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Dear Calvary Family,

On May 17, we will take a few minutes to have our Annual Meeting as a church in each of our Sunday worship services (English/ASL at 9:00am in the Worship Center and Spanish at 11:00am in Samsvick Chapel). There are a couple of key items that our official members will be voting on. For more information on becoming a member, you can explore Calvary's membership path and sign up to take your next step at CalvaryLife.org/Member.

You can watch what was shared this past Sunday about the upcoming vote in this video clip or read more about it below.

Following are some highlights of the key elements and ways to find out more:

ELDER AFFIRMATION VOTE
We will be voting to affirm the Elder Board’s nominees for new Calvary Elders. This includes new terms for Sean Connally and Brandon Elrod and second terms for Craig Bryson and Tom Shook. You can read their stories and see meeting details at CalvaryLife.org/Meeting.

Then, we also have a motion to revise our budget for Forward in Faith. First, here’s an update on the construction process so far.

CONSTRUCTION UPDATE
Demolition was started on the north walkway entrance and the dumpsters were relocated in the winter months to save $35,000 on labor costs from a contractor who was willing to give up his profits to keep his crew working in their slow season. Now we are waiting on some groundwater treatment parts required by the city and a final shade structure permit. We can’t substantially move forward until we get that, which should be in the next few weeks. The Solar project is waiting for final city approval, which we also hope to get this month. Thanks for your patience with navigating areas impacted by construction.

CONSTRUCTION PROPOSAL VOTE
To make sure everyone is on the same page with big projects, our bylaws require members to vote on any construction projects over $400,000. We have some changes that individually fit under the threshold, but to accomplish everything it requires an increase to the total budget. So, this is the motion we’ll vote on:

“The Elders recommend adjusting the Forward in Faith total budget for all phases from $3.3 million to $4.6 million to include $550,000 in project cost overruns and $750,000 in scope enhancements. Our commitment remains to pursue each element of Forward in Faith on a debt-free basis as the Lord guides and provides through the generosity of His people. Please vote Yes or No to approve this recommendation to increase the total project budget.”

We are so blessed to have many of you contributing to Forward in Faith, some without expressing a commitment and others who have given beyond your pledged amount. With that continued support, we hope to be able to fund all that's needed, but we will not spend more than comes in and will continue to make adjustments to the phases if needed. The good news is we already have giving and pledges to cover all but $285,000 of the cost overruns, which are due to many factors, including prices for concrete and materials going up faster than anyone thought over the last couple of years, and an unanticipated groundwater treatment system needed to comply with state regulations.

Near the end of last year, we received an estate gift which has provided $750,000 to help in two big areas. This includes $250,000 on HVAC improvements. Once we opened up the HVAC system in the Worship Center, aging components were identified that would soon need replacement, but were not in the original scope of repairs. It made sense to address them all now, while work was already underway, to save tens of thousands by doing them all at once instead of one at a time out of future maintenance budgets.

The biggest part of the scope change was to add stadium seating in the back of the auditorium. We’ve long desired a way for this space to be more flexible, so it can be used well for a variety of gatherings while still having room for larger events. The best way we have determined to create this flexibility, based on researching many churches that have employed a similar solution, is to add stadium-style seating. This will provide just over 900 seats on the main floor level and about 500 additional seats in the risers when needed. We had looked into this many years ago, but the estimates were over a million dollars. We found a way using a newer construction method to do this now for under $500,000, so the Elders want to allocate that part of the estate gift to make this possible. It is so incredible how God has provided some extra funds when we were looking at improving these spaces to be able to do it how we think it will best work for ministry for the future.

I appreciate your giving that has allowed us to invest in our campus as a resource for ministry to happen. The Elders and I have been blessed to see everything God has provided and encourage you to vote for us to move Forward in Faith at the Annual Meeting on May 17, to update our project budget so we can accomplish all we feel called to do.

In all of this, we continue to seek the Lord and trust him to guide and provide. Jesus' words in Matthew 6:33 has been a key Scripture for us throughout Forward in Faith: “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” As we depend on God's presence and power, we realign our priorities and trust him for what's needed. This is our heart with Forward in Faith, as a church in this season.

Again, please check out CalvaryLife.org/Meeting to see all the information, including Elder Bios and an FAQ page on the Forward in Faith projects. You can also email Michael Welles, Executive Pastor, at with additional questions.

May the Lord bless you and keep you,
Eric Wakeling