Making Room for More: The Jerusalem Expansion Plan

Jerusalem Expansion Committee Update-The New Jerusalem

The mission of Jerusalem church and school is to “serve a diverse community with the unique message of Christ’s love”. Keeping that mission in mind, the School Expansion Committee has been working to develop plans to add two new classrooms. These classrooms will provide much-needed space for our growing student body, and enable Jerusalem school to accept, rather than turn away, potential students due to capacity and space concerns. What a great opportunity to reach out to more families in the community with the Word of God! In addition to the classrooms, the addition will provide a new handicap accessible parking lot entrance and elevator access to the fellowship hall. This entrance will provide safer and easier access to the church building, and the elevator will enable all members to participate in church events in the fellowship hall. Not only does the expansion plan help Jerusalem reach out to the community, it also helps serve our current members, and opens up more opportunities for fellowship and growth as a church family. Since the expansion plan is working to achieve the goal of both the church and school to reach out to the community with the word of God, the School Expansion Committee unanimously decided to change its name to the Jerusalem Expansion Committee to better reflect the goal of this project. 

Recently, Excel Engineering produced interior and exterior renderings of the building which provide a clear visual of the completed building with the expansion. Building plans have also been reviewed with the Village of Morton Grove, and feedback from the village has been positive and only indicated that the height of the building and parking should be reviewed. A parking and traffic flow study was conducted and recommendations were made. Finally, a dedicated Jerusalem Expansion Fund has been established for designated offerings to the project. 

Currently, the Committee is developing a financial model that includes cost and expenses, balanced with donations and revenue. In order to have a clear view of how the project will be funded, various scenarios including student enrollment, tuition, and borrowing are all being researched and considered. 

As the Committee continues to move forward with the building expansion plan, goals include producing visuals to be displayed to both church and school families, completing the financial model, estimating and producing a timeline for the project’s start and completion, and presenting information to the congregation before the July congregational meeting.

While there is much work to be done, we know that God will bless the work of his kingdom of believers. The entire purpose of this project is to increase the space of our current building so that more people can attend Jerusalem church and school and hear the message of the Word of God. Please pray that God guides Jerusalem to make the right decisions so that His kingdom continues to grow and more people can hear the message of Jesus.

The next Building Expansion Committee meeting will take place on Wednesday, June 4th at 7:00 pm. Please join us!