A Change to the Chapel

After finishing renovations and moving into their new sanctuary on Dec. 13. The Village Church plans to finish another leg of their eight year renovation campaign by finishing construction on their new welcome center in the next six weeks.

The remodel included four components. The first component was an addition of a welcome center. The second component was an expansion of the off site Child Care facility. The third was a modification to the sanctuary to fit a new custom made organ. Lastly, the fourth is a component for future mission opportunities both locally and in the church.

“The renovations that we’ve done in here make our worship experience a lot better,”  Reverend Tom Are Jr said. “I like the addition because it's going to provide space for people to hang around and drink a cup of coffee.”

To raise money for the renovations, the church started a campaign called Now and Tomorrow. The goal of it was to raise $23.2 million. They have almost met their goal, currently having $21 million out of the $23.2 million.

Many members of the congregation donated money to the campaign.

“Being one of the Co Chairs and leader of the cabinet I feel as though you have to lead by example,” Co-Chair of the campaign and father of east student Max Maday, Greg Maday said . “The Maday family did make a generous contribution. We have a very generous congregation.”

Members of the staff were astounded by the amount that they raised. They didn’t think it was possible.

“I can safely say it’s the only time that I’ve held a million dollar check in my hands as the pastor of a church,” Are Jr said.

All the funds that have been donated have come from private sources, as the church didn’t receive or solicit any public funds from outside the church.

"I think the renovations needed to be done because Village is an expanding church,” sophomore and church member Sam Fay says. “They needed more room and a better home for the people who belong to Village Church.”

Though the renovations have taken awhile to complete, members of the church seem to like them.

“We didn't have the welcome center [before the renovations],you’d kinda just walk straight into the church and then you were in the sanctuary,” senior and church member Sara Nestler said.“So it’ll be nice to have that welcome center where you can just congregate with friends and family and talk before the service begins.”

The campaign meant a time of renewal and commitment to really invest in the future. It’s a source of hope and care for the community in time to come.