It’s time to go beyond! Westbrook church exists to reach people for Christ and develop them to full devotion to Christ, challenging them in turn to reach more people. This cyclical event, played out in the life of each and every believer, can only happen by trusting in God to make a way for this to happen in each person’s life. Life brings about hardship, turmoil, and pain; Westbrook Church stands at the ready to assist each and every person at each and every turn of their life.
Why we’re here
At Westbrook, there are people from all walks of life beginning a Christ walk. It is rewarding to see people following Christ with their whole life and whole heart..learning to walk, talk, and live like Christ would want them to live. Finding their lives changed by the God who makes a way when there seems to be no way.
What makes Westbrook unique as we journey with Jesus is that we are finding community in a multi-ethnic setting. It may not seem like a big deal because of the community that we live in; but in the church at large, it is a very big deal. People of every color and from every cultural background are rubbing shoulders with each other on this same path. Unfortunately, our efforts are being challenged at every turn because of one thing – space! As you can no doubt agree… space to park, space to sit, and space to learn is at a premium nearly every Sunday. Therefore, the staff and leaders at Westbrook are sensing the need to follow God beyond in building a new and larger center of Ministry and Worship.
Following Jesus to a place we’ve never been
Is a new church facility really an urgent and necessary project given our country’s current economic situation. Frankly, “past due” might be a better choice of words. Over the last four years, our growth has been in a holding pattern due to facility constraints. While overall attendance has continued to increase every year, the percentage of growth has diminished in the last three years, and we believe the underlying cause is lack of space. Although the issue is not really seen during our early service, we regularly exceed the 80% capacity rule in our second and third services.
The new facility project on our Veterans Parkway property will increase our Worship and Children’s Ministry space, providing ample room to begin fulflling our vision of multiple ethnic congregations meeting at the same time. Children can be ministered to together, and our lobby will be a true refection of what heaven will look like…people of every color and nation worshipping together as one (“on earth as it is in heaven.”) A new facility will not cause souls to be won and people to know Christ more fully, but it can be a tool for Westbrook to use for the glory of God. It can bring people into contact with Christ, whereby Christ can redeem them for all eternity.
The ‘spirit’ of Westbrook is still very vibrant, and there seems to be a great sense of oneness in our church community. So as we journey down this faith path, we pray that any barriers will be removed, such as:
- Parking lot challenges
- Children’s space needs
- Prime worship times filled almost to capacity
A shared sacrifice
To be honest, the people who will benefit from this project are people we don’t even know yet. They are children who are yet to be born, families who are yet to be introduced to Westbrook, but whose lives will be transformed by the redeeming power of Christ. We have never met them or their families; but when the excitement of a new facility is upon us, and when our very own people invite them to experience Christ at Westbrook, their lives will forever be changed by the grace of Jesus.
This project allows us to fulfill our mission in a greater way than is possible at our current site. Our dream is to be a church with multiple ethnic congregations under one roof…kids, and students, and community all taking place together. Because of the economy and other factors, we believe it is good stewardship to have an initial building of approximately 35,000 square feet, which results in a projected cost of $6.25 million for this relocation effort.
The facility relocation would take place immediately; however, it appears reasonable to have a purchase contract on our current Lily Cache site. It also seems clear that a capital campaign needs to be in place and executed, thereby encouraging our Westbrook family to share in this journey. Without these two items in place, we would have to take a step back and seek God’s leadership. While God may lead us through this relocation without the sale of our Lily Cache site, He will have to perform what our vision statement declares: Making a way when there seems to be NO way!
Where are we today?
Westbrook’s Elders and Board of Directors are championing this project. They will be asked, along with the rest of the congregation, to seek God’s face and make a faith commitment over and above their regular Make A Way offering. This faith commitment and subsequent fulfi llment of it will assist Westbrook in constructing the fi rst phase of this project. In 2009, we offi cially completed the giving phase of our Now is the Time campaign, which focused on purchasing the Veterans Parkway property. To date, we have collected approximately $1.375 million. The purchase price of our property was $2.4 million, so the gifts given to Now Is The Time have allowed us to meet the monthly debt service and minimally pay down the principle.
Currently, we owe the Church Development Fund approximately $3.9 million, which includes both the Veterans Parkway property and the remaining mortgage on our current facility. Our plan and prayer is to sell the Lily Cache facility for half that amount, causing us to carry over approximately $2 million in debt to this new project. For sure, this is a God-sized project. But with Him at our side, leading the way, we feel confident that this dream can become a reality.
What is the plan?
As we pursue this God-sized project, we will be entering into a Capital Stewardship campaign. We all have an innate desire to be a part of something great in our lifetime, and our beyond campaign provides that very opportunity. In this process, we will be asking everyone who attends Westbrook Christian Church to learn of this great vision and to then seek God on how they might be involved. We believe that God has a great calling in mind and that He plans to use us to see His preferred future become reality in and through this ministry.