Comprehensive Fund Appeal Questions & Answers St. Matthew s Ev. Lutheran Church
What is the Grounded in Faith~ Growing to Serve appeal? Together, we remain united around our mission to fulfill the Great Commission. Our facilities provide the means to fulfill our mission, as we minister to the needs of our congregation and the surrounding neighborhood. At the same time, our facilities help us reach out to the next generation with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our Comprehensive Fund Appeal is a congregation-wide effort to raise funds to address important congregational needs by improving our church facilities. Here at St. Matthew s, we have been blessed by the faithfulness and generosity of members from past generations. This appeal is our opportunity to build upon those blessings by remaining good stewards of the church facilities entrusted to us. What are our Congregational Needs? The following congregational needs were arrived at during the last two years of our mission exploration, drawing input from small groups, congregational surveys, staff members and professional consultants. They are listed in order of priority. For more explanation of these needs visit our website at www.stmattslutheran.org. Upgrade heating, ventilation and air conditioning Improve and expand staff office space Modernize kitchen facilities Add education space Improve music space Address security needs Renovate education wing Upgrade technology Move and improve nursery area Improve recycling and donation areas What is the initial scope of our proposed building project? Our Renovation Committee enlisted the help of an architectural firm, Zimmerman Architectural Studios, to lead the congregation in conversations that led to our Master Facilities Plan. This master plan split the needs of the church into three phases. While we would love to do all phases at once, our initial goal is to fund Phase One. Below are the details of this first phase. Phase One: Interior Renovation ($2 $2.5 million) Replace inefficient heating, ventilation, & airconditioning (HVAC) systems dated 1950 and 1963 Install new fire sprinkler system required by City of Wauwatosa Enhance our security system Modernize and relocate our kitchen Renovate old kitchen for office space and renovate current office space Renovate Fellowship Hall What is the Phase One building project timeline? The response to the appeal will determine how much of the proposed Phase One plans we are able to undertake. The building project spending and funding will all be done with a commitment to financial responsibility for our congregation. A possible timeline is: Spring 2013 Appeal gift commitments are received June 2013 Approve HVAC replacement Summer 2013 Phase One building project and funding plans are finalized with affordability in mind Fall 2013 Congregation approves the final Phase One project and funding plans Fall 2013 Phase One building renovations begin Spring 2014 Phase One building renovations completed 1
Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. - 2 Corinthians 9:7 What is the financial goal for our Grounded in Faith ~ Growing to Serve appeal? The cost of this Phase One project is estimated to be $2 to $2.5 million. We currently have $260,000 in the Building Improvement Fund. We do not have any church debt. Our goal is to raise as much of the Phase One costs as possible in initial cash gifts and three-year commitments. Raising this amount of money means we will need special gifts from all our members, over and above their regular contributions. How can I begin to think about my gift to the appeal? We hope you will make an initial gift along with a three-year pledge. Our gifts should be in addition to our regular offerings which fund our ministries and operational costs. For many of us, giving to this appeal will require us to re-evaluate our priorities. It will challenge us to grow in our faith and generosity. We ask that you consider making this appeal one of your financial priorities for the next three years. How will our appeal directly fund future ministry? In addition to our focus on facilities, we also want to make sure that we continue to have the ministries in place that meet the future needs of our thriving faith community. Ten percent (10%) of the funds raised will be allocated as seed money for future ministries. In time, we anticipate future growth in our congregation which in turn will help fund these ministries once our three-year appeal is completed. What are the Invitation-to-Give Options? You may wonder, What am I being asked to consider giving so we can achieve our appeal goals? The Invitation-to-Give options below suggest a variety of gift options we hope you will prayerfully consider when making your commitment to our Grounded in Faith ~ Growing to Serve appeal. The gifts we ask you to consider are challenging. Receiving gifts within the ranges hoped for is necessary for us to achieve our goals. We believe our members have the right and the responsibility to make their own decision. We also know that God is at work in our lives, helping us grow in faith and generosity. May God lead you as you pray over your decision. Matching Existing Giving As a starting point, we ask you to pray and consider matching your current regular giving over the next three years. For example, if you are currently giving $20 per week ($1,040 a year) to the church s ministry, please pray and consider giving an additional $20 per week to our Grounded in Faith ~ Growing to Serve appeal over the next three years, for a total commitment of $3,120. Leadership Gift If you are in a position to give more, we ask you to pray and consider making a leadership gift of $3,000 to $20,000 over the next three years. Legacy Gift We invite those who have been financially blessed to pray and consider making a legacy gift of $20,000 to $100,000 or more over the three-year period. May I contribute gifts other than cash? Besides cash, you may contribute gifts of stock, paid-up life insurance and other securities. If you wish to discuss making such a gift, you can begin by contacting Holly Jurss in the church office. 2
The following giving table may be helpful in planning your gifts. Here s how a weekly gift can grow in size over three years: My Weekly Gift of: $ 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 25.00 30.00 40.00 50.00 70.00 100.00 150.00 200.00 250.00 Amounts to a Monthly Envelope Gift of: $ 20.00 40.00 60.00 80.00 100.00 120.00 160.00 200.00 280.00 400.00 600.00 800.00 1,000.00 Amounts to an Annual Gift of: $ 260.00 520.00 780.00 1,040.00 1,300.00 1,560.00 2,080.00 2,600.00 3,640.00 5,200.00 7,800.00 10,400.00 13,000.00 Amounts to a 3-year Gift of: $ 780.00 1,560.00 2,340.00 3,120.00 3,900.00 4,680.00 6,240.00 7,800.00 10,920.00 15,600.00 23,400.00 31,200.00 39,000.00 How can I make my gift to the Grounded in Faith ~ Growing to Serve appeal? On April 28 as we gather for worship, we will share more about the appeal. At the end of worship, you will receive an appeal packet. Some members will receive their appeal packets earlier to help our appeal get off to a good start. Inside this packet will be additional appeal information, including your commitment response form. Once you have your packet, we ask you to spend the next several weeks praying and considering how God is leading you to respond. You are then asked to return your response form on Commitment Sunday, May 19, or mail your response form to our church office. You may fulfill your appeal commitment by making gift installments every week, month, quarter, or year. What if I made a pledge last fall to our Building Improvement Fund? Thank you! Continue making your Building Improvement Fund contributions through May 31, 2013. Then, starting June 1, 2013, your new three-year pledge to our Grounded in Faith ~ Growing to Serve appeal replaces your prior Building Improvement Fund pledge for 2013. How can I help make our Grounded in Faith ~ Growing to Serve appeal a success? By attending our appeal events scheduled throughout April & May By receiving and reviewing your personalized appeal packet By prayerfully responding to God s gift of love with your own generosity By returning your response form at worship on Commitment Sunday, May 19 By continuing to keep your regular giving strong in support of our ministries By praying for God s blessings on our Grounded in Faith ~ Growing to Serve appeal Should we encourage friends and relatives to make a gift? Yes, please encourage anyone you think might be interested to make a commitment or a one-time gift. If you would like us to mail them information and a response form, please share their name and address with Holly Jurss in our church office. 3
What is being proposed for future building project phases? Again, to be clear, we are presently focusing only on Phase One of our master plan. In the future, after we have fully paid for Phase One, we can consider Phases Two and Three in the next five to ten years. Phase Two: Education Wing addition and renovation ($1 million) Add three additional classrooms Improve our music ministry space Upgrade technology Relocate and improve nursery Improve upper office Renovate and expand second floor bathrooms Phase Three: Office Wing Expansion/Addition ($1.5 $2 million) Expand main offices with an addition Add an upper meeting room Where should I go if I have questions? The congregation will be kept informed of progress during our building planning process. Visit our website at www.stmattslutheran.org for project information. You may contact the following people if you have questions or comments: Appeal Steering Team Pastor Chris Manke Frank Cimermancic Lora Dow Ruth Kallio-Mielke Dollie Kirchner Jonathan Schaar Michael Wolaver (414) 774-0441 cmanke@mac.com (262) 544-5814 fcimermancic@wi.rr.com (414) 607-1849 ldow@wi.rr.com (414) 416-5791 rkallio-mielke@deloitte.com (414) 475-0738 dolliekirchner@aol.com (262) 751-1546 einschaar@att.net (414) 526-6617 magellan17@yahoo.com Building Committee Paul Braun Ed Bross Ray Eisemann Dave Fagerberg Jeff Higgins Dale Cox (HVAC Consultant) Tim Nelson Paul Schmidt Greg Strand (Architect) Lynne Thomas Gerry Wunderlich 4
4 St. Matthew s Ev. Lutheran Church 1615 N. Wauwatosa Avenue Wauwatosa, WI 53213 www.stmattslutheran.org Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Milwaukee Wisconsin Permit No. 3012 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Comprehensive Fund Appeal Questions & Answers St. Matthew s Ev. Lutheran Church