June & July 2023
Dear church family,
We are excited to share some updates and prayer requests with you regarding Lead The Way and the New Build project. Things are continuing to move in the right direction, and things are going well. Thank you for your consistent giving and prayer. We honor and celebrate you for your earnest engagement in this endeavor that the Lord has called us to as a body. Here are some specific updates:
We have a promising new lead on an additional source of fundingfor Lead The Way. In Genesis 1:28, God commands us as humanity to take care of the earth He created. This can be expressed in many different ways. If we lean into the use of clean energy and build energy-efficient systems in the new building, we have uncovered $15-25 million in potential funding towards our $60 million goal.
Pray for: Wisdom for our team who is looking into the details of this opportunity; The Lord’s blessing to flow in whatever way He sees fit.
We plan to have another important meeting with Uptown Consortium, Inc. in the coming weeks. They have the ability to fund our project with millions of dollars.
Pray for: Favor for our team’s continued relationship with their CEO; Wisdom on specifics of when to have this meeting and what specifically is communicated at this time.
Our architect team (MSA Design) is doing a great job refining our plans for submission to the City. The plans they are creating and adjustments they are suggesting to our team are in line with who we are as Peoples Church and what we are looking for in our new campus.
Pray for: Divine inspiration and guidance from the Lord for both our architects and Core Team as plans are being refined; Everyone who interacts with our project to experience the love of Jesus.
Our tentative timeline is the same as what we shared in April. We hope to receive final approval for our Planned Development proposal from City Council in September when they are back from their Summer recess. This approval will allow us to acquire building permits and gain the essential traction we need with foundations and public funds. Most of them, naturally, are waiting for our zoning approval before committing funding. We currently expect this will lead us to be breaking ground next Spring (2024).
Pray for: God’s guidance every step of the way; Favor with the City when our project comes before them again in September; Peace and blessing on our city leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-2).
We thank you and celebrate your generous giving to Lead The Way. To date, we as a congregation have made 189 commitments to Lead The Way, totaling over $3,407,500 — and we have given over $1,534,000 of that already. And you have done this without taking strength from your Tithe and ACCESS giving. Thank you for your commitment, faithfulness, and obedience to the Lord in this. We bless you. Your giving is directly funding all of the architecture and design work, submissions to the City of Cincinnati, legal and construction consultancies, and essential planning that has taken place up to this point. Your continued giving will continue to fund these and will also give strength to our standing as a church in the city — showing foundations, city officials, outside funders, and everyone who works on our project that we as a church are all-in on this together.
Pray for: The Lord to bless your brothers and sisters who are giving alongside you; The Lord to multiply that which we give unto Him.
We feel encouraged that the Lord is having His way among us. We pray for you often, and we are grateful to be on this journey together. We love you, church.
— Chris and Jan (On behalf of the Board, Staff, and LTW Team)