Riverlawn Capital Project
Continuing God’s Plan
The initial construction of Riverlawn Church was completed in 1958. Over the last 60 years, several building infrastructure components have been replaced, repaired, or revised. In the 1970’s, the gym was added, using the Building Fund and supplemental donations. In the mid 1980’s, the heating and cooling systems, for everything except the gym, were redesigned using new air conditioning equipment, but continuing to use the original boiler. In the 1990’s, the properties housing the offices, and His House were obtained using project specific donations. Additionally, the Sunday School rooms, adjacent to the choir room, were added and the kitchen was remodeled using private donations. Other major projects such as the infant nursery remodel, the choir loft remodel, the playground, the new garage, new musical instruments, the sound system, new entrance doors, and most recently, new roofs on the cottage and sanctuary have improved our church buildings and property.
As you can see, the members of Riverlawn have been faithful in maintaining, and growing that which has been given to us. Funding for the existing Building and Replacement Funds has continued over the years, and the generosity of individual members has enabled us to maintain a facility from which we carry out our mission.
Riverlawn now needs to replenish our capital funds in order to take on some of the less glamorous projects. We have major pieces of heating and cooling equipment that are in immediate need of replacement, and structural revisions needed to conserve energy and keep our facilities safe. Your Session has authorized a Capital Campaign, known as “Continuing God’s Plan”, and it is officially launched as of September 1, 2019. Your support, above and beyond your regular giving for operations, benevolences and mission work, will be critical to the success of this campaign. A prioritized project list will be communicated over the next several weeks. Our recent roofing projects have depleted our capital cash accounts, and it is likely that the heating and air conditioning will need attention sooner rather than later.
Please prayerfully consider how you can help in this major financial effort. You will be seeing additional communications giving you information around the plans and urgency of this initiative. You can begin contributing as early as this coming Sunday, by placing your gift in the offering plate and designating it for the Capital Campaign. Future newsletter articles will feature planned projects and track our progress toward our goal of $250,000.
What is a Capital Campaign?
Managing Riverlawn’s financial resources is quite similar to how you might manage your own money at home. There is money coming in monthly to pay the utility bills, meet the payroll, pay the insurance premiums, do routine minor maintenance, fund our programs, etc. This is Riverlawn’s checking account, and it operates pretty much hand to mouth, without a lot of surplus. But, there are also funds set aside, essentially a savings account, to take on larger projects that require large sums of money to complete. Riverlawn has maintained such a savings account for many years, and is periodically rejuvenated through memorial gifts or private donors. These funds recently enabled the replacement of the roofs on the cottage and the sanctuary. Now, however, the savings account needs a significant infusion to restore the operating reliability of our heating and cooling, as well as numerous other infrastructure projects. A capital campaign has been initiated. This campaign effort will provide information for your personal decision making, as well as opportunities for your involvement. Your donations will facilitate the completion of the refurbishment projects, and also re-establish a savings account for the upcoming generations.
While a capital campaign is undeniably a focused effort to raise money needed for refurbishment and restoration, the buildings are simply a tool to carry out the mission of the church. In short, it is not our mission to own and operate buildings. Rather, maintaining and enhancing our facilities for the next several years is a foundation to our mission, and our commitment to fulfilling that mission in the Riverlawn community.