Building on Faith: Tell the Next Generations

Our master plan is to build approximately 50,000 square feet of ministry space when completed.  That’s twice the footprint of our current building.  Unless we are surprised by a sudden and very large donation, we can’t build it all at once.  Thus we are planning two phases.  Future school enrollment projections have continued to increase, even more rapidly than we anticipated, revealing a greater urgency for more classroom space. Therefore, we are planning to build the school first and the sanctuary in phase two. 

The new gym will be the only area with enough space for worship.  The new gym will be a more worshipful setting—both aesthetically and acoustically—than our current gym.  Design elements that will serve our worship needs will be included.  We plan to move our electric organ to an area of the gym, so that all of the instruments we’re used to will continue to be a part of worship.  We won’t be sitting in metal folding chairs.  Rather, we are planning on seating that is comfortable, portable, and will have long-time usage once our worship in the gym has finished.

With our conservative projections, it could be as long as ten years.  We hope to make that timeline shorter.  St. Matthew’s in Oconomowoc relocated their ministries recently.  They expected their 2nd phase sanctuary to come 10 years after their school.  They were blessed to shrink that timeline to 4 years.  We would love to do the same.

The earliest possible time to break ground is in the spring of 2026.  Construction would take a little less than a year, which would allow us to move in the summer of 2027.  Yet, there may be advantages to waiting a year before finishing construction in 2028.  

Many factors impact the timeline, including the timing of the sale of our current property.  If the property sells sooner, the proceeds would go toward the construction costs.  If it’s later, the proceeds would be used to pay down the principal of the mortgage.

The 2027 timeline allows us to move into the new, larger school to accommodate the large incoming classes more quickly, and it would also lock in construction costs sooner.

The 2028 timeline would give more time for our property to sell so that the proceeds can go towards construction costs.  It would allow more Building on Faith gifts to be gathered and another year of a budget surplus to go toward construction costs.

Two unpredictable variables are changes to building costs and mortgage rates.

Multiple open forums were held in fall of 2025 for congregational discussion and input.  More information will be shared with the congregation is November and December of 2025, and a final decision on the timeline will be made at a voters' meeting in January of 2026.

Not necessarily.  It will depend partly on the year that we decide to divide the 1st and 2nd grade classroom—whether we do so in August of 2027 or in August of 2028.  Even if we divide the 1st and 2nd graders in 2027, adding a classroom and a full-time teacher while remaining in our current building, we could remodel most of the fellowship hall into a classroom for a year.  Redeemer has made similar decisions twice before with our first two fellowship halls. 

The commitments as of June 2025 total $1,431,486 or 95% of our $1.5M goal!  128 commitments have been made.  God be praised!  

Yes!  We invite the rest of our members to join with those who have already made commitments. Commitment cards and envelopes are located by the office window.  They can be put in the wooden box located there.   

The current land loan balance as of November of 2025 is down to $284,076 after purchasing the property for $670,000 in the summer of 2024. Another reason for thanksgiving!

Every month we make an extra payment on the principal with the offerings given to debt retirement.  In addition, every quarter we pay down a sizeable amount from our budget surplus.  

Where does the budget surplus come from?  About half of our school students— both  members and non-members—receive a voucher through the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program.  The  voucher revenue through the WPCP covers a great deal of our education costs.  The offering dollars that used to cover those costs are then reallocated to other areas.  The largest portion of those reallocated offerings are currently paying down our land loan, saving us a great deal in interest payments.

As of November 2025, we have a formal offer in hand from one of the interested parties.  A second party remains very interested and may also make a formal offer in the near future.  We have hired a real estate agent to help us handle the details of the sale. The final contingency in any contract will be approval by the congregation. 

One lender studied our finances, agreed with our projections, and offered us a loan up to $7 million. This is a large mortgage for our congregation, and it's appropriate to ask how will we manage it.  Among the many blessings we’ve enjoyed over recent years is significant offering increases and participation in the WPCP.  Combined, these financial blessings allow us to pursue our relocation decision faster than we otherwise could do.

Our leadership feels that we need to chart a balanced course—one that is bold, but not reckless, one that aggressively pursues the gospel ministry opportunities before us, while preparing ourselves for changing circumstances.  

With that understanding, below are the larger risks we perceive, followed by how we are buffering ourselves against those risks with conservatives projections.

RISKS:

• It could happen that we may need to exit the WPCP someday.  Replacing that revenue wouldn’t be impossible, but it would be challenging.
• The national economy could suddenly suffer.  
• The local economy could lose a major employer, causing members to move.  
• Redeemer could face staffing challenges that we’ve been insulated from in recent years.

BUFFERS:

• We’re modeling only modest increases in offerings year over year.  Offerings could increase much faster, just as they have recently for us, and as other churches experienced in the decade following large building projects (from financial data available at wels.net).  Such an increase would pay down the mortgage faster and thereby shorten the interval between the two phases.
• We haven’t planned for any future estate gifts.  Any gifts received would pay down the principal faster.
• We have not anticipated an increase in membership that would bring more blessings.
• We have not included any potential benefit from the proposed Educational Choice for Children’s Act (ECCA), included in the current national budget under debate in Washington.  If passed, voucher income from private sources could be an additional blessing.
• Using the 2028 timeline could serve as another buffer, giving us another year before committing to a large mortgage.
• Our leadership has chosen to chart a middle course, knowing that both positive and negative circumstances could await us.  Our financial model is neither “pie-in-the-sky”, nor “doom-and-gloom”.
• It is bold, knowing that Jesus calls for us to use his resources that we collectively manage for his Kingdom (Matthew 25:31-46).
• It is carefully detailed—trying to estimate every important detail for years ahead—obeying Jesus’ warning not to make plans that can’t be carried out (Luke 14:28-30).
• It has resurrection confidence, trusting God’s promise to bless our ministry in his Name (1 Corinthians 15:58).
• It has humble flexibility, knowing that God’s blessings can also come through trials (James 1:2-4).
• It is properly focused, seeking to serve Christ’s expanding Kingdom (Matthew 16:18), while entrusting the future of our congregation to his care (Matthew 6:33, Revelation 2-3).

Yes!  We’re already saving expenses with our architect Excel, through two members who work there who are donating their time on the project.  Similarly, our construction manager, Catalyst, is very open to our members volunteering in various parts of the projects, donating their time and labor, or bidding on the project. Those interested can find forms linked here or pick up a hard copy in the church office.  Forms may be returned to the church office or emailed to jborgwardt@redeemerfdl.org.