Family Life Working Toward its New Center

by: George Yacus

Most of you have heard about, seen the blueprints, and even viewed the 3D renderings of our proposed Family Life Center. This article provides a view of…
…how we got started, where we’ve been, where we are, and where we are going…

…towards the goal of having a new facility to further God’s kingdom work.

Is a building even important?
Although the early church met in private homes and believers did not have a separate building that the congregation owned, it is a fact of life that congregations today can benefit from a physical plant where members can meet, worship, learn, fellowship, and bring new members into the church. Our beautiful facility here on Shell Road allows us to perform a host of activities that would be difficult to do without a physical brick-and-mortar building. It provides a comfortable and non-threatening place to bring guests as well as a safe and loving home for the members of our congregation.

When the congregation arrived at 5025 Shell Road and took up residence in 1997, the first Sunday service had about 80 people attending. There was plenty of space to do everything we needed. With a growing congregation of about 400 people, we are now bursting at the seams. Several years ago the elders met to address the challenge of our growth and prioritize our needs with respect to capacity. We needed increased classroom space, more fellowship space, and a larger sanctuary. To accommodate our growth without physical expansion, we were able to move to two worship assemblies on Sundays. This allowed members in each service to be comfortable without overcrowding, but it also meant that the entire congregation did not all meet at one time, except for special events where we had a combined service. There was no easy fix to provide more capacity for classroom and fellowship space. In order to offer a wide variety of smaller Bible study groups for a growing congregation with varied needs, we would need a larger physical plant.

Even though we were not able to build a new building right away, we did make significant modifications to the original physical plant which included improved lighting and décor, office space for 3 ministers, an enlarged parking lot, storage buildings, an outdoor picnic pavilion, enhanced audio and visual capabilities, and other improvements.

What should we build?
We were fortunate to find a wonderful architect with a long history of successful church (and secular) building projects that was located right in Virginia Beach. Michael Barnes, the founder and CEO of Barnes Design Group, is our architect and has patiently brought us through several years of planning.

Mr. Barnes walked us through the design process and proposed a 3-phase building plan that included a plan for classrooms and fellowship space (Phase 1), a possible enlargement of our sanctuary (Phase 2), and a large family life center complete with athletic facilities and other amenities (Phase 3). The elders and staff focused on Phase 1 (the addition of classroom and fellowship space). We considered the possibility of putting a second story on our existing fellowship hall but it was too costly. Other initial design proposals had building modifications that would integrate classrooms adjacent to the existing building. However, this design proved to be too costly, especially when compared to building a new, stand-alone facility. We decided to consider a simple one-story rectangular building, slightly over 6000 square feet, adjacent to our existing structure. It would have kitchen facilities, additional restrooms and storage, and a large meeting hall that could be divided into smaller classrooms using movable partitions (similar to those found in hotel ballrooms). This final design would give us the flexibility for significant additional classroom space as well as a large hall for fellowship and other events.

Later in the design process we proposed other modifications. For example, most churches have a central area (a narthex or foyer) where guests and members can enter into the building and congregate without disrupting other activities in the sanctuary or educational areas. We decided to create a main entrance that would naturally draw people towards the center of our complex, where they could then transit towards the sanctuary, nursery, classrooms, or family life center. This new entrance façade will be built in the center of our current fellowship hall facing the parking lot.

As we looked at the original design, we realized that we wanted to make our building compatible with inclement weather, so we added a drive-through overhang to the family life center for convenient loading and unloading of people. Finally, since there will be a lot of traffic proceeding from the existing building to the family life center during all seasons, we added an enclosed passageway so we can move between buildings without having to walk outside.

No church building is perfect. As every month goes by there are additional thoughts and considerations about what should be added or what we “should have” designed. At some point in the process it is necessary to “put a stake in the ground” and go with the best affordable plan at the time. Our building is a compromise that balances capacity and capabilities with costs and the reality of what we can support as a congregation.

Partners
After working for several years with Barnes Design Group, the elders and staff have high confidence in our architect, who has already given us some free services, significant education, and great patience. Putting up a building requires a team approach with members that trust each other and work together
well. Upon the architect’s recommendation, we have partnered with Engineering Services Inc. of Virginia Beach as our engineering firm. They were instrumental in the obtaining of our conditional use permit. They also aided in the submitting of the site plan to the city, as well as obtaining subsurface exploration and geotechnical engineering (McCallum Testing Laboratories, Inc). Engineering Services Inc. is currently working on correcting all pending issues with the city so that we can break ground and commence building.
Historically, major building projects have used a design/bid/build method where contractors competitively bid to specifications. There are, however, other more collaborative approaches that often result in a better quality product at reduced cost and quicker construction. We are using an alternate approach that we believe eliminates some of the flaws of design/bid/build. We have designated Mr. David Dow, President of Dow Construction of Portsmouth, VA as our general contractor. He has an excellent reputation of fairness and doing quality work.

One major partner has yet to be chosen. We are still in the process of choosing a bank to finance our project. We have two proposals currently under consideration, and both candidates come with excellent recommendations. As we examine the financing of our new building, we hope to be able to come to the congregation and receive additional financial support. This support might take the form of major contributions from our church family, loans, special gifts from donors (e.g., kitchen or room dividers), and other financial support to reduce the amount we need to borrow and the amount of interest to repay. We have had several individuals and families already make sizeable contributions to our building program, and we are blessed by their generosity.

We have other congregational partners that have been part of the process. Our ministry staff has been involved in discussing needs and potential uses of the building, has attended most of the major meetings, and has been available to assist our partners when they visit the building. Our office staff has been keeping the finances in order and paying the bills as we proceed. Our deacons have been engaged in various capacities. The original discussions were vetted through the Bayside Building Committee , which was invaluable in making recommendations and discussing the features we need to incorporate in the project. Kevin Fraley helped in working the issue of re-siting the pavilion and he also recommended some design improvements. Kenny Rhodes is working as a partner to provide electrical contractor services, and Howard Clay is helping us navigate through the requirements for installed sprinkler systems. Don Gustafson has been helping us plan the integration of audio and visual and information technology systems. There are many others who are making their contributions towards the new building, and we are thankful for their service and will continue to draw on their experience.

Challenges
We have some significant challenges to overcome. The building and furnishings will cost anywhere from one to one and a half million dollars, which is a large commitment. It means that the congregation will need to continue with their generosity and maybe even stretch a bit to meet our obligation to the bank and other donors. The more that we can donate up front, the less we will have to finance at prevailing rates. We have been blessed by your generosity in the past, and it is important to keep our donations on target.

There are several design issues that we have had to deal with. In order not to run an additional sewage line out to the street from the proposed site, we will have to install a sewage pump. There is a possibility that we will have to add an internal sprinkler system to the new building, which may cost in excess of $50K. There are some costs, like kitchen equipment, room dividers, furnishings, audio/visual, and other items that may not be immediately financed or installed. Construction costs and the rapidly rising cost of materials and fuel may also impact the final bottom line.

We are also discussing the possibility of folding in some modifications to the existing building into the project. For example, teen spaces, cry-room demolition, nursery relocation and sanctuary expansion into the existing foyer are all under discussion.

What’s Next?
Pending the ability to secure a suitable financial package and to meet the last requirements of the City of Virginia Beach, we should be able to sign a contract with Dow Construction and break ground in the June/July 2008 timeframe. This is a tentative best-case date but within the realm of possibility. There are always delays that could postpone the project, but at some point this year we envision that construction will start and the building could be up and completed before the end of the year. It will be very exciting to see ground being broken and construction in progress! This is an exciting time for our congregation. The new building will be a blessing and help continue our mission to bring glory to God. Feel free to contact the elders with questions, concerns, or even encouragement! We are excited for our church family and glad to be a part of Bayside in such exciting times. Let us arise and build!