. Others shared that Riverside could spend the money in other ways, that our current facility will work well when we switch to two services, and that our facility won’t limit the ministry we can do.
2. Questions were raised about current crowding in Riverside’s Children’s Ministry. Riverside’s Children’s Ministry has been crowded because of our smaller classrooms (~70 kids per Sunday in Spring), but the crowding should be improved with 2 services. It could be possible that we would again have problems in the future with continued growth.
a. Current Average Children’s Attendance:
Infant – 6
Toddlers – 12
3-5yrs – 15
K-3rd – 15
4-5th – 6
3. Some limitations to our current facility named were:
a. Larger Vacation Bible School
b. No immersion baptismal
c. Combined fellowship meals with both services
d. No green space for church picnics, children’s playground, large outdoor gatherings, no fence on property to protect children from road
e. Crowding in welcome center following the service, which makes it more difficult for conversation
f. Limited adult education space/classrooms
g. No multi-purpose floor where we can be messy
h. Sharing office equipment/supplies between two current facilities
i. Parking on the street, which could be lessened by Lindberg road redesign
j. Not friendly to persons with disabilities
4. The advantages to purchasing property named were:
a. New facility could potentially lead to one service again
b. Located on intersection of two busy roads
c. Potential outreach that involves large amounts of green space, such as soccer fields, baseball, etc.
d. Community can utilize the new facility
e. Land is a good investment and has potential for new ministries
f. Property available at this price is a unique opportunity
5. The advantages of staying where we are named were:
a. Current facility will work with 2 services
b. Potentially plant another church
c. Not incurring additional debt
d. Commitment to large ministries in small facilities, living simply
e. Calls people to higher level of commitment to make things work
f. Can use money to do other things
6. The general agreement was that Riverside’s strength is community.
7. It was noted that if Riverside purchases land, it would be at least 2 years before we would be prepared to build. In order to build a new facility Riverside would also need to raise the funds for the building construction.