I was asked by our Board Chairman to outline where I see the the next phase of our building program going. Obviously, I’m not an architect or an engineer and these ideas haven’t been approved by the board or by you, the congregation – but somebody has to get the conversation started! 🙂
As you may remember, when Mr. Steve Guenther originally drew up plans for the remodeling of this building he did it in several ambitious phases. Since that time we have made the phases slightly more bite-sized. A huge thank you to Mr. Jim Lee for spearheading the renovation and for all the others who have volunteered hours and hours of their time! The building looks fantastic!
We are nearing completion of Phase One (defined as what we could do with money in hand) which included:
- Signage
- Acoustic spraying on Fellowship Hall ceiling
- Painting of Fellowship Hall and new classrooms
- Moving several electrical outlets
- Installation of a platform and sound booth in the Worship Center and the Youth Room
- New Screens, Projectors, and Sound System
- Removal of the “hut” in Fellowship Hall
- Installation of double doors into the Worship Center
- Two new adult classrooms
- Large storage/work room
- New counters in Fellowship Hall
- Window shades throughout the Fellowship Hall
- The creation of an office or two (Pastor Jim is going to move into the office storage room that currently houses the copier)
- Expansion of the Conference Room into a full-sized classroom
- Lots and lots of drywall mud, joints, sanding and mudding!
- Mini-Phase One should take us through:
- Painting of the Worship Center and the KidZone
- New Speakers in the Worship Center
- Hopefully, the rearranging of the walls in three classrooms on the north side of KidZone
- Lord willing, the building of a wall behind the platform in the Worship Center
- And Window Treatments in the Worship Center
Phase Two, for which funds will have to be raised, will focus largely on our front door. We need to (and this will be more clear after it’s accepted by the board and drawn by the architect):
- Either center up and go to one double door at the front entrance OR go to two double doors
- Then at about 6 feet in, do it again forming a vestibule between the front door and the Fellowship Hall
- Add walls and doors and a window for the secretary on the left (as you are facing in from the parking lot) and a window to the new pastor’s office to the right inside the vestibule space, as above
- The current pastor’s office would become the worship pastor’s office
- Essentially, I’m talking about enclosing in that entire overhang (Senior Pastor’s office on the south end, glassed-in vestibule in the middle, secretary’s office north of that with a window facing the vestibule, and security office on the north end)
- Division of the room behind the café counter into a cooking kitchen* and a mop room, with individual doors
- Two more classrooms
- One, carved out of the space in the southwest corner of the worship area that was originally designated “office”
- The other, behind the SE wall of youth room (currently a storage room/workshop)
- Sufficiently improve rear parking lot so as to begin using Westridge gate for westbound 350 traffic coming from Lee’s Summit.
Phase Three, after we prove we would use it, would be to:
- Insulate, and otherwise improve, the large spaces in the other two buildings to make them useful for all weather for games, activities or things not yet dreamed of
- Create green space inside the wall on the east side of the property (picnic, playground, and/or sports)
*We need the cooking kitchen ASAP but the cost of hooding a stove has seemed prohibitive. If one can be located (a going-out-of-business restaurant?) on budget we might be able to do it as part of Phase One.
On a completely unrelated note; the kids are going to be singing “These are the Days of Elijah” in the service in the coming weeks. I’m often asked if I’m OK with that song – Turns out when I read the composers heart, I am! 🙂
Grace Notes 