Happenings at Lynn Haven

Greetings in the name of Jesus.  You may have been hearing some discussion floating around about the availability of Renegade Sports Center which is for sale after foreclosure.  If not, let me bring you up to speed very quickly.  Last fall at our staff retreat we were brainstorming any and all ideas that we had for the future of Lynn Haven, when someone brought up the fact that Renegade had closed and we might want to consider it as a possible alternative to our plans for the Community Life Center.  My first thought was that it was a crazy idea.  I thought the cost would be prohibitive and the distance would be impractical, but we kept the issue on the table to look into again later.  Well, as details began to emerge, we began to look at the prospects a little differently.
 
Our plans for a Community Life Center here on our Transmitter Road campus are at a virtual standstill given the economy.  The CLC would probably cost about $6 million, which is about $130 per square foot (including site work, etc).  Our CLC building fund has $800,000 in it now.  This is just not a time when we can borrow over $5 million.  Well, the Renegade property may be available at less than $30 per square foot, including the land!  So it was at least worth looking into.
 
So here are the steps we have taken so far.  First, our ELT (Executive Leadership Team) discussed whether to explore the Renegade option and they voted unanimously to at least move forward with inquiries.  Then the Trustees discussed it and voted unanimously to move forward with inquiries.  Then the Finance Committee and the Church Council both voted unanimously to move forward with considering the possibility of acquiring Renegade as our Community Life Center.  It was next referred to the CLC Building Committee to determine if the property would meet the needs we had in mind for our CLC plans.  The Building Committee also recommended that we move forward.  So now it's time for the entire congregation to give consideration to this possibility.
 
I know you have many questions, and we want to answer as many as we can.  We are planning two informational meetings about the Renegade property.  They will both be the same information, just offered at two different times for your convenience.  The first informational meeting will be on Sunday, September 12th at 5:00 pm at Renegade Sports Center (close to Mosley High School).  You will have a chance to walk through the facility as well as get all the information we have and ask any questions you may have.  The next informational meeting will be on Wednesday, September 15th at 6:00 pm in the church sanctuary.  There we will show slides of Renegade and present the same information and discuss all of your questions.  So, the Sunday meeting is preferable because you get to see the property.
 
These are some exciting possibilities to consider, but there are also some valid concerns and risks given the state of our economy.  Ultimately, it will be the entire church that will make this decision.  Please be in prayer as we seek God’s direction about whether to act on this opportunity or let it pass.