The Building Team has continued to meet since our Member Meeting on May 31 to examine options, pray and invite input from members. It’s been a refreshing season for the team. One possibility for optional financing has presented itself, and we are meeting with a representative from a company named Ziegler on Tuesday evening, July 25. Please pray with us about that meeting!

“It is amazing to see what the Lord had already accomplished through the people of Northstar! Through the generosity of our church, we now have a beautiful and strategic 10 acre parcel of land to build, and $1.7 million in building funds. Though the project still has substantial needs from a fundraising perspective, I am excited to see what the Lord will do next as we faithfully seek his will with our funding efforts.” – Trey Moore

We wanted to provide some updates for you as we move out of the summer months:

Where are we?

  • Our building is designed, and our documents are ready to go out to contractors.
  • However, to begin bidding contractors, we need to secure a bank loan.
  • Three local banks all turned down our request for a loan of $5.4 million.
  • So currently the project is on pause while we research options. (See these blogs about our pause time: Pausing and Praying by Jeff, #100Sundays, #100ishSundays, #PauseButton by Darrell)

What are we considering?

At the May Member Meeting, we identified five areas to examine, and we’ve been diligent to consider all of them.

  • We have looked at scaling the building design back and at the project from a phasing standpoint. With this, we would cut costs by building a smaller building and would look to add more space onto the building over the course of future years.
  • We are looking at other funding sources, such as grants and bond sales. To that end, we are meeting with a company called Ziegler that has 115 years (yes, you read that right!) experience and helps fund churches, schools and senior adult center construction projects.
  • We are contacting larger denominational offices like the Baptist General Association of Virginia and the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia to inquire about any funding/financial options that they have available.
  • We are looking at ways to raise additional funds for the project. We want to improve our communications with those who have joined Northstar since the Immeasurably More campaign launched in fall of 2015, inviting them to make a commitment. We also want to improve our communication with those who have left Northstar, encouraging them to “give back” for a period of time.

What do we need?

  • We need clear direction from the Lord on what the next step is for us.
  • We need more funding.
  • We need people to join our Communications, Fund Raising, and Prayer sub teams to help think through and solve these problems.
  • We need the people of Northstar to be in constant and fervent prayer for the Immeasurably More project. For guidance, for wisdom, and for financial provision.

How can you help?

  • Obviously, prayer! It’s our first and best strategy, and we deeply believe this is a spiritual project.
  • If one of the teams mentioned above is an area where you have experience or would be interested in serving, we’d love to know! Please contact Jim Rancourt.
  • If you have not made a commitment to the campaign yet (or need to revise the one you’ve made), please prayerfully consider doing so. We want to be wise in our projections and planning, and your pledges help us make decisions about where we are and where we need to be from a financial perspective. You can make a pledge online here.