Here’s a little update as to what’s been happening on this end of the building project. The Committee had recent productive meetings with our Design Sub-Committee headed up by Cherilee Williams, a meeting with our Contractor, Dave Eddy and a variety of governmental meetings with the City of Altamonte Springs.

Our meeting with the Design Committee was for the purpose of nailing down some recommendations on the possibility of a full kitchen vs. a “warming kitchen”, discussing costs, functionality/utility (how much use will it get, how beneficial to our congregation and our desired ministries, etc), demand for this type of space if we should rent out space for weddings and other functions. We’ve also been firming up projections of rental demand for our type of space should we feel the need for additional income or in the name of being a blessing to our local community. I want to thank Cherilee and all the others on that committee that have worked very diligently in providing us with an abundance of info, helping us to move towards final plans.

Our most recent meeting with Dave Eddy/Contractor was very good with discussions going all over the board. The Site Plans are nearly completed and there is a lot of coordination that is ongoing as we bring the Site Plans and the soon to be completed Building Plans together as well as coordination with the City of A.S. and Seminole County. A lot of discussion went into Sound/Lighting issues to insure we have the best available at the most efficient pricing. Many thanks to Randy Woods and Steve Allmand for their tremendous gifts and insight into this very critical part of the process.

And additional Thanks to Mike Hively for great leadership in helping with the Capital Gifts Campaign using his experience to guide the Elders/Deacons through this time.

“Commitment Sunday” is right around the corner! I’ve sensed from all quarters that there is a genuine excitement within the Body and anticipation of what God might do with this resource of a home of our own…I’m personally excited about the possibilities of ministry to our immediate neighbors within the surrounding neighborhoods. Endless opportunities for ministry out there both on a corporate level for OGC and an individual basis for each of us as members of OGC and the Kingdom of God. Let’s “Take the Land” for King Jesus! Helping families in need, fixing cars, painting houses, providing training/education of all kinds for no cost, bringing food to the elderly….how ”white are the fields for harvest”????? Love you all…thanks for the support, prayers and encouragement. 

PS….WOW! What a thrill it’s been to join in the prayer times on Sunday evenings. Last week there were over 30+/- saints in prayer, asking God for His favor on our efforts….asking that HIS will be done and nothing more, nothing less…declaring HIS glory for who HE is and the Works of HIS hands. What a God we serve and it is a joy to kneel with my brothers and sisters in prayer to HIM.

OK…the Building Committee: We will continue to be obtaining various services that will be needed to aquire our several permits over the next months. Nothing particularly exciting or newsworthy except for the fact that each step moves us closer to that day we can worship in our new home.

The Finance Sub-committee met last night for some followup and is now fully engaged in finishing up the tasks assigned in 2009. One of those tasks is to provide the financial modeling spreadsheet to give us the tools to make the very best financial decisions regarding how much to build and how to structure our financing should we need additional funds beyond the resources God has already entrusted us with. (It appears at this point, unless God intervenes, that we will need a relatively modest amount of financing)

The Design Sub-committee is working on a more detailed analysis of our existing design as well as the additional 5,000 sf addition we are hoping to have. The Outreach Sub-committee is taking a short break before I put them back to work again! I want to say again…Great Job, Team! They did a wonderful work in engaging our neighbors in a loving and meaningful way. Thank you!

A Congregational Meeting is scheduled for the end of January and there will be some more updates at that meeting. The Elders are still considering the Go/NoGo decision making process in their role as our Leaders, seeking to discern God’s will in this process considering the large nature of the project and the surrounding issues of economy, finances, resources of people, etc. Keep them in prayer as well as our Committees.

Also, please remember that we have prayer on the property the last Sunday of every month. Join us as we continue to thank God for the blessing of this land and seek His will in the building project.

As God promised Isaac, Genesis 26:3-4 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries (neighborhoods), and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries(neighborhoods); and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

We were particularly pleased by the response of our neighbors who all gave glowing reports of the outreach we’ve been engaged in! Keep up the great work, Team! We’re making a difference and, Lord willing, this is only one seedling leading to a great harvest. Exciting times are on the horizon for OGC right here in our backyard!

Your Most Humble Chairman,

Ross

Things have been quiet over the prior weeks as we’ve had our application in to the City of Altamonte Springs for our “conditional use” approval.  This is essentially a ‘zoning’ approval. All is in place to allow us to present our case before the city’s board, in a Public Hearing on Wednesday, 16 Dec. Once this approval is in place, we begin the heavy lifting with a variety of other governmental boards and agencies.

A very hearty thanks to Ryan Cunningham and all those on the Community Outreach sub-committee for a wonderfully successful “Meat & Greet” held on our site this past Saturday. The purpose was to allow our immediate neighbors to come and personally walk our site, speak directly to some OGC people and to see our plans. Our goal was to provide a forum for these neighbors to interact with us in a question/answer format prior to our Public Hearing on Wednesday. We desire to be the best neighbors we can be and this open forum was just one way we’ve sought to do that. We were required to send certified letters to all our neighbors within 300′ of our property, informing them of our intention to build and to announce the date of the Public Hearing…that was nearly 100 letters. Our Outreach Committee included in that mailing the invitation to the “Meat & Greet.” Approximately 65 of those certified letters were signed for, so we know at least that many received the invitation to the event where we provided a picnic atmosphere with an abundance of food, Bryan Caldwell grilling his specialty ‘dogs and burgs’ over charcoal and lots of OGC folks just having a grand time with blankets, kids and fellowship. It was a wonderful few hours on our property and I want to thank everyone who participated to bring about this huge success.  Of the 65 or so folks who received our invitation, we had 10-15 visitors who came by to say Hello, have some food and ask a lot of questions. The overall tenor of our neighbors appears to be one of cooperation and gratitude for our attempts to reach out. For that we are very grateful. Your prayers and God’s grace are working in our mission field!

Prayer Requests:

1. For favor in the eyes of the Board at our Public Hearing on Wed evening
2. We will continue efforts on the Finance and Design sub-committees now that this part of our permitting process is nearly complete..ask for God’s grace on our efforts to complete the tasks of these two committees

Please join us on the last Sunday of the month at 8:30 on the property for prayer. It is a worship time all of its’ own!

Thank you for the opportunity to serve OGC in this manner…please pray for me, that I would be up to the task of this endevour. Time is a critical asset for me.

God’s Grace be with us all. “Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over ahead of you into the Jordan”  —Joshua 3:11