FCBC Building Expansion Project Updates

“Expanding the church for the present and future of God’s Kingdom”
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Drywall Installation (March 2024)

Windows, Doors, brickwork, stage, Baptismal (December 2023)

Roofing and Brickwork (November 2023)

Framing (August 2023)

foundation and Bathrooms (July 18, 2023)

Laying Foundation (June 2023)

Groundbreaking and Demolition (June / Dec 2022)

Fundraising and Construction Update

(August 2020)

Praise God that as of August 9, 2020, we have reached our Fundraising Goal to $650,000!  We began this process on June 23, 2019 and called the church body to pledge towards this project as God was leading them.  In the end, we reached the goal in almost half of the time we had originally planned for.  This has been a great testament to God's goodness to our church and the faithful giving of the church body.  During this time, many have also shared how God has blessed them and grown them during this time of giving.  While we have reached our initial goal, we encourage all church members to complete their pledge amount as keep giving towards the project as there will be additional expenses before the project is completed.

For the building construction, we have been working with the architect to develop the final building design and construction plans.  We have recently selected an engineering firm to prepare the site plans.   Once the Engineering site plans are completed, we will need to:

• Get approval from the City of Virginia Planning Commission for a change to the Conditional Use Permit.  (2 months). 

• Once we approval from the City of Virginia Beach, we will solicit Construction Contractors to bid on the project.  (1 month) 

• Once we select and award the construction contract, then we can start building. (6 months).

Since all ministries are currently meeting fully online, we are hoping to complete some or all of the project before the church reopens for in person ministry.  This will hopefully ease the transition and shorten the time we may need to meet in a different location.  Please keep praying for these coming months as enter into this new phase of the project!

Project Beginning (June 2019)

Background

In 2012 our church recognized the need to start planning for the expansion of our church facility.  Praise God that He has been growing the ministry of First Chinese Baptist Church so that we have been experiencing an ongoing shortage of sanctuary seating, Sunday School classrooms and office space for several years now.  The current sanctuary is also aging and in need major repairs and updating. We have been able to temporarily accommodate these challenges, but find that they are limiting for the future of the ministry.  As a church we voted with overwhelming agreement that it is now the time to pursue a building expansion program to rebuild and expand the church building for the sake of the present and future ministry for God’s kingdom. 

Overview

Working with a local architect, we developed the following plans (download). This will involve demolishing the current sanctuary and office space and rebuilding in an expanded area. The sanctuary will have a baptismal and seating for 240 seats.  We will also add two classrooms and two expanded pastor’s offices. The current fellowship hall will stay the same but have some renovations to the kitchen and restrooms.

Fundraising Campaign

Theme: “For the present and future of God’s kingdom.”  We want our focus to be on God and the building of His kingdom, not the building of a comfortable or beautiful structure for ourselves.

Goal: The estimated total project cost is $650,000.  So, we need to raise an additional $250,000 to our current savings to fund the entire project.  By faith, we are asking the Lord to provide the complete budgeted funds within 2 years to start construction by summer of 2021.

Preaching:

Praying:  An FCBC Building Expansion Project Prayer guide (download) is available to help us pray as a church for this project.   We encourage you to commit to pray individually, as a family, or as a small group for both the fundraising and building process.

Pledging: Church members are encouraged to use the time until June 23, 2019 to pray and seek God’s leading for your own financial commitment to this effort.  This would be over and above your regular church and missions offering. After prayer, you can make a pledge by filling out a Pledge Card (download).  This is a commitment to God and the church for your offering to the building fund over the next two years. All pledges will be kept confidential and individual giving will not be tracked against the pledges. Pledge cards can be turned into the pledge card box in the church sanctuary.

Giving: Designate “Building Fund” for your portion of offering set aside for this purpose. For those unable to give your offering at church or by mail, a Building Expansion Giving website with online giving is also available. However, local church members are encouraged to give in person or by mail to avoid the extra fees.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How long will construction take?  Where will we meet while the construction is being done?
We are currently at the fundraising stage of the project.  Plans for the transition and construction will be addressed as we near the end of the fundraising stage.  Estimated construction time is between 4-8 months.  

What if fundraising is completed before the end of two years?
If fundraising is completed before two years, we can begin planning and construction sooner. 

What if we don't have the full fundraising amount by the end of the fundraising campaign? 
We will continue to pray in faith for God’s provision and decide as a church what our next steps will be.