Facility Planning Update

During the last quarterly congregational meeting, Doug Hanson gave an update on what the Elder Board has been discussing in terms of our space needs.

It is evident that God is growing our church.  The services have been crowded, children’s ministries are bursting at the seams, and our student ministries are seeing record growth as well.  Spaces are very tight on Sunday morning and Wednesday nights, even with moving the Sr. High group to Sunday evenings.

Initial Plan

In September, the Comprehensive Facility Planning Committee presented their final plan to the board after receiving approval of a requested variance with the City of Cohasset that allowed us to have impervious surface coverage on our property up to 60% (the previous coverage amount for our zoning was 25%).  With this obstacle out of the way, it was up to the Elders to decide how to proceed.

The final plan that was presented to the board depicted our “wish list”:  a plan that would accommodate all of our needs with the expectation of a 500-person, two-service church.  It included a new auditorium, additional spacious classrooms, an office wing and extensive remodeling that encompassed more bathrooms and a new commercial kitchen.

Amended Plan

The board started weighing our needs and wants versus what we could realistically afford.  They looked at which areas were most needed in the foreseeable future and ways to phase the project to get the most bang for our buck.

You can view the amended plan HERE.  The plan would add a new 370-seat auditorium along with a new east entrance and additional bathrooms.  In addition, existing spaces would be remodeled to include:

• Enclosing the covered walkway to become a new infants area as part of the nursery
• Offices would be added and moved to the current youth room
• Existing office space would be converted to a large conference/classroom space with the ability to divide the space using a moveable wall
• Adding a moveable wall to the existing worship center to allow student ministries to use the space with privacy, creating a hallway from Children’s ministries to the foyer.  This space would be used as a coffee area/fellowship hall on Sunday mornings.

This plan gains us expanded meeting space on Sunday mornings, additional classroom and nursery space, and additional office space for staff.  While it’s not everything we were hoping to have, it will give us some breathing room until we can proceed onto the next phase.

Going Forward

Please know that nothing has been decided.  If God continues to bring more people to GREFC, this gives us a place to begin further discussions on future building needs.

Any movement forward would require a vote from the congregation.  We wanted to give everyone a chance to see what we have come up with so that you are informed when it comes time to make a decision on how to proceed.

We welcome the chance to discuss this plan with you and what went into our decisions.  If you have any questions or commments, please contact someone on the Elder Board.