RESTORATION PROJECT UPDATE | The Latest News
Restoration Giving Update | April 17, 2013
We hope you had a wonderful Easter celebrating the resurrection of our Lord! About 4,000 people came to Calvary this Easter and heard the good news about Jesus - how He came to free us from the baggage in our lives and the burdens we carry, to give us new hope and new life.
We want to give you an update about all the new things taking shape on our campus through the Restoration Project, including the new Baby Lane Nursery in the Worship Center, which is now open and serving our young families. We are grateful for all of you who made this part of the project possible. We appreciate the companies owned by Calvary members that did a lot of the work and saved us thousands of dollars: Bowman Construction, Matrix Surfaces, New Century Door, New West Painting, OmniDuct, Paden Electrical and Southland Commercial Interiors. And, special thanks to all the staff and volunteers who contributed their time and talent to make this fun and inviting space for our kids come together so well.
We are currently finishing the move of much of our ministry staff from across campus to unite them with the rest of our staff in the new offices upstairs in the Worship Center this month, so come visit us in our new location! Also, Calvary Christian Preschool is funding the conversion of our old, ground-floor office spaces off Tustin Ave (in the C & D Buildings) for use as additional preschool classrooms, and larger areas for use by our Calvary Town Children’s Ministries.
The next phase of the Restoration Project is to renovate historic Samsvick Chapel by redoing the HVAC, lighting, paint, carpet and chairs this summer.
Plans are also underway to enter the construction drawing and city permit process for converting the old Nursery in the C-Building basement to a new Student Underground for our Jr. High, High School and College ministries.
We will keep you posted on these exciting developments as we strive to create spaces on our campus that are honoring to God and useful for ministry.
Many of you have already responded with your commitment to our “Finishing the Journey” campaign for the Restoration Project. We are prayerfully pursuing the additional $1.2 million needed in order to complete all of the construction phases. Will you help us finish the new space for our Student Ministries and impact the lives of the next generation? We have about $850,000 left to raise and are asking now that you would consider formally extending your Restoration Project pledge for one additional year.
The 3-year Restoration Project ends December 31, 2013. Please prayerfully consider continuing to give toward this project over and above your support
of our General and Missions funds. To learn more about how you can participate, pick up a Restoration brochure in the Lobby on Sundays or contact Michael Welles at mwelles@calvarylife.org.
Click Here to Make a Donation Today
MOVING PARTY | Sunday, March 10
We would love your help Sunday afternoon, March 10, as we move furniture from our current nursery to our brand new nursery in the Worship Center. We will begin moving at 12:30 pm. Come when you can and meet in the current nursery (lower level of the C Building).
The new nursery in the Worship Center will then be in use starting the following Sunday, March 17.
Please join Calvary Church for a Nursery Shower in honor of Calvary Town's new Nursery, Baby Lane, opening soon.
Donated items can be dropped off in the Children’s Ministries office weekdays from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm.
To view the online registries for Baby Lane
search “Calvary Church Santa Ana” at:
toysrus.com/wishlistOR amazon.com/wishlist
For more information, contact Children’s Ministries at 714.550.2348 or town@calvarylife.org
Restoration Giving Update | December 2012
We are now two years into our campaign to restore and repurpose our ministry space. All of the critical campus repairs are finished and we are close to completing the current Worship Center phase, including the new Nursery. The adjusted goal of $4.4 million will enable us to restore Samsvick Chapel and invest in the next generation by converting the old nursery into a new Student Underground. We are grateful for the $2.07 million received to date and are looking forward to finishing the journey together by December 2014. Scroll down to discover more details about the plan and progress of the Restoration.
To learn more about how you can participate, pick up a Restoration brochure in the Lobby on Sundays or contact Michael Welles at mwelles@calvarylife.org.
Click Here to Make a Donation Today
You can support the Restoration Project by buying a limited-edition Calvary ornament for your Christmas tree! These solid pewter, custom Commemorative Ornaments are available for $10 in the Corner Bookstore, and all proceeds go toward the Restoration Project.
Photos from One Service Sunday, November 25
Highlights included Restoration Focus Moment, Baptisms
and
Nursery Open House Preview + Prayer Walk.
Restoration Project | November 2012 Update
Frequently Asked Questions
Where are we now on the Restoration Project?
We launched the Restoration Project two years ago, and have accomplished the initial phase of critical repairs and energy efficiency upgrades. The Nursery and Worship Center phase completion is on schedule for year-end. Our move in timeframe will be early 2013.
The next phase will be the renovation of Samsvick Chapel, which we hope to finish by the end of Summer 2013 and then proceed with the Student Underground as funding becomes available.
When the Restoration Project began, the estimated need to complete everything Calvary’s leadership envisioned for the Restoration Project was $6.5 million. When our initial commitments did not come in at that level, our leadership created a revised plan to position us for the future and accomplish as much as we could within a budget established on commitments plus unpledged gifts, which was approved by a member vote in May 2011 and is currently at $3.2 million. This goal is on track to be reached by December 2013 based on people’s faithful giving towards their original commitments.
Our modified budget did not allow for the $2.6 million conversion of the Heritage Medical Building to a Reach Center, and some of the other construction phases were scaled back. Within this modified plan, we have been able to improve and create new ministry space with the amount committed. In addition, many Calvary members in the construction industry have saved us tens of thousands of dollars on our project.
Calvary’s Elders, Trustees and staff have been guiding the project and making key stewardship decisions throughout the process. We want to stretch our dollars as far as we can, but we also want to do it right so it will last for generations to come.
We have seen project costs rise around 15 percent in the last two years due to rising construction costs, unforeseen slab leaks, city requirements and some needed design changes. This has strained our modified budget and we will not be able to accomplish as much as we initially planned. We can finish the Worship Center Nursery remodel phase and accomplish major Samsvick renovation, but we do not currently have enough to create the student space the way we originally envisioned.
We are trusting the Lord will provide for our needs in the future and prayerfully seeking the remaining $1.2 million in order to pursue the original vision and fully develop the final phases of our ministry space improvements. This puts our new budget target at $4.4 million for all of the construction and repair phases of the project.
Why is the Samsvick Chapel phase next?
While we had hoped to create the student center space first so we could move students out of the chapel space to renovate it, Samsvick Chapel is in dire need of repair now. Its air conditioning system failed multiple times this summer and it does not make good stewardship sense to keep repairing a failing system. The lighting system is also failing and with your current Restoration Project pledges we have funds available to do the majority of this remodel as originally planned. Our modified budget only included creating one large student space and we would rather finish it all as originally planned so both high school and junior high ministries can use it.
We are asking for additional commitments now so we will know if this is a realistic goal. With the increased costs on the first two phases, we do not have enough money pledged to do both of these remaining phases. With the current budget information we have, leadership thought it makes the most sense to work on the chapel first, but we continue to pray for provision to do the entire original plan.
Where do we go from here?
We will not spend beyond what has been committed, but our goal is still to complete the construction phases of the Restoration Project as originally outlined to maximize the ministry use of theses spaces. We invite your prayer and participation in helping us complete the Restoration Project with your additional support. If we receive enough additional commitments now, we can finish the project as originally planned which will save money in the long run and allow us to use it more quickly. If we receive more than we need for construction, we will set it aside for the future Reach Center. Thank you so much for your generosity to this point and we look expectantly to see what God will do through all of us to see more lives changed by Jesus Christ through the ongoing ministry here at Calvary Church.
Invitation to Finish the Journey
Our church is on a 3-year journey of faith, prayer and giving. We believe God is calling us to take a step of faith. It’s a step that will require all of us who call Calvary our church to pray and trust God for the future. This step will provide a renovation and reconfiguration of our campus that will enable us to more fully live out the purpose of our church. We are asking you to prayerfully seek God’s will concerning what role you will play in the story that God is authoring through Calvary’s Restoration Project. Will you join the journey and help finish the task? New “Finish the Journey” commitment cards are available in the lobby and can be turned in the offering plate or you can email the information to our Executive Pastor of Administration, Michael Welles at mwelles@calvarylife.org. Please contact Michael for answers to any other questions you have regarding the construction, budgets, your current commitment amounts, or if you would like to volunteer to help in any way. You can also support the Restoration Project through our online giving page. Thanks so much for your continued support!
Open House - Preview + Prayer Walk | October 2012
Get an inside look at the construction progress in the Worship Center and spend time in prayer for the Restoration Project. The new Nursery space will be open for an Open House Preview & Prayer Walk:
- Wednesday Oct 24| 6:30 pm—9:00 pm (before + after ‘Family Matters’)
- Sunday Oct 28 | 8:15 am—12:45 pm (before + after Worship Services)
- Wednesday Oct 31 | 5:30 pm—8:30 pm (during Light the Night)
Come check out the development of the new nursery and get the latest updates on this 3-year journey of prayer, faith and giving. See the steps being taken to renovate and reconfigure our campus to more fully live out the purpose of our church.
Have questions? During the Open House times, we'll have some key resource people from Calvary wearing blue hard hats available to help provide answers to whatever questions you may have about the Restoration Project.
Photo Gallery | September 2012
Construction is moving forward on schedule. Check out the gallery below to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into what's been happening.
Nursery Story Wall | August 13, 2012
In the One Service on Sunday, August 12 the first draft of the new Nursery hallway wall art was revealed. This will be a tool to help tell the Big God Story to kids and their parents as it weaves fun Calvary Town elements together with biblical story points. How many stories do you recognize in the images below?
Walkers (North Side)
Wall 1
Wall 2
Crawlers (South Side)
Wall 1
Wall 2
Opportunities to Serve
As construction continues for the new Nursery space, there are two great opportunites to serve coming up.
CALVARY SERVE DAY: "A BEAUTIFUL DAY ON FIRST STREET"
1st St. is the home address to many of the most broken, poor and hurting people in Orange County. Our hope as a Church, is to make July 28th “A Beautiful Day on 1st St” demonstrating the grace and love of our Lord Jesus to the residents of 1st St. Serve Day Projects include outreaches to low-income motel residents, Olive Crest foster kids and extending Calvary's Restoration Project to doing community construction/clean-up jobs on 1st Street. Each project will be completed by Noon. For more information on how to sign up or where to meet up, visit calvarylife.org/local
MODULAR RESTORATION: Guest Helpers Project
All are invited to join the Guest Helpers crew and volunteer to help restore the Modular building by replacing plywood and paneling on Monday, July 30 at 8:30 am. For more info, call Bob Vander Wall at 714-639-6107.
Nursery Blessing | July 15, 2012
With the area now cleared for construction to begin, last Sunday (July 15) our congregation had the opportunity to write out prayers on the ground of what will soon become the new Nursery space in the Worship Center - to proclaim God's goodness and claim His promises for the generations to come!
You can also view, comment or tag what you wrote on the album at facebook.com/calvarylife
Construction is Beginning | July 2012
We have selected a general contractor to start construction on the new nursery space in the Worship Center. The city has approved our plans and we are planning to start mid July. You will start to see chairs come out and walls go up soon. We are grateful for those who have given us an amazing deal through their companies. We also appreciate those of you who have given toward this project to make it possible. Total contribution over the past 18 months are currently just over $1.7 million.
We also invite those who have not yet participated to join in with us. If you would like to make a new pledge or adjust your pledge in any way, please fill out a new Restoration Commitment card (available at Connection Point in the Lobby) or email Michael Welles at mwelles@calvarylife.org.
Making a commitment helps us budget better as costs continue to rise. Please continue to pray for this project that God will provide the funds needed to finish everything we want to accomplish and also for the safety and salvation of those working on the job. We are so excited to be at this point and will keep you posted on our progress.
Click Here to Make a Donation Today
Follow day to day updates as we upload photos and more at facebook.com/calvarylife
Summer Update | May 2012
We are now 18 months into the project and the Worship Center plans have been officially approved by the city! We can now complete the second component of the Restoration Project as we repurpose some underused space in the Worship Center.
As a quick recap – the first phase already finished was the energy efficient campus air conditioning, roofing upgrades and some critical repairs throughout the campus. We plan to start construction this summer on the new Nursery space in the sides of the Worship Center, along with newly built offices above. After that is done, we plan to give our historic Samsvick Chapel a face-lift and convert our old nursery into a new space for our Student Ministries. You can review each phase here.
We are excited to think of the potential for future ministry as these plans come together. With the current level of commitments to the project through the first year-and-a-half, the plans for the new Student space were scaled back to one large space for use primarily by high school. However, if more commitments and giving came in, we could afford to do an additional space dedicated for use by jr high. Throughout this project, we don’t want to go in to debt, but are relying on the commitments made to move forward.
For those of you that have been giving, we are so grateful. Some of you might be able to give more or some less based on new situations halfway through our campaign. If you want to adjust your pledge in any way, please fill out a new Restoration Commitment card (available at Connection Point in the Lobby) or email Michael Welles at mwelles@calvarylife.org.
Finally, we are right now in the process of selecting our general contractor. They are contacting subcontractors this week including some people in our own congregation. Please pray for these final contracts that we get good deals from suppliers and have wisdom in being the best stewards possible of God’s money you have provided us for this project. We are also looking for ideas for what to do with some of the older chairs we do not need. If you have an idea, please let Michael Welles know that too.
Remember that when you give, you can designate which portion of your giving goes towards the Restoration Project as we see lives, campus and community restored for Jesus Christ through this journey of prayer, faith and giving.
Spring Update | March 2012
We are excited about the progress of the new Nursery space in the wings of the Worship Center phase of the Restoration Project.
We have submitted plans for the second round of comments with the city of Santa Ana. They suggested some improvements in our fire safety plans after the first go around but their new requirements did not increase the cost of the project dramatically, which was an answer to prayer.
We are in the process of soliciting bids from general contractors on the project and hope to start construction this summer at the earliest. Thanks so much for everyone who has participated in prayer and through their generosity and we encourage others to join us in this journey of faith, prayer and giving.
FALL UPDATE | October 2011
Today marks Calvary Church’s 80th birthday and we are so grateful to the Lord for His faithfulness over these past 8 decades. It is encouraging to see how God has provided the people and the facilities in His perfect timing to be able to bless others through our ministry here. We eagerly look forward to what God will do through His church on Tustin Avenue as we strive together to reach Orange County and the world for Jesus Christ.
Our Restoration Project is underway with the major repair phase completed this summer. By doing the work listed below at the same time we saved on overall project labor costs. This summer we have:
- Replaced 5 roofs on Buildings A, B, N, Gym, and Fireside, as well as much of the rotted wood underneath the shingles, in order for them to last for decades.
- Installed 8 new energy efficient air conditioning systems for Buildings A, B, N and Fireside which will help save the church ongoing electric costs for years to come.
It will be a blessing to have additional ministry space to use in order to reach out to students and adults as a result of the next phase in the process. The plans for the Worship Center nursery phase are in plan-check at the city right now and we are awaiting their approval to proceed. The next step will be to build the new nursery space and move those in the current nursery and Samsvick Chapel so we can remodel those spaces.
We praise God for the almost $3 million pledged and the almost $1 million given to date. Continue to pray for this project, that the plans would move through the city at a good pace and that the Lord would provide additional finances. This would allow us to finish off the student underground space which will hold both Junior High and High school ministries, as well as remodel the upstairs Worship Center office space. We hope to start construction on the Worship Center in 2012.
E-mail me at mwelles@calvarylife.org or call 714.550.2313 if you have any questions. Thank you again for your generosity toward Calvary’s Restoration Project.
With gratitude,
Michael Welles
Executive Pastor of Administration
"Established 1931" Shirts | Pre-Order Now Available
As part of our 80 year anniversary celebration, Calvary has a new line of t-shirts available for pre-order in the Lobby this Sunday. Come check out the brand new designs and order now! Shirts are $20/each or 3 for $50. All proceeds go toward Calvary’s Restoration Project.
Construction & Giving Update | July 2011
Construction is underway this Summer on our project to put new roofs on Buildings A,B,N, Fireside, Library and the Gym. We are also installing new Air Conditioning in Buildings A,B,N and Fireside. So far, we have removed the old units and reroofed Building B and hope to complete most of it by August 1st, before VBS starts. The Air Conditioning platforms holding up the units on A,B, and N were rotting out after weathering decades on the roof and needed to be replaced so the units didn’t fall through the roof. We budget every year for maintenance repairs in our general budget. However, replacing the platforms required roof work, and it didn’t make sense to pay to crane off the old units and replace them with the same old units.
This made a project that could be broken up into multiple smaller repair projects done over a few years turn into a larger $250,000 construction project. Creating this larger project enables us to get it all done correctly at one time and cost less than doing them as smaller separate projects over a longer period of time. We are putting 7 new large Air Conditioning units that are much more energy efficient than the old units so we will recuperate some of the cost in lower utility bills in our ongoing operating expenses at Calvary for decades to come. Thanks so much for those of you who gave and are giving to the Restoration Project to allow us to do this phase of the project.
We were also blessed to have a team of guys from Calvary that helped plan, organize, and bid this project. Through their contacts and because of their hard work, Calvary saved more than $110,000 on this phase of the project. Special thanks to Doug Littlejohn, Steve Esser, Dave Taylor, and Ernie Glasgow for helping so much with this process. Steve’s dad Clark (who built most of Calvary’s campus) has also been an invaluable help in giving us the background and still remembering facts about some of the buildings which are 50 years old. It is a joy to see the body of Christ come together to use their skills to help Calvary be a good steward of the money God has blessed us with through you. If you have a company that would like to help in future phases of the Restoration Project, please contact Michael Welles about how you can get involved at mwelles@calvarylife.org.
Thanks for your patience as we are without air conditioning in a few buildings this month. We are also moving along in the planning process for the Nursery move to the Worship Center and will be applying for building permits in the next few months which then will give us a better timeline to let you know future construction updates. We have received over $700,000 in contributions toward our 3 year Restoration Project phase 1 goal of $3million. We invite you to pledge your commitment to the project if you haven’t already. As more gifts are received we can move up the construction timeline and save on rising construction costs.
We appreciate you keeping the Restoration Project in your prayers. Pray for continued safety for all of the construction workers, for God to continue to provide the finances and donation of construction materials and services for the next phase, and for wisdom on how to represent Christ and Calvary Church well in the city building permit and planning process.
Congregational Vote Results | May 2011
A total of 839 ballots, cast by members of Calvary Church, were collected between three morning services (Celebration, Elevation, Renovacion) on Sunday, April 17, 2011 . There were 761 votes to approve the measure on the balot, which means it passed with 90.7%. We are excited to move forward with the Restoration Project and will continue to update you as plans unfold.
Click Here to Read the Update Q&A (April 2011)
February 2011
We have started collecting donations to the Restoration Project and are looking forward to what will unfold in the coming months through your ongoing support. You can designate your gifts to the Restoration Project on the memo line of your check, on your giving envelope or when you give online.
Thanks so much to all who have already started giving. We are currently revising our overall plan to reflect the funds committed or already given to this project. We are also in the planning process to be able to start some of the major roofing repair and HVAC upgrade projects this summer. We will first bring you a revised Restoration Project plan for congregational approval later this Spring, before any physical repairs or upgrade work begins.
We invite you to send an email to restoration@calvarylife.org if you have any remaining questions, so that you have the information needed to prayerfully consider your involvement with our church on this 3 year journey.
You can pick up a Commitment Card in the Worship Center Lobby on Sundays and leave it in the offering, email your commitment to restoration@calvarylife.org or call 714.550.2313.
October 2010
THE RESTORATION PROJECT | INTRODUCTION
Over the last four years, our church leadership has established several ministry values as they look toward the future of Calvary Church. Through this process, we have assessed how to best utilize our existing ministry space and provide good stewardship of our resources.
After much prayer and planning, we have come to the conclusion that steps need to be taken now to realign our campus in order to most effectively accomplish our purpose as a church through the development of the Restoration Project.
We are committing to renew our facilities, renovate historic Samsvick Chapel, create new space for young families, dedicate space to impact the lives of our teens and expand ministry to our community.
It's about investing our time, talent and treasure through a journey of prayer, faith and giving. Our goal is for our entire church family to be involved in the project in order to see the restoration of lives, campus and community with the living hope we have in Jesus Christ.
Click on the links below to discover more:
| The Vision | Project Needs | Calendar of Events |
| Values - Phases | Journey of Faith | The Buzz |
| FAQ | Ways to Pray | Give Your Input |
| Media | Race Across America - TeamLifeChangers.org | |
“Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.” Psalm 51:12