The front of the property
View from the sanctuary entrance
View from the pulpit
Fellowship hall viewMission: Brownwood has been presented a one-of-a-kind opportunity. The Woodcreek Baptist Church of Brownwood, TX, recently merged with the Victory Life Church. Victory Life is now selling Woodcreek's old building. The asking price was $250,000, but the church decided to offer it to Jessica and me for only $180,000. We have until Dec. 1, 2008, to either (a) raise the funds, or (b) secure financing. In the meantime, they have agreed to a six-month lease with us at $1,000 per month beginning July 1. If we fail to raise the $180,000, or obtain financing between now and Dec. 1, the deal is off and our lease will terminate Dec. 30, forcing us to relocate the congregation.
The property includes a sanctuary that will seat 120 or more, a fellowship hall that divides into three classrooms, two additional classrooms, a nursery, mens and womens bathrooms, a covered drop-off/pick-up area and five acres of land.
This property is located across from Brownwood Middle School on Calvert Street in Brownwood, nestled comfortably between the school and the Camp Bowie Sports Complex, which is also home to Gordon Wood Stadium.
It is also located in the Southside neighborhood, the largest residential area in Brownwood.
This price is far below the cost of buying property and building a church building. This is a good deal. I am calling on all churches and individuals who feel so led to help us raise the $180,000 it will take to purchase this property.
Please send offerings designated to Mission: Brownwood building,
C/O Rocky Springs MBC, PO Box 1840, Jacksonville, TX, 75766.
If we are successful in raising these funds, I believe God will be glorified. I also believe that God will establish His church in Brownwood, and will be glorified through the souls reached by this new church. Jessica and I have prayed over this for weeks, and believe this is the Lord's will.
Thank you, and God bless you,
Leland Acker
p.s. Jessica and I have stepped out on faith in this venture and know this is a door God opened. Several other groups have approached Victory Life with similar offers, only to be turned down. Victory Life agreed to this arrangement with us, saying they felt that God was in it.
17 comments:
wow that sounds great. buildings do worry me sometimes because I think they usually limit growth instead of enhance it. we get focused on filling the space and raising the funds instead of growing the faith of the individuals we are reaching by letting them build their own building and seeing their faith and ours grow in the process. that is all a personal opinion of course. The land and building is all very cheap and a great bargain in human terms, and no problem for God to provide those funds... in then end your faith and the faith of churches across TX will increase, but it may have little impact on the Church you plan to establish as they are not involved in choosing their own location and personally investing in the project. Of course, either way there are pros and cons, but these days I try to choose the impossible and see what God does instead of following the normal path and reaping the normal results. Remember most normal churches and missions are struggling these days just to maintain the same thing your proposing. Someone said, "if we continue to do what we have always done we will continue to get what we have continually gotten". If you build it, buy it and maintain it for them and hand it to them will they know what to do with it when you do? Don't try that with your kids... churches aren't much different. Usually when it breaks you have to fix it, because it is yours. If they do it is theirs and when it breaks their is a sense of responsibility because they understand the price and know through faith experiences, God will provide! I hope this helps in some way. If you are there to "plant a church" then you want it to function on its own. If you are there to start a "mission". This is the pattern they are usually started in. I hope this helps in some small way. Either way you go you are being prayed for by me and I know good things will happen either way you go. You have a great attitude and God will grow you as He does me through our mistakes and good choices. Love you Brother!
I understand that my presentation has been that our focus would not be in building a building. Those costs can be exhorbant. I know of some building programs that have run up to $2 million. Knowing those costs, I just assumed that the new church in Brownwood would have to be without a building for 10 or more years.
Then, this opportunity presented itself. For six months, we'll be able to lease the property at the same rate as it would to rent a civic center, plus we get 24/7 usage out of it, as opposed to a civic center, where you get four hours.
As for the price, there is no way to secure a useable facility for as low as what has been proposed.
As for growing the faith of the individuals we are reaching, our strategy for that has always been to involve them in missions as soon as possible. If we get the building, we will be able to prepare the church to send out a missionary in our second or third year, as opposed to the sixth, which has been previously presented.
Thank you for your thoughts, I do value them. I just wanted you to know I thought these out.
And let me know who you are sometime. You can email your name to me at gracepointembc@aol.com if you don't want to come out publicly.
Hey brother.
There are a lot of different opinions floating around today about church planting and buildings. I understand both sides and depending on the location and circumstanecs everyone must agree that there is not one particular way to do church. I agree with much of what anonymous said, but when it all boils down to decision time, you and the church must make the right decision. There are many today that want to get rid of the traditional church, but did God tell anyone to do that? Maybe, but not everyone.
The traditional church can still reach people, make disciples, and go into all the world. The issue is not whether you have or have not a building, but whether or not the church will be thriving and continuing to grow when you are no longer there.
Don't make a hasty decision, pray with an open heart, being completely willing to go forward with this opportunity or turn it down. What ever God tells you and the church to do is what you need to do!
God owns all the cows on a thousand hills, the money isn't an issue!
Awesome news about this building. Sounds like a great deal!! What would the payment be if you financed it with minimal down? I was just wondering what the price difference would be between that and your lease/rent. I'm praying for you and the new church.
Doug,
Church buildings are financed as commercial property, which generally requires a 20% down payment (in this case, $36,000).
That would leave us financing approximately $144,000. While I have not run the figures, I would guess the payments would run approximately $2,000 per month over a 15-year loan. But I have not plugged the figures into a loan worksheet yet, so my estimation may be off, dramatically.
While I am not adverse to financing a building deal, my prayer is that God provides the funding so we can pay cash for the building without financing. Of course, some may thing I'm dreaming by hoping for such, but I think God can accomplish this impossible goal.
I just want to add this as well. I am focused and intent on reaching people and building a congregation. Anything short of planting a vibrant, on-mission church in Brownwood constitutes failure as far as I'm concerned. While purchasing a building does not insure success, I feel it would be a useful tool in facilitating the process.
"Where does your church meet?"
"At 1900 Calvert St., across from Brownwood Middle School."
See what I mean?
Bro. Acker,
Have you considered the propriety of purchasing a building from Victory Life Church, which is charismatic and not Baptist? Just a question. :)
Propriety- the state or quality of conforming to conventionally accepted standards of behavior or morals.
I see no issue of propriety in this deal. Over the years, several ABA churches have purchased buildings from non-Baptist groups. Some have purchased from non-denominationals, some from adventists, and some from the so-called churches of Christ (At least they've tried).
Purchasing the building does not constitute pulpit affiliation, as I am not involving myself in their ministries, nor am I allowing them to involve themselves in mine. In fact, I will be taking steps to insure that Grace Pointe does not get absorbed by Victory Life.
The contract paperwork is cut-and-dried, as is the contract of sale. There is no owner-financing, no special favors, and if I can't purchase the property, I'll walk away.
Will the money from the sale go to Victory Life who sold it? For clarification, that's what I was asking in my question. A building is just a building which can be used by Grace Pointe for the glory of God. It's the money going to the seller that I was concerned about.
Anonymous,
I don't this blog site is the best avenue for us to be communicating. You have some legitimate questions that need legitimate answers that I do not feel can be adequately answered on this site.
Email me at gracepointembc@aol.com, or call me at (903) 625-1005.
Let me know when you decide if you are going to purchase this property.
Hispanicpbh@aol.com
Reflecting back to my first and only post and your reply, I completely understand your thought process and agree from a human standpoint, and I would probably do the same thing you are doing, BUT you are not on the field yet and there is no church organized there yet to make such a commitment to God for this building. You are committing to it for them and asking other churches to invest in you. I have no problem investing in you, but the church that is not yet assembled may not choose this location. You being on the field and supported is much more important than where you meet. Again, I would probably buy the building as you most likely will, but I am just wondering what would happen if you waited to see how big the "foot" was and where it was located before you had the "shoe". It is a hard decision for you to make on the spiritual side, but easy on the financial side, because it is a "no brainer". I am glad you are considering all the options and more than that praying as am I. In His Love!
Thank you, anonymous.
My sponsoring church and I are considering the matter Sunday evening during business meeting.
I understand you concern about the shoe and foot analogy. If this is God's will, and we outgrow our facility, God will provide for that.
My wife went to Brownwood yesterday and got the utilities set up in our house. We are in the process of moving things right now and meeting with prospects.
I'm sorry, the whole "God will provide for that" sounds flippant, now that I read it in print.
I think I know how God would provide for us outgrowing our facility, but I don't want to get into details here and now.
Sounds like the fellas are really giving you some advice/whatever they want to call it.
I went to a chiropracter that practiced holistic medicine who couldn't stand actual doctors...and I have been to doctors who are totally oppossed to holistic medicine and chiropracters. I think in this issue you have some church planters who think traditional churches with buildings are completly out of touch and cannot do the Lord's Work and a group like myself that thinks not ALL traditional churches with church plants/buildings are stagnating and dying.
I think many young men, term themselves Church Planters, because they think older established Churches are too stuck in the mud. They want to establish thier own Church (I realize that it is the Lord's Church, they are just establishing it) so they can start with a fresh slate of people who haven't been tarnished by missionary baptist mossbackism. (like that word, I do)
I KNOW that many Church Planters are doing because God is leading them to do mission work and this is the avenue God chooses to use, this is why we support you at White Rock and I support guys like Doug in Owasso. My only problem is with the guys that automatically think that old time, established, mossback, traditional hymn singing Churches are not good enough for them to pastor.
That's my 2 cents for what it's worth. By the way we are praying for y'all and this decision.
Sounds like the fellas are really giving you some advice/whatever they want to call it.
I went to a chiropracter that practiced holistic medicine who couldn't stand actual doctors...and I have been to doctors who are totally oppossed to holistic medicine and chiropracters. I think in this issue you have some church planters who think traditional churches with buildings are completly out of touch and cannot do the Lord's Work and a group like myself that thinks not ALL traditional churches with church plants/buildings are stagnating and dying.
I think many young men, term themselves Church Planters, because they think older established Churches are too stuck in the mud. They want to establish thier own Church (I realize that it is the Lord's Church, they are just establishing it) so they can start with a fresh slate of people who haven't been tarnished by missionary baptist mossbackism. (like that word, I do)
I KNOW that many Church Planters are doing because God is leading them to do mission work and this is the avenue God chooses to use, this is why we support you at White Rock and I support guys like Doug in Owasso. My only problem is with the guys that automatically think that old time, established, mossback, traditional hymn singing Churches are not good enough for them to pastor.
That's my 2 cents for what it's worth. By the way we are praying for y'all and this decision.
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