UPDATE 1/15/2017: We are VERY happy to report that we have made our goal of $190,000! A huge thank you to everyone who chipped in to help with this big project. We are absolutely thrilled.
Spend a little less on Christmas…
It’s become a tradition at Woodland Hills to think about the Christmas season a little differently. Instead of getting too caught up in our culture’s obsession with gifts and extravagance, we’ve encouraged each other to make space in our budgets for other priorities. Again this year, we hope that our people will take some of the money we’d normally spend on friends and family, and invest that into the work God is doing in our church. After all, most of us have way more stuff than we really need!
This year we have a huge goal: reopen the North Wing of our church!
A brief history
Way back in 2004, we had been in this building for three years and we were already running out of space. So we embarked on an $800k project to develop approximately 14,000 square feet of our unfinished North Wing. Once it was completed, it was a huge blessing to our youth ministry, support groups, classes, outside partner organizations and other WH ministries who used it for events where people could connect with one another.
However, just six years later we ran into significant moisture issues and had to shut down the North Wing. Since then we’ve moved all our ministries back into the other spaces in our building while experts helped us figure out the water issues. We believe we have found solutions to our moisture problems, and are excited to reopen the North Wing!
In a nutshell
Now that we’re confident about reinvesting in the North Wing, we need to prevent future water problems, clean up the space, install carpeting, hang sheetrock and do a bunch of painting. Furniture and equipment will also be purchased for the two classrooms and the North Commons so that it can be used for medium-sized events.
Our 4 priorities
- Our youth group! Our student ministry has been steadily growing, and is bursting at the seams in their current space. It’s critical that Woodland Hills has a thriving ministry of young people – they’re not only the future of our church, they’re the future of God’s Kingdom!
- Community building – When the North Wing was still open six years ago, MANY of our ministries used it for their meetings. We look forward to having more space for a number of our groups here at church: 20s & 30s, 55+, support groups, classes – really any and all groups that want to gather and build connections with each other!
- Community engagement – Anyone who’s been around Woodland knows that we place a high priority on opening our building up to partners who can help us serve our neighborhood. On our campus we currently host a food shelf, day care, housing response program, job skills training and Meals on Wheels. We look forward to seeing what other partners can share space in our North Wing.
- Keep the rain out – we can plan for dozens of great ideas for the North Wing, but they’ll all be short-lived if we can’t keep things dry down there. So to prevent future water issues, we will install a metal exterior “wrap” on the north side of the building to keep out the rain.
Financial details
We have a big goal: $190k! It’s the largest year-end campaign we’ve ever embarked on, but we feel that the time is right.
Here’s how the costs break down. Exterior metal wrap: $55,000. Cleaning and restoration: $28,700. Floor repairs and carpeting: $44,500. Sheetrock/wall repair and painting: $37,700. Equipment and furniture: $24,100
How to make a donation
- Give online and select the Making Space fund
- Write a check to Woodland Hills and write “Making Space” in the memo
- Place a cash donation in an envelope marked “Making Space”
Please consider a Making Space donation in addition to your regular giving to Woodland Hills. We don’t want this campaign to prevent us from reaching our budgeted giving for our General Fund!
As a church, we have a history of serving those around us and we feel called to continue to serve and support our community in ways that demonstrate God’s Kingdom love. Please consider helping us make space this Christmas season!
