• May-June 2008: Church-wide visioning process with consultant; established new mission statement and desire for more people and space
  • January 2009: Congregational meeting to establish desired building criteria
  • January 2009: Initial consultation with Stan Hernly about adding on to space
  • Spring 2009: Building group looked into options for Morton buildings, sprung structures, and yurts
  • April 25, 2010: At congregational meeting, discussed hopes and fears related to pursuing church growth
  • Summer 2010: Building group conducted small group discussions about current space and space needs
  • Fall 2011: Considered and rejected idea of renting or buying house south of church
  • September 9, 2012: Adding on to current property was rejected by congregational consensus because flood plane regulations were prohibitive (This was after much research into funding options and discussion of various floor plan possibilities.)
  • Spring 2013: Building Group looked at 1735 Haskell (asking $275,000; about 5,000 sf: half finished, half warehouse); this option was not pursued due to information we received about construction loans;
  • Spring 2013: Building group talked with Lutheran Campus Ministries about sharing space
  • September 30, 2013: Old Theatre Lawrence building (asking $395,000; about 9,000 sf) was looked at by congregation (Sept. 23) and rejected by consensus; people felt the building needed too much work
  • February-March 2014: Congregation engaged in a period of prayer and discernment regarding church growth issues; Joanna provided relevant reading material (now on web site) and church participants committed to pray for our church’s discernment process regarding space and growth.
  • June 22, 2014: Property on 1700 Rd. (Baptist church on west edge of town; asking price $400,000) was looked at by congregation and rejected by consensus; concerns about location and property upkeep
  • Fall 2014: Mount Hope (former day care) property looked at and rejected by building group
  • Fall 2014: 7th Day Adventist building (small frame church on Connecticut Street) was looked at by building group and sold before further action could be taken
  • Fall 2014: Cornerstone Baptist Church, 802 W. 22nd Terrace was deemed too expensive by building group, but group contacted Realtor and gave permission to share our contact information with other parties interested in the property who might either have a smaller property that they would be putting on the market or be interested in some sort of space-sharing arrangement
  • Fall 2014: Building group talked with First Baptist Church about sharing space
  • Fall 2014: Building group conducted driving survey of Lawrence to consider possible properties to buy and/or groups to approach about sharing
  • Summer 2014: Congregation had two Sunday morning worship services at Lutheran Campus Ministries building; no firm decision made following visits; concerns expressed about lack of adequate space for worship, Sunday School, and parking.
  • Fall 2014: Building group in touch with Islamic Center; not an option for space sharing due to their current building use schedule
  • Late 2014: Building group contacted Boys and Girls Club which was (is) planning to build a new teen center this year. The director, Colby Wilson, said he would be in touch with us if their building committee is interested in talking with us about space-sharing possibilities.
  • Late 2014: Building group approached the Sunrise Project to see if there was a possibility of joining their efforts to purchase the old Sunrise Gardens nursery at 15th and Learnard. (Sunrise Project has sense purchased property; we have had no further discussions about sharing space there.)
  • September 2015: Floodplain map changed so that most of current church property is no longer in the floodplain; this change re-opened the discussion about adding on to current building
  • 2015: Congregation approved hiring architect to do a preliminary plan for possible building addition
  • January 2016: Preliminary plan from Hernly presented at congregational meeting
  • February-March 2016: PMC leaders in conversation with West Side Presbyterian about sharing space
  • February 2016: Moderator Joe Casad conducted a “virtual pledge drive” to test financial feasibility of Hernly design
  • March 6, 2016: Special congregational meeting; Joe presented financial information regarding the proposed addition (from Stan Hernly); each person present shared their thoughts and feelings about our space options
  • March 22: Received a letter from West Side Presbyterian declining our request to share space with them