After twenty-five years, Hayward Wesleyan Church is ready for a face-lift!
A NOTE FROM PASTOR CHAD (December 15, 2021)
Almost four years ago I arrived in Hayward and in my early days here I asked a number of people a simple question; “What is something that the church has talked about doing but never gotten done?” Time and time again I heard a recurring response, “updates and renovations to our church facility.”
After hearing this in so many settings, I made a mental note and for the past three years, conversations have been happening among the staff, the board, in listening sessions, and with other groups about needed renovations. From these conversations, there was a shared consensus regarding projects that are of high priority for updates and renovation.
These projects include:
Sound System Upgrades – The aim of these upgrades is to offer a more uniform, consistent, and clean sound in the sanctuary. We have been interacting with an experienced Audio Consultant on the needed upgrades and have a high belief that the steps that we are taking will make a significant difference.
Restroom Renovations – The renovations here include new fixtures, tile, and paint in the main restrooms and also in the hallway restroom.
Sanctuary Updates – The updates in the sanctuary include updating the chairs, paint, carpet, and decor.
Foyer Updates – The foyer will be updated with new carpet, paint, signage, and decor. We are also excited to develop an enhanced display regarding our Mission Partners.
Gymnasium Updates – The gym will receive new paint, new basketball hoops, improved storage in the closets, along with updated flooring.
Theater Room Updates – The Theater Room will be updated to a space that children and youth will love!
Playground Updates – Our current playground equipment is showing signs of wear and teari (along with a few splinters!) as such, we will be smoothing out the rough edges and making this a great place for kids to play!
Now, one natural question that always surfaces when you talk about these things is…why do this?
The answer to that question is two-fold.
Stewardship – As a church, we are blessed to have no debt on our facility and for this, we are deeply grateful Additionally, as followers of Jesus we want to be good stewards of our church facility. Many of the updates that we are looking at will be the first to happen in 25 years!
Mission – While it will certainly be nice to have these updates done, I want to be very clear…this is not about us. Our mission to connect every life to Jesus is central to these projects. These projects are truly being pursued for the glory of God and the good of others.
A further inevitable question is…how much will it cost?
With the numbers that we are working with, we estimate that the total cost of these renovations will be somewhere in the neighborhood of $182,400. We recognize that this is a significant amount of money, but here is some good news…as a church, we have sought to be financially responsible and as a result, we already have $70,636 in our church accounts that we can use toward these projects.
But wait there is more!
We recently were gifted $41,000 toward these projects.
This is fantastic news!
That leaves $71,800 left to be raised toward these needed projects. With God’s help, we can certainly raise these remaining funds.
With this in mind and with a humble spirit, I am inviting you to two specific ways of participating in this effort.
I am inviting you to give.
I am inviting you to give in the spirit of II Corinthians 9:7 which says that “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
I am sincere in saying this, if you do not feel that you are able to give in line with the guidance of this verse then please do not feel any pressure to give toward these renovations.
I am inviting you to engage.
We will need your help in seeing these projects accomplished. There will be some work that we hire done but there will be much work that will be able to be done by volunteers.
As there are multiple projects to manage I humbly ask that we all engage this process with great grace and significant patience.
God is at work in our church and there is much to celebrate in this season. As always, if there is any way that we can be of help or encouragement please do not hesitate to reach out.
Warmly,
Pastor Chad McCallum