Building For Mission:
To reach people more effectively with the Good News of Jesus
Why BFM?
In 2017 the leadership of St John’s moved towards responding to a call that God had placed on St John’s for many years, namely to make our main buildings fit for current and future purposes, and so we began work on our ‘Building for Mission’ project.
The journey so far…
The genesis of Building for Mission at St John’s goes back many years as the need to enlarge, remodel and update our building plant was progressively identified. On the night before our current building was opened back in 1960 the then Vicar, Canon Bill Leatham, said “It is my conviction that within a generation this building will be too small”. Well, here we are 59 years later, and this is indeed the case! Now, almost 20 years on from when the first serious discussions took place about a substantial rebuild, the time has come to respond to what we believe is God’s call on us to make our main buildings fit not only for our current purposes, but also for the generations to come.
We need a warm, open and welcoming place where people can meet with and be equipped to serve the God who loves us and who calls us to be a vehicle of His welcoming grace and mercy. An attractive frontage, a spacious circulation area, more floor space on two floors for our halls and meeting rooms, new heating, lighting and air distribution, a complete redecoration of the main worship area and remaining rooms, and much more will all make this possible.
The schedule below illustrates the key steps taken so far in developing the team, the plans, the cost and the permissions for the Building for Mission project.
“Our desire is to build bridges into the community, enabling people to come into St John’s and for St John’s to go to them”
TIMELINE OF completed WORK
April 2017 - Statement of Needs
A statement of our requirements for a new building was established and an outline of the key steps and time scale established.
June 2017 - Appointment of Project Manager & Quantity Surveyors
The PCC appointed Greenwoods to act as Quantity Surveyors and Project Managers to help guide us through the entire project.
October 2017 - Design Consultants Appointed
The PCC appointed Gould Singleton as Architects, Baynham Meikle as Structural Engineers and Robert Cartwright as M&E Consultants for the initial design work.
March 2018 - Design Scheme Settled
The PCC considered various options and settled on a scheme that is projected to cost £5 million. It was also decided to tithe the sum raised for new mission opportunities.
April 2018 - First Gift Day
A first Gift Day raised an amazing £2.2 million. (That’s £3.1 million with property sales).
November 2018 - Planning Permission Granted
Planning permission and a Faculty Recommendation was received. The PCC authorised detailed design work to proceed.
March 2019 - Second Gift Day
A second gift day - raised an additional £700,000. The good news was that the sale of church properties realised £250,000 more than expected.
July 2019 - Decision to Proceed
On 22 Jul, the PCC reviewed the contractors tenders, the funds in hand and those pledged, and decided unanimously to proceed with construction.
August 2019 - Vacate the Building
Once we received the ‘green light’ from St John’s PCC we set about clearing out the church building in preparation for the builder’s arrival. St John’s began meeting at Lordswood Girls’ School on Sundays whilst out of the building.
September 2019 - Construction Begins
At the start of September our contractors moved on site and began work on the building work.
Next steps
Coming up in the next few months we expect the following events to take place:
Autumn 2020 - Re-occupy the Building
Write here…
Money raised
£4,016,000
The tithe
The tithe of £427,000 will be given to support a variety of activities including mission, evangelism, both within and outside the UK along with support for local Churches and other projects over time. The detailed work on how this money should be used will begin shortly as we prayerfully seek God’s call on this financial resource as part of our mission to help others to reach those who do not know Jesus.
The finances
We have now reached 85% of our overall target of £4.7m
which is both exciting and encouraging and we already
have over £3m in the bank with most of the
remaining pledge money due to be given this year.
This has meant that we have been able to go ahead with the building work,
and move and out of the building.
How to get involved
Pray
Prayer is a vital part of our Building for Mission journey, in fact it’s impossible without it! Please do continue to pray for the practical things as well as guidance from God when it comes to making decisions.
Give
The finances for this project wouldn’t be possible without the incredibly extravagant generosity of St John’s congregation and community. We still haven’t quite reached out target yet, so please consider giving. One way to do this is to complete a pledge form and return it to the Church Office.
Serve
Whilst we are out of our normal premises, there will be lots to do, and a greater need for people to serve. From packing to moving out to setting up new venues, we need everyone playing their role as part of one big team to make this happen.
Love
Most importantly our aim is to bring the Good News of Jesus to people, and one of the best ways to do that is by loving our community.
BFM Steering Group
The Building Steering Group meets regularly to ensure the project is kept on track. The group is made up of staff and members of our congregation, these include: Leonard Browne, Antony Spencer, Steve Foster, Ruth Downing, Paul Featherstone, Alastair Baillie and David Harvey.
Keep in the loop
If you would like to receive email updates about the Building for Mission project please email comms@stjohnsharborne.org, or if you have any questions relating to the project email bfm@stjohnsharborne.org.
