“Many of you know that our Special Committee on Facilities and Mission, called by the church nearly three years ago, has been working tirelessly to help us clarify our sense of shared mission and align our facilities in order to best carry out our church’s emerging vision. In June 2017, they shared a full plan to overhaul our facilities, and following several months to hone the scope of the project, the congregation voted in April of this year with 90% approval to move forward with Phase One of this comprehensive plan. Last month, the congregation voted on the finalized guaranteed maximum price for the project.
In a parallel way, our congregation has spent focused energy this year clarifying our mission and vision as we navigate such a transitional moment in the life of the church. Months of congregational meetings joined with your big ideas and real passion for the work to which God has called us to the moment this March, when we unanimously affirmed a shared mission, vision, values, and priorities for our church.
Our mission remains steadfast: We are a family of faith, seeking to know Christ and make Him known. Our vision speaks to our particular calling for such a time as this: We are a community in the heart of the city called by Jesus to practice bold love of God and neighbor and boundless compassion for all people.”
– Emily Hull McGee, Pastor
In order to meet the needs of our beautiful, 147-year-old church and equip our community to live into our mission as a family of faith, we’ve partnered with our capital campaign consultant, Ruben Swint, and more than 40 of your fellow congregants and combined our creativity, energy, and passion to launch A Boundless Home: Building Beyond Walls. This campaign is an opportunity to unite shared resources for a common purpose: empowering our church to confidently continue its ministry as “a community in the heart of the city called by Jesus to practice bold love of God and neighbor and boundless compassion for all people.”
NEWS & UPDATES ON THE CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
Personnel Update
The Personnel Committee unanimously and enthusiastically recommends the calling of a new minister to our church from within our church! It is our joy to introduce Rev. Mary Kaylor as our candidate for the position of Minister for Youth. After a pandemic-related pause...
“Raising White Kids” Study
Do you find yourself wondering how you can more thoughtfully equip the young people in your life to engage matters of race with honesty and awareness? Come and join members of our ministry staff and other parents, grandparents, teachers, and loving folks in the...
What is something you hope for our church?
“I hope our church can evolve and improve. I hope that in the future, a new generation of talented musicians and singers will emerge. I hope that we accept more and more people, creating a community that includes people from all parts of the spectrum. I hope that...
What is one meaningful experience you’ve had with our church?
“One meaningful event I experienced with the church was the solo I had in the children’s choir. It was one of the first times I had a solo and one of the first times that I sang in front of a lot of people. I was nervous that I was going to mess up, but I just sung...
Introducing, A Boundless Home: Building Beyond Walls
“As you know, the special committee on facilities and mission has worked tirelessly for the past years discerning the best use of our facilities and dreaming and defining our mission. We overwhelmingly approved their recommendations and I am here today to introduce...
CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES & IMPORTANT DATES
Small Group Gatherings – Ongoing
All in the church are invited and encouraged to participate in a small group gathering with friends and fellow First Baptist folks regarding our capital campaign, A Boundless Home: Building Beyond Walls. These gatherings give attendees vital time with campaign and pastoral leadership to learn more about the campaign, ask questions and glean information, and be inspired by the ways that God is at work among us. Please make every effort to attend one!
Each member should have received an invitation to attend a particular gathering, but if you were unable to make it, the final gathering is scheduled for tomorrow night, October 4th, at 7:00pm at the home of Mark and Alana Williams. Please RSVP to the Williams family as soon as possible at alanawms@gmail.com.
Campaign Sundays – October 7, 14, 21, 28
Boundless home. Boundless possibility. Boundless abundance. And a boundless God. We at First Baptist Church on Fifth are in a season of renewal, one that will make possible our bold and hopeful future ahead. For the month of October, our worship will be wholly informed by the boundless God in whom we worship. Together, we will turn each week to Ephesians 3:14-21, letting these words of faith help us tell our own story in this moment. We’ll hear testimony from our fellow members, sing and hear music that stirs our souls, and ask God to renew our minds, our hearts, and our resources within the spirit of the One “who is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine.” Please make every effort to join your church family in these weeks ahead!
Advance Commitment Lunch – October 14
As we enter into the “A Boundless Home” Capital Campaign, a luncheon is planned for Sunday, October 14 immediately after the worship service in Kelly Auditorium. This event provides members an opportunity to make advance commitments to the Capital Campaign. The entire congregation is invited to attend, and we hope that many of you will attend, as a robust turn out will indicate strong support for the capital campaign. Childcare and lunch will be provided for children, 5th graders and younger.
The program will consist of a fuller explanation of Advance Commitments, the different ways that gifts can be given in the campaign, and the distribution of commitment cards with privacy envelopes. It will not be necessary to complete commitment cards at the lunch, though people may choose to do so if they already know what their gift will be. Our goal is for you to have the information you need to make an Advance Commitment by the end of the brief program.
The church will receive advance cards in privacy envelopes from October 14-21 in a variety of ways:
1) at the lunch, 2) by mail, 3) bringing to the church office or 4) placing in the offering plate on Sunday, October 21. On Sunday, October 28, we will announce two totals: the number of commitments received in advance, and the total of gifts and commitments received to date for the campaign. We are praying that we can announce that we are at half our goal, or more!
Please consider our invitation to the luncheon on October 14 and the opportunity to make your Advance Commitment to the campaign. The church accounting manager (Sally Barbour) will confidentially tally the results and report the total advance commitments received.
YOU MUST RSVP FOR THE LUNCH BY: Thursday, October 4 by email to: acook@firstonfifth.org or call 336-722-2558 ext. 115.
Churchwide Breakfast Buffet – November 4
We will gather in Kelly Auditorium at 8:30 for a breakfast buffet and celebration of where our church is and where it is headed. Our speaker will be Mike Queen.
Commitment Sunday – November 4
Following our churchwide breakfast, we will gather for worship and make our commitments to the campaign together as a congregation.
First Fruits Sunday – December 2
Together as a church family, we will celebrate the success of our capital campaign and bring our first gifts to contribute during worship.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q. What is A Boundless Home?
A. In the summer of 2017, the church approved a plan presented by the Special Committee on Facilities and Mission to reconfigure the physical presence of our church house. This will allow us to improve our long-term financial outlook and expand our ministry efforts in downtown Winston-Salem and beyond. A Boundless Home is the campaign to raise the funds necessary to implement Phase 1 of this new vision.
Q. What are we renovating?
A. We will continue to reconfigure the space in the Sanctuary building to better meet our needs once Buildings B and C have been removed. This includes adding new bathrooms and temporary space for children and offices. A great deal of the work in this phase involves mechanical systems — plumbing, electrical, heating/air — all of which are necessary to enable Building A to stand alone. In addition, we will make much-needed repairs to the exterior of Building A above the roofline, including restoration of the steeple tower and the complete replacement of the roof.
Q. What is the impact of this change on our annual budget?
A. We anticipate that well over $100,000 in our annual budget that is currently spent maintaining our facilities will become available for supporting existing ministries and starting new ones.
Q. What is the total cost of the project?
A. The guaranteed maximum price from the builder is $5.4 million. We are off to a great start in raising funds thanks to a generous anonymous pledge to the campaign and the conversion of the former Parsonage Fund into the Vision Fund, potentially enabling us to access this resource should the church elect to do so.
Q. What are the elements of the Special Committee’s plan?
A. Phase 1 of the project has several major components: critical restoration work to our Sanctuary building, a new roof, a ramp for more accessible entry to the Sanctuary, new restrooms, and the demolition of Buildings B & C.
Q. What are we tearing down?
A. Buildings B and C are in the process of demolition, reducing our footprint by roughly 65,000 square feet. These buildings include classroom space, the space that housed our former Children’s Center, the Fellowship Hall, the Reich Memorial Chapel, the Brown Room, and the gym.
Q. When do I make my pledge?
A. Commitment Sunday is November 4th, and together as a church family, we will bring forth our pledges to A Boundless Home in worship that day. We will celebrate First Fruits Sunday on December 2nd by offering our initial contributions together during worship.
Q. How long do I have to meet my pledge?
A. Campaign pledges should be fulfilled within three years.
Q. When will the project start, and how long will it take?
A. Demolition has already begun, and we expect it to be completed later this fall. Phase One should be complete within 10-14 months of its beginning.
Q. How can I help?
A. In addition to financial contributions, you can support A Boundless Home by praying for God’s guidance for First on Fifth as we undertake this exciting project.