Welcome to the Let It Rise Update Page!

Welcome to the newest page on your Heartland web-site. The purpose of this page is to keep everyone updated on everything about Let It Rise! This would include progress and details of the building project, plans uodates, notices, requests, letters and maybe even a video or two. If you have questions, contact the "Let It Rise" Publicity team here.

The most recent Let It Rise update letter has been reproduced below. If you've recently just begun attending Heartland we encourage you to catch up on our building history by reading below. If you would like to print down a copy of the letter (PDF file) feel free to click the link in the upper right hand corner of this page. Plans for the building are available there as well.

Thanks for browsing, check back often!

(Let It Rise Update Letter from December 15, 2007)

Dear Heartland Family,

As you know, the Heartland Building Teams have invested hundreds of hours in the design and creation of our new Church home. The building design unveiled during the “Let It Rise” campaign is contemporary and modern while effectively allowing us to move the ministries of Heartland forward.

Background

God blessed the founding members of Heartland Community Church with a vision to “reach those who have given up on church but not on God”. Since 1997, Heartland has been committed to this vision and to help people grow to be passionate followers of Christ.

In 2002, as Heartland grew numerically and spiritually, God provided the church family and our community with 42 acres of land on RT 3 between Hamlin and Remsen Roads. Careful planning, prayerful development and the efforts of many in our church family have brought us to a point where we have a building design which will allow us to fulfill our vision.

God has blessed us with a number of very talented partners in our project. In 2006, our Planning Team selected David Krebs of AODK, Inc. to be our architect.

Several months ago, the construction team began to interview contractors and, after careful consideration, Simmons Brothers was selected as our builder. Simmons Brothers has been in Medina County since 1959. Past projects include Northside Community Church, Christ Church, Granger UM Church as well as a variety of Commercial/Industrial buildings.

For those of you who were part of the Heartland family last winter, you were involved with our “Let It Rise” Capital Stewardship Campaign. “Let It Rise” was a tremendous opportunity for all of us to come together as a Church family and glorify God with our financial commitments to our new church home. Our three-year commitment total was nearly $1.2 million dollars.

Critical Design Elements For Our New Church Home

As the Overall Building Team and the Sub-Teams planned and discussed the design of our new Church home, there were criteria against which all proposals and decisions were challenged.

We must allow adequate space in our auditorium, classrooms and offices for future growth of the Church
The structure must be architecturally appealing to our Church family and community.
We must create a structure that can host a variety of ministry and community activities.
The Heartland Children’s and Youth Ministries must have adequate space for our children to learn and grow in their understanding and love of Christ.

AODK Architects and Simmons Brothers Construction

We’ve been working with David Krebs of AODK Architects since the Spring of 2006. Additionally, we’ve been partnered with Bill Simmons at Simmons Brothers Construction for several months. Our Construction and Planning Teams are very satisfied with the partnership that Heartland has with these two companies. They’ve proven to be professional in their approach and, as Christians, they have worked with the best interests of our Church family in mind. Our projected building costs are estimated at $120 per square foot which is very economical for the building quality that we are receiving.

Building Design and Site Development Issues

David Krebs and his associates, working with the teams from Heartland, created the architectural design that was presented to the Church family during the “Let It Rise” campaign. Unfortunately, the site development costs are much higher than anticipated at a cost of approximately $800,000 – yielding a project cost of $3.9 million.

Financing For The Project

Our Finance Team has evaluated a possible partnership in our project with eight different banks/financial institutions. We are currently in a very conservative lending environment due to the high number of housing foreclosures and the business climate. At this time, two banks have expressed an interest in working with us. One financial institution, the financial arm of our association that we worked with to finance the loan for the land and who has much experience with church building projects, expressed an interest in working with us if the project cost was no greater than $3.0 million.

The construction of our new Church home has always been a step of faith. We’ve known that new families and believers in Christ would have to help us meet our financial obligations. While we expect numerical growth within our Church family, we have to strike a realistic balance between the monthly mortgage and utility costs with the projected increase in giving. We don’t want to put ourselves in a position where we are struggling to meet the mortgage payment at the sacrifice of some of the ministries of the Church.

Financial Reality

While we saw an overwhelming commitment by the Church family to the financing of our new Church home, the financial commitments combined with both our current and projected budgets are simply not enough to justify a project cost of $3.9 million. As the discussions with the lending institutions matured, it became obvious that a more realistic project cost would be $3.0 million.

Initially, the reduction in the project cost and size weighed heavily on the ministry of the Church and the Overall Building Team. We all want a beautiful building with tremendous space for programming, youth, fellowship, etc. Simply stated, a project cost greater than $3.0 million could potentially put our Church family in a financially risky situation.

The Good News

Now for the good news – the new Heartland Church home will be a $3.0 million project and we are moving forward! While the plans are not finalized, it appears we will be able to create a building that meets the criteria outlined in the beginning of this letter. Once again, the criteria are as follows:

We must allow adequate space in our auditorium, classrooms and offices for future growth of the Church.We are attempting to create a 500-seat auditorium with stage and state of the art equipment. Our goal is to create an auditorium that is more effective than the High School middle theatre.

The structure must be architecturally appealing to our Church family and community.Much of the original exterior design and finishes can be incorporated into the final design at the new budget figure.

We must create a structure that can host a variety of ministry and community activities. While the new budget of $3.0 million will require us to cut back on the size of the building, we can still create a facility with an outstanding auditorium and practical classroom/open space.

The Heartland Children’s and Youth Ministries must have adequate space for our children to learn and grow in their understanding and love of Christ. Heartland’s commitment to our youth has never changed. While the building size will have to be reduced to meet the new project cost, the ministry of the Church will continue to offer the best Youth programming in our community.

The Next Steps

As mentioned, the Overall Building Team is moving forward with the new project budget of $3.0 million. David Krebs and his team will be working on revised drawings and they should have something for us to review within the next few weeks.

Once the new plans are finalized, we’ll need to move forward with the financial piece of the project. As a member of the Church family, it is very important for you to keep up with your giving as we move toward ground breaking.

Some additional financial considerations are as follows:

Keep Up with Your Contributions

We will need to present a 20% down payment to the lending institution. The value of the land will be included in the down payment. Your continued contributions will allow us to have the necessary down payment available at the appropriate time.

Gifting Securities

If you hold securities that have greatly appreciated in value, you may want to consider gifting them to the Church. You will realize the charitable donation and will forgo the capital gains tax associated with the appreciated value. Once received, the Church can liquidate the security for cash without the tax ramifications. You should consult with a Financial Advisor or Accountant before your contribution is made. If you have any questions regarding this type of giving, you can also contact Heartland Finance Team member Gary Hetrick at (330) 725-8382.
Reconsider Your “Let It Rise” Pledge

Six months have passed since we made our pledges to the building campaign. If God has placed it upon your heart to reconsider your pledge and commitment to the future of Heartland, we would like to hear from you now.

A Substantial Gift

If you have been blessed with the ability to make a substantial gift to this project, please seriously consider the donation. The impact of your gift will immeasurably impact the lives of many current and future generations.

If you know of a large donor who may be interested in supporting this project, we appeal to you to reach out to them.

Contact Information

Please contact the Treasurer of Heartland, Mark Rymer, if you would like to consider a substantial gift or a modification to your pledge. Mark can be reached at (330) 289-1325 .

In His Service

The Overall Building Team