fundraising update

While a longer construction update is forthcoming, I wanted to update everyone as to our fundraising goals for this exciting campaign. You’ll be hearing more about these fundraising efforts throughout the Fall at FPCF, so here’s just a brief preview.

You may recall that the total campaign involved raising $6.5M through capital fundraising in order to complete all aspects of this project. Early on, we decided to break the campaign into two construction phases: Phase 1: Youth Ministry Center ($3.9M) and Phase 2: Office, Music Department, Library ($2.6M).

Excitedly, the Gerholz Christian Counseling Center received a large estate gift earlier this year, allowing them to consider some vital updates and expansions to their facility space as well. At our May meeting, the Session voted to add the Gerholz expansion to our collective campaign. (Phase 3: $750K).

With the addition of the Gerholz expansion and renovation, our total campaign is now a $7.2 million campaign, for which, we have $6 million raised either through direct contributions or pledged gifts.

Our commitment was to not move forward with construction on the first phase until we had secured enough pledged gifts. That Phase 1 fundraising goal was reached in December 2024 and so, as you know, we now have begun work on our youth ministry center renovation.

“With the addition of the Gerholz expansion and renovation, our total campaign is now a $7.2 million campaign, for which, we have $6 million raised either through direct contributions or pledged gifts. ”

While this response to our campaign initiatives is significant, our work is not yet complete. We are still looking for ~$1.25 million in additional funding to complete our fundraising for these vital projects.

CLOSING THE GAP

As we step into the second half of 2025, our mission is to generate a new wave of enthusiasm for completing our fundraising on these projects. To do this, we will be communicating our campaign status with all of our donors, and especially with potential donors who have not yet made a pledge toward our campaign.

As of today, we have raised $6 million from 139 unique gifts or donor pledges. In a typical annual stewardship campaign, we might see between 150 and 160 unique gifts or donor pledges, so we know that there are those in our church community who are waiting in the wings on this project and we want to win them over! If that’s you, we hope you’re prayerfully considering how you might step into making this project a reality for our church.

Beyond individual donor outreach, we are planning some unique, multi-generational outreach events for our church community to encourage additional fundraising toward this campaign. Let me highlight some of those upcoming events:

• ‘Holy Hustle’: All-Church Olympics (October 19)

  Stick around after worship on Sunday, October 19 for lunch and get placed on a team to play some fun, interactive, competitive games that all ages can do. Your participation will earn points for your “Team” so go for it…go for the gold!

• ‘Fore the Future’: Indoor Mini-Golf at FPCF (November 15)

  Putt-putt indoors….at church? No tee-time required for this event! When you check in, you’ll be given a scorecard, putters, and balls and sent through nine epic holes throughout the church building, culminating in our “Clubhouse” experience in The Grove! There you can swap exciting stories, grab a hot beverage, and submit your scorecard for a chance to win a prize! Entry Fee: TBA.

• ‘Raising the Roof’: A special, limited seating concert event featuring Collin and Erin Whitfield (November 16)

  An evening of beautiful music awaits you in the Choir Rehearsal Room on the second floor. Only 75 seats are available for this concert featuring Collin and Erin Whitfield. With music selected from a cross-section of genres, you’ll enjoy the intimate atmosphere as you imagine what the space will look like when it is fully renovated next year.

Through fun and multi-generational events like these, we hope to continue to spread the word about our campaign so that everyone in our church community has a chance to help fund this exciting vision.

Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks and join with us in prayer that God would raise up the necessary funds to help us make all of these projects a reality!

-JN.