Thank you for visiting the update forum of the Footsteps of Faith Campaign. Questions regarding the campaign can be sent to Pastor Brad at bradk@cornerchurch.org.
Check back here and on the CornerBlog often and we'll keep it updated with the latest status and progress!
December 14th - Building Buzz Episode 3
Enjoy!
November 19th - The Walls Go Up! Check out the new photos by clicking HERE!
November 12th - New Photo Gallery
More pictures from Elzinga and Volkers.
October 26th - Building Buzz Update
Here's installment #2!
October 20th - Photo Gallery!
Check out the photo gallery for some of the latest photos from the site at 84th and Kalamazoo!
October 17th - New Video Updates!
Whenever "The Building Buzz" is presented on Sunday morning, you can watch it again here later in the week. Building Buzz #1 aired Sunday morning October 12.
October 1 - The following prayer was offered at the Groundbreaking Ceremony on September 21st.
Father, thank you that our Lord Jesus Christ disarmed the evil powers and authorities at the cross and in His resurrection. Guide us in enforcing Your victory. Lead us to remove the ‘high places’ that the enemy gains in our lives through our personal and corporate disobedience, deception and disillusionment. Reveal to us our corporate sins so that we may renounce, repent and reject them. Flood us with biblical truths that replace them.
Forgive our lack of faith and trust in You. Forgive our lack of time in prayer. Forgive our disbelief in Your present, active power in response to prayer. Cleanse us of complacency and lukewarmness. Cleanse us of our unwillingness to forgive one another. Forgive our withholding sacrificial love and giving only what costs us nothing. We now forgive one another from our hearts for the times we neglected, betrayed, retreated, hurt, damaged, misunderstood, deceived, or lied to one another.
Heal the pain left by attacks of Satan and the damage caused in Your church and its leaders. Open our eyes to see any of the adversary’s strongholds, and cause us to use the sword of the Spirit to stand against them in His power. Weaken whatever positions the enemy may have left. Release Your angels to accomplish for us and for Cornerstone everything You send them to do. Remove the enemy’s interference so that Your angels can minister to Your church unhindered.
Fill us fresh and new with the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Lead us to live in Him, walk in Him, and keep in step with Him. As head of Cornerstone, Lord Jesus Christ, direct us, guide us and protect us. As bridegroom for Your bride, purify us, nourish us and satisfy us. As architect and builder, design us, build us and develop us. As author and finisher of the faith, teach us, instruct us and disciple us. Make us the beautiful church in Your sight that You intend us to be. Stimulate us to respond to You with genuine faith, hope, love, obedience and holy living. In the precious and powerful name of our Lord Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.
See pictures from the Groundbreaking HERE.
August 29
Church members voted on Sunday, August 24 to overwhelming approved the financial and building plans for the new church building. Thursday, August 28th, we entered into a finance commitment for the project with Macatawa Bank. Bulldozers are arriving on site TODAY! Clearing of the property begins right away.
A groundbreaking ceremony is being planned for Sunday, September 21st at 3:00pm with a church picnic to follow at Dutton Shadyside Park. Check back often for more details.
August 15th
So we are finally at the moment of decision. After many months and even years of preparation, thousands of hours of volunteer time and more time spent with architechs and contractors, we have arrived at the point of decision. I hope that all of you are planning to be present on August 24th @ 12:30 as we assemble for a church conference to vote on the final plans and financial plan.
We have gathered a team of our own church volunteers to answer all of your questions. We will use the same format as the previous congregational meeting with all of the key players sitting in the front ready to answer whatever questions you might have.
The United Methodist Church Book of Discipline states that a member must be 18 or over to vote on any issue involving a contract. Also, absentee ballots are not permitted per the Board of Directors. Our District Superintendent, Laurie Haller, will be here to lead us through the process.
Last week our plan was presented for final approval before the Grand Rapids District Committee on Building and Location (whew...long title) which is a check and balance committee of our district to approve or stop projects that local churches try to do. Their main role is to assure that a church has thought through all the aspects of a building or relocation project. The committee repeatedly said that they have never seen a church so prepared even down to the most minute details as Cornerstone. They gave us unanimous approval.
Some of you have also asked about groundbreaking. We have not scheduled it because the congregation had not yet approved it. We didn't want to be presumptuous before the vote takes place. The contractors are anxious to begin knowing that winter is coming.
Also, any attempt at gathering people for a groundbreaking ceremony on that site is going to be a challenge. There is no good way into the site for mass numbers of cars. We could bus people, but if it happens to be wet, the clay will stick to everyone's shoes and make reboarding almost impossible.
Some of you have also asked me about the giving for Footsteps of Faith - are we on track with what was pledged last year? The answer is that yes, we are exactly on track. We are a little over 30% of the way through the giving and that is exactly what has been given. Pledges are coming in at about 75% and new giving from unpledged or new people has made up about 25%. Our general ministry budget, however, has not grown this year. We are flat in giving in 2008 as over against 2007. This will have implications as we move into the fall and budgeting for next year. I hope it doesn't mean staff cutbacks, but we will be looking for ways to trim ministry fund spending.
Some of you may have missed Sunday, August 10, when we talked about the meaning of courage as it pertains to leadership. God has brought us to this place. Many of you have prayed and even fasted for many months over this project. If we move ahead, we do it together. Unity is very important. Thank you for your prayers, your unified voice, your generosity, and your continual faithfulness to the mission.
Pastor Brad
July 17th
Bids are in and are being reviewed by the Building Team. Keep the team and leadership at Cornerstone in your prayers as they go over this important information.
June 28th
On Sunday June 22, I shared a brief update on Cornerstone’s building project. Construction documents are in their final week of preparation. Bids for the site work were being let out in June. Construction bids are expected to be out by mid-July. Then, we will have a more accurate picture by the first or second week of August as to the final plan and cost.
We do know that the bidding market has never been better with the sagging construction industry. However, the material costs of steel and glass are rising quickly and linked to oil prices. After the various leadership teams of the church have studied the final plans and costs, a proposal will be placed before the members for vote to move forward.
The end of May marks one full year of Footsteps of Faith financial giving toward the project. Cornerstone has given $1.3 million of the $3.3 committed. Your generosity is to be commended. Our giving to Footsteps is slightly ahead of commitments made last year.
About 20% of Footsteps giving has come from unpledged or newcomers to Cornerstone since May of 2007. You believe in what we’re trying to do. Our giving to the regular Ministry budget has been about 4% behind where we anticipated it would be to date. We’re keeping a close watch on expenditures, stewardship, and how that will impact vital ministry.
I hope that you are continuing to make this project a matter of daily prayer. I anticipate we will proclaim a church-wide fast some time in July so that we can unite our hearts around this task. Our goal is to avoid debt that would hinder ministry. We want to model as a church the same principles that we teach our people in regard to margin in our finances and stress levels.
We do know that the need for more room is great even though summer attendance sometimes doesn't reflect that. But when fall arrives, we look forward to continued growth as we invite people all around us to become followers of Jesus. We must make room.
Thank you for your commitment and unity - Brad.
June 14th
New versions of the plans are available! The church is currently seeking out bids so we can get a better estimate on the costs. More details soon ablut the church vote and groundbreaking plans.
These plans are posted on the wall in the church lobby, but you can also download them here.
Plans 1 * Plans 2 * Plans 3 * Plans 4 * Plans 5
May 1st - Subcontractor Information Elzinga & Volkers, the construction managers for our new building project, are taking requests for subcontractors. Since we know there are many skilled people in our congregation in a number of trades, the process is open to any in the congregation with the right skills. To be considered for a subcontractor position, you must fill out the Trade Contractor Qualification Form and return the form to: Mat Wedeven Construction Services Cell: 616-218-8131
Project Manager
Elzinga & Volkers, Inc.
Phone: 616-395-1407
Fax: 616-392-3752
Requests were due May 30th. Watch for an update soon.
April 13, 2008 - from the April 8 20:20
Building Project Update
Recently in worship, we talked about Nehemiah leading the building of the
Final Drawings
I wanted to keep you abreast of what has been happening as you plan your summer activities. Our leadership teams have been meeting with Progressive AE architects to finalize every detail of construction. We’ve made some small last minute changes to aid in functionality. The excitement is really building as you get to this level of detail!
Groundbreaking
Most of you are aware that we hired Elzinga Volkers to be our construction manager in the process. They have been working hand in hand with the architects for the last month. E & V tells us that we should be ready to start moving dirt soon after July 4th. While we haven’t been able to officially nail down a groundbreaking date yet, we will look to the last Sunday of June or early in July to do so. Move in date at the new site will be early fall of 2009.
Financing
Bidding for sub-contractors will be taking place in the next month. There is obviously a great deal of interest due to the soft market in construction. Our Finance Team has been meeting with banks in order to obtain financing for the project. Proposals should be completed in the next few weeks and a decision will be made then.
Site
We have had several churches interested in our present site. No one has made an offer to date. We do plan on going ahead with construction without finalizing the sale of our current building.
We did have some further interest March 29th. Some folks came in during the end of our Kids’ musical and I was able to walk them around the church. They are praying about the space.
Your Support
You can be very proud of the leadership on all the volunteer teams during this preparation phase. You have elected leaders here who carry your best interest in every way. I am also astounded at the unity of purpose, stewardship and mission each person has. What a great thing God has done!
Your giving to the Footsteps of Faith project has been strong. We’ve received approximately $1.3 million to date. About $250,000 has come from folks who did not make a commitment last year, so our newer people are also catching the vision. Giving to our Ministry Budget has been slightly off anticipated revenues. I do believe the many winter Sundays play a role in that, but we do need to remember that we are all about people and ministry first.
Thank you for your strong support. No one anticipated these economic times, but we really must move forward. On Easter, we had 2000 people in worship. That translates to a lot more children, student and space needs. Let’s keep praying big and trusting God to see us through this!
January 30, 2008 - 1st update of 2008!
Building Project Update: After reading through ten proposals, the building steering team along with the construction sub-team narrowed it down to five construction companies. On January 14, the five companies were interviewed by the Cornerstone Building Steering and Construction Team. These in-depth interviews were to see who Cornerstone would hire as a construction manager. The construction manager will work with the architects during the actual detailed drawings of the building to keep the project in line with our budget.
Elzinga & Volkers has been hired as our Construction Manager.
Now, Elzinga & Volkers will begin working with Progressive AE, our architects, for the detailed drawing process. The congregation will be voting on the detailed designs at a later date. Without any major, unforeseen circumstances, there could be a groundbreaking ceremony in early summer of this year! Stay tuned for more updates.
December 19th
December 16. Due to snowy conditions, church attendance and conference turnout was lighter than anticipated. Rev. Laurie Haller our district superintendent called the church conference to order. Reports were given to the congregation including:
- Brad shared the process leading up to this vote including the work of the Building Steering Team in the last 3 months.
- Dave Turner explained the Steering Team’s mission, the desire to move forward with design and development and hiring of a construction manager.
- Ken Watkins of the Design Team explained the Master Plan and the 59, 300 square feet design that the all church leaders have embraced.
- Joe Fifer from our Finance Team explained the total cost, the borrowing needed, and the financial models the team is using.
- Questions and answers from the audience
Those present who were members and over 18 voted 173 to 3 affirming the Steering Team’s desire to move into the next phase of design and development. Another vote will be schedule for late spring before work would begin.
December 10th
A special Cornerstone Church Conference will be held Sunday, December 16th at 12:30pm in the Worship Center, immediately following the 11:15am service.
This important meeting will not only provide an update on the progress of our building project, but we will also be voting on the preliminary design and preliminary financial plan. This approval will allow us to move forward with the next phase of the process.
Everyone who attends Cornerstone is invited to attend, but only church members are allowed to vote. We understand this is a busy time of year, yet hopefully you will be able to make time to participate in this special meeting and vote.
November 19 (Reprinted from this month's 20:20)
On hold? Not really...
Someone made the comment in a small group that our building project was "now on hold…" My response was, "not really." Let me explain. When our architect firm came back with a cost estimate for the project, the cost was between 1.5 and 2 million dollars more than our leadership team felt that we should take on. Let me add that the space had been reduced to what was deemed "bare minimum." What were some solutions?
We looked at a proposal to cut even more square footage. That would have meant eliminating most offices, shrinking the worship center to half, and seriously slicing the youth ministry module. We gathered all of the Building Steering, Vision, Trustee, and Finance teams together. Jointly we all agreed that the reduction would impair ministry.
Together, your leadership teams decided to use the next 1-2 months to call the congregation to prayer for God’s plan in all of this. Our teams also decided to support the current master plan if at all possible. The plan has the future in mind. It spreads out the ministries a bit and allows each to be expandable and easy to locate. The plan also allows for the addition of other modules in the future such as gym, family life/chapel, or other priorities. A third reason the team supported the plan was because the layout allows the community to "see in," a feature we believe is very important.
In the meantime, the Building Team has solicited some cost estimates (not official bids) from some general contractors in an attempt to see if there is variation on cost estimates that might be favorable to the whole project. This, in fact, has happened. One very reputable contractor has estimated the cost at over 1 million dollars less than our original estimate with all the same materials. That’s great news. It provides information we needed to move ahead the next phase called Design Development.
Meanwhile back at the farm, the Trustees continue to try to solve crowded space issues in our children’s ministry. Exploration has begun to move some or all offices out of our current building in order to free up space for kids. The Trustees continue to work with a real estate firm to secure the sale of our building. There are a few interested parties, but no deals have been made.
Our hope in this intermediary time is to secure additional revenue. We continue to seek donations from outside the church. In November we will have an opportunity for those who are newer to Cornerstone or who chose not to make a faith commitment back in May to do so to help us make this necessary step.
Thank you for your continued trust in your leadership, for your prayer support as we engage heaven, and for your generosity that is making ministry possible and indirectly impacting lives both here and beyond our church for Jesus Christ.
September 28
Building Update (shared by Pastor Brad during all worship services on 09/23)
The problem is that to build the facility that we believe we need to meet our future growth, we need $5 million through the Footsteps of Faith.
This summer, the Building Design Team has been working closely with the architects from Progressive AE. There have also been several meetings with the team, architects and ministry leaders from all areas of the church.
In one round of meetings, we trimmed all unnecessary space and allowed for surfaces and finishes to be very basic. We’ve cut our need to a 59,000 sq. ft. facility.
The estimated price is still about $1.5 to $2 million more than we believe that we should take on in debt.
Our dilemma: Do we make further space cuts which will probably impact program, worship and youth space? Or do we continue to try and find additional revenue? We need your prayers as we wrestle with this issue.
I see it as my role to continue to lead in faith while protecting the church from incurring unreasonable debt. We will not run an additional fundraising campaign at this time. However, we still invite those who have not made any financial commitment or those who may want to increase their commitment to do so. In addition, some of you may have contacts in business, among family members, or persons who are ministry-minded who might donate and could potentially help us during this crucial time.
Continue to lift us in your prayers as we proceed. When we have what we believe is a good solution, we will present it to the congregation for a vote.
Thank you.
Brad
August 25 - Meetings continue with architects and ministry team leaders. Drafts of the plans have been poured over, dissected, re-sected and tweaked over and over again. We'll keep you posted when its time to vote on final plans.
Meanwhile, fundraising continues. Thanks to a small group in our church, over $2,000 was raised this weekend through a softball tournament held at Kentwood Community Church. Cornerstone had two teams and others were comprised of co-workers, other churches and other friends of Cornerstone.
The champion was a team of Grand Rapids Fire Fighters who came out to play some ball and help out the cause. Thanks to all who participated and the dozens of volunteers who made the event possible.
July 19 - We've received some good news in the form of outside gifts for the Footsteps of Faith Campaign. The Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation has contributed $100,000 to our Footsteps of Faith Campaign and the Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation has contributed another $5,000 as well. The church extends our thanks to these families and foundations for supporting our vision of outreach and ministry to the area.
Also, the architects have been meeting this week with all the ministry areas of Cornerstone with the updated schematics and a more detailed look at what the new building facility will hold. Keep all of our leaders in your prayers as now many important decisions are being made.
July 6 - You may have seen the "For Sale" signs in front of our church this week. We are officially on the market! We made the decision to list the property now since the sale of this site is a specialized market. The township will not permit commercial or office rezoning, so it will have to be used as a church, nursing facility, etc. Current asking price is $3.3 million.
For more updated information, Brad wrote extensively about where we are in the Footsteps project in the June 28th 20:20. 
Also, watch for a Softball Tournament coming up on August 25th to benefit the Footsteps of Faith Campaign. You can get more information and sign up here!
You may also be interested to know what is happening at our new site at 84th and Kalamazoo. We're growing corn!
June 3 - As scheduled, Pastor Brad announced in church this morning the preliminary results from the campaign. As of June 1, approximately $3.25 million has been pledged from individuals and families in the church for this project. We rejoice at such a great outpouring of blessings.
Keep praying for this project, for further funding and pledges and for the Building and Finance Teams who are making hard decisions and working on plans and options for our new building. If you haven't pledged to the campaign and are feeling led to do so, or if you know someone in the community who may be interested in helping out with this project, give the church office a call at (616) 698-3170.
May 29 - The first round of schematics for our new building complex were presented from Progressive AE at the May 20th Commitment Gathering at East Kentwood High School and are now on display in the lobby of the church. You can also see the schematics by clicking HERE.
On March 22, by unanimous vote, the Building Team voted to use Progressive AE as the architect for the project. They took up shop at church for a few weeks to work on the project and to get to know Cornerstone Church and the people.
On January 11, we officially closed on the purchase of the land on the northeast corner of Kalamazoo Ave & 84th Street.
On November 26, a Building Team was selected and approved to gather requirements for the new building.
| Name | Building Team Area |
| Ken Watkins | Architecture |
| Brian Heath | Architecture, Interiors |
| Dan O'Malley | Technology, Lighting, Sound for Youth/Kids |
| Rick Westers | Technology, Lighting, Sound |
| Mark Anderson | Site, Construction |
| Dick Lyons | Site |
| Phyllis Scheffler | Kitchen, Fixtures, Furniture & Equipment |
| Tony Pazik | Communications, Network |
| Dave Turner | Building Team Lead, Construction |
Additionally, Pastor Brad, Pastor Ken and Pennie Westers along with a Finance Team representative and a Capital Campaign representative will provide input to the overall team.
Remember, these are just the leads for the various areas. If you're interested in helping on a specific team, feel free to contact the team lead about what would be involved. We need input from MANY other people to make the new building a success!
On October 29, by nearly unanimous vote, Cornerstone voted to purchase land on the Northeast corner of 84th Street and Kalamazoo Ave.