The former Parish Hall is being renovated for the Living Hope High School Ministry and the Missions, Care and Sr. Adult ministries will move into the former parsonage after renovation work.  Other portions of existing Living Hope’s buildings are moving into renovations as a new multi-purpose and education building is being constructed that will connect the former HSCC buildings with the Living Hope buildings to form Living Hope’s campus.  An Open House is planned for Sunday, May 2, from 3:00pm – 5:00pm for the renovated HSCC facilities.  Following is the timeline for the next phase of renovations.

Late March/Early April  – Missions, Sr. Adult and Care ministries will move into the former HSCC parsonage.

Monday, April 5

• LH Fellowship Hall closes for demolition and renovation
• Nursery closes for demolition and renovation
• 2nd and 3rd floors of Children’s Building will be renovated, but will be usable on Sundays

Sunday, April 11

• Nursery will relocate to renovated Preschool Hall
• High School will relocate to the former HSCC Parish Hall
• College will relocate to the former HSCC Parish Hall for Sunday, 11:00am hour
• Middle School and High School staff will relocate to the former Holy Spirit Building

Hall monitors will be available on Sunday mornings to assist in locating new classrooms.  All Living Hope members should note that unexpected delays in renovation may impact these dates.  The leadership of Living Hope will keep people informed of any changes.

Click on this Renovation Impact guide for a map and more information.

Living Hope Multi-Purpose Building - Jan 2010

January 17, 2010 - Block work on the exterior of the Multi-Purpose building of Living Hope’s expansion continues to move upward, despite recent heavy rains, snow and cold weather.  Soon a live web feed of the exterior construction will be available on this web site, so stay tuned!

March 1 will be the next big step, as Holy Spirit Catholic Church moves into its new facility on Three Springs Road, allowing Living Hope to begin renovation work on the Holy Spirit facilities.  Several ministry teams, including the High School students, will relocate to those facilities, with total occupancy expected by the end of April.  Then, renovation work begins in earnest on the adminisration offices and Fellowship Hall of Living Hope’s current sructures.

Stay up to date on the most current news right here on MoreHopeNow.com.

View of Multi-Purpose Facility Construction from Westen Street

January 4, 2010 - Winter months have set in, but the renovation of curent facilities at Living Hope and construction of a new multi-purpose and education facilites are heating up.   Listed below are the dates and scope of renovations according to the Building Construction and Renovation teams assigned to the project.

January 4, 2010  - April, 2010

• Renovation of current preschool rooms on 1st floor of education building

(Pre-school classes and some adult classes are affected during the January to April time frame.  For more information on the relocation of rooms, click here).

April 2010 -  Open House for church members to view renovated Holy Spirit facilities and sign or inscribe a steel I-beam to be placed in the new facilitiy symbolically “topping out” construction.

April 5, 2010  -  June, 2010

• Children’s building renovations on 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors
• Fellowship Hall renovations to install a new hallway connecting glass hallway with hallway in front of Fellowship Hall
• Renovation of current Administration area

(During these portions of renovations, certain areas will be closed for Sunday traffic.  As those dates draw nearer, more specific information will be made available).

April  2010  – Living Hope formally takes possession of Holy Spirit buldings and facilities.  Current Holy Spirit Parish Hall to be renovated for High School Student Ministry.  Current Holy Spirit worship center to be removated for use as a chapel.

The Building Construction and Renovation teams will make available more specific information on all of these steps it becomes available.

Tool Time Toddler guides families to their classrooms during renovations

January 3, 2010 - Renovations in the More Hope Expansion Project step up to a new level in January as construction work moves into the pre-school rooms of the oldest section of the education building.  Due to the work, pre-school and adult classrooms are being relocated beginning Sunday, January 3, 2010!  Work is expected to take several months and will proceed in a “domino effect” – meaning that as one area is complete other areas will undergo work, causing more classes to be relocated.   Following is a list of classes that are being affected.

  PRESCHOOL CLASSES

CHILDRENS’ CLASSES

 ABF CLASSES – 9:30am

 ABF CLASSES – 11:00 am

 ENTRANCES

Renovation will disrupt typical traffic flows within the building.  To help ease congestions, we are asking the following:

• Families with a baby and/or a 2-year old, please enter through the Smallhouse Road entrance (marked by the awning) to drop off your children.  If those families also have a preschool/school age child, please feel free to use the Children’s Ministry elevator or stairs to reach the 2^nd floor.  The sanctuary then may be accessed from the 2^nd floor.
• Families with an older preschooler (ages 3 – 5) and/or a school aged child, please use the Westen Street entrance at the far end of the building closest to the Recreation Outreach Center (ROC) construction and go directly upstairs to the 2^nd floor to drop off your children.

 INFORMATION UPDATES

Maps with the relocation information are located throughout the education and children’s buildings to assist you.  The latest updates will be posted weekly on white boards located next to the maps.  Also, hall monitors wearing blue vests will be available to help locate the new classrooms.

And, of course, you can check in on this website, www.MoreHopeNow.com for further updates!

Building Pad Sept 09

October 4, 2009 – Construction is underway for the More Hope Expansion with foundational work on the new buildings hampered a bit in recent weeks by extremely wet weather.  A timeline has been established for renovations of existing buildings. 

October 2009 -  The “glass hallway” behind the Fellowship Hall will be closed for several weeks and sprinkler systems will be installed in the second floor ABF classrooms.  The second floor hallway will be closed during this time, but the classrooms will be useable on Sundays.

November 2009 – Work will begin on the front office area that may impact access for a short time. 

Early 2010 – The  Fellowship Hall and Children’s wing will undergo extensive renovations.  As those construction phases draw nearer, every effort will be made to communicate which spaces are being affected, so all those using those areas will be aware of the changes. 

The staff and Building Committee thank everyone in advance for their patience and understanding as these exciting changes take place.

 The Building Expansion Steering Committee met June 18 and discussed the next step – the bidding process.  The Building and Planning Design team has been meeting regularly, working architect JRA and Associates and Wehr Constructors to ready the bid packages for sub-constractors.  On Monday, June 22 at 2:00pm, a pre-bid meeting will take place for all prospective bidders in the auditorium of Living Hope Baptist Church.  Wehr and JRA will prsesent visuals and specifications for all portions of the project and welcome questions from potential bidders.  After bids are received, they will opened publicly on June 30 at 2:00pm, once again in the auditorium of Living Hope. 

The bids will be evaluated and final bids awarded based on a number of criteria, including budget.  Congregational approval will then be sought later this summer on the final scope of the project, which will include the final budget, exact  facilties to be built in Phase One and renovations to existing structures.  According to Building Steering Committee Chair Dennis Smith, actual new construction could begin in the late summer or early fall. 

All systems are go for the expanded facilities of Living Hope!

To be added to the current bidders list, please contact:
Dean Oaken
Wehr Constructors Inc.
P.O. Box # 1417
Bowling Green, KY 42102-1417
Email: doaken@wehrconstructors.com
Phone: (502) 491-9250

Park it here!
Parking lots under construction at Living Hope are expected to be paved, striped and ready for parking by mid-June, weather permitting.
The lots in the front of the church and the one which extends along Westen Avenue should be ready by then.

Dear More Hope Supporter:

Last month, the three year capital campaign “More Hope for More People” was concluded. I want to thank you for
your contribution to this God-honoring and God-inspired project. Your sacrifices have already made a difference
and will continue to make a difference in the life of Living Hope. God led us to change direction and has made it
possible for us to expand at our current location rather than relocating to the property God led us to purchase on
Lovers Lane.

With your contributions, we were able to pay off the land on Lovers Lane and to purchase the Holy Spirit Catholic
Church (HSCC) property next door. With the purchase of the HSCC property, we have already provided our
teenagers with their own worship and activity facility. The purchase of the HSCC’s facility has saved us millions
of dollars and has provided our student ministry with space it needs now and in the future. This purchase also
provided us with the land we need for parking and for possible future facility additions.

If you were in worship services on Sunday, May 3rd, you heard the Building Team’s update on our future
construction plans. The construction plans that will go out for bid will provide exact costs for the new facilities and
will be ready in a matter of weeks. After those bids are received from the contractors, we will be able to
communicate this information to the Church regarding what we can realistically build right now.

We have an idea of the facilities we would need to build that will provide space needed for future growth, but the
money we will have to responsibly invest in the building will determine exactly what we can build. As the
Building Team explained on May 3rd, there are three things that have reduced the amount of funding we have
available to spend on new construction. First, our “More Hope for More People” campaign received $3 million
less than was pledged. Second, our general budget is down by approximately 10 percent, which has required us to
reduce the amount we can budget for future debt service. This means we will be able to borrow less money than we
had originally planned. Third, although we own the Lovers Lane property free and clear, it would be unwise to sell
it at this time as we may not receive an amount equivalent to its true value. The dollars from the sale of that
property were factored into our original financial plan for future construction. Without the dollars from the sale of
that property, we will have fewer dollars for new construction.

Because of the faithful giving of your tithes and sacrificial offering for new facilities, we are currently debt free and
in a good position financially. We own buildings that we can use for our student ministry in the near future, and the
property on Lovers Lane is paid for and available for sale when the time is right. Thank you for making that
possible.

In our strong financial position we also have the potential to build new facilities onto our current facility. We will
know exactly what we can build once we receive the bids from the contractors. If you are a contractor interested in bidding this project, please contact Wehr Constructors at (502) 491 9250. Once we know the costs for
construction, we will share this information with the Church to seek the affirmation of the membership.

Again, I want to thank you for all you have done to get us to where we are now and to provide you with current
information so you can be encouraged and know how to be praying.

With Hope,

Pastor Jason

(Click here for  pdf  version of letter)