BrianIngraham.com | ASPIRE

I know I am overdue an update on our church location situation.  There has been a bunch of work and ministry going on with the people of the church and the investigation and negotiating process for the old building, but most of it can’t be talked about in this public medium as yet.  Thank you for understanding.

As far as our church building is concerned, the owners still want much more than we can both afford and what we believe its actual value is.  The problem is that the current owners bought this building at the height of the market out bidding 35 other offers, meaning that they paid more at the height of the market than 35 others felt it was worth.

So what we are going to do is have the building surveyed and valued.  In a few weeks we will find out how much the building is actually worth, and based on that information make an offer.

I am praying God will intervene at several key moments.

First, in the assessed value of our church building.  It is very difficult to value an old church building here in the UK and I am not entirely sure what to expect.  Its value will determine how much money we are going to need to come up with to put down on it and how much we will be able to borrow.  I am praying God will intervene in the valuation of our building.

Second, even though we will attempt to make an offer based on our buildings value, the current owners are likely to not accept it.  They seem to want at least twice its value.  It would be amazing if at this first attempt they would accept our offer.  It seems only 20% possible but hey, we will keep praying…

Third, raising funds.  We are reasonably close to being able to afford this church building, but we are not quite there.  Over the next couple weeks I am going to attempt to raise some one-time gifts for our down payment, and some monthly funds for our ongoing expenditures from our church body here and those interested around the world.  Pray God would put this on many people’s hearts to give.

I am building a website for fund raising purposes, but in the mean time if you want to give toward our future location (hopefully the old building) you can donate HERE if you are in the US or HERE if you are in the UK.  Obviously, I cannot guarantee we will purchase this particular location, however no matter where we go from here will require us to raise funds.

We have been exploring many other possibilities including schools, lecture halls, warehouse spaces, property, other church buildings, etc. So far we have hit dead end after dead end, mostly because the costs have been so much more (double, triple, quadruple) the cost of purchasing our old church building, but we keep looking.

I expect someday, no matter what happens, we will all look back at this time and be amazed at how clearly God made our way forward.  I already see his hand in the forming of our church, in the timing of this ‘exile’, and in the global support and concern about our situation.  Stay tuned in to see what God is about to do with us here in Scotland.

What is going on with our location situation?

Negotiations.

As high as the heavens are above the earth so great is the price the developers are wanting for our church building.  Last Wednesday, I met with them and was unable to come up with an agreed upon price.  For the next 6 weeks however, they are wanting to continue to negotiate with us.  I am firm on not paying more than we can afford.  Some days it feels impossible, but all days I find myself encouraged with the expectation that the same God who led us into this building in extraordinary circumstances two previous times is more than able to bring us back a third.

While negotiating, we have been exploring many other options.  Warehouses, rented spaces, university halls, schools… the list is large and pricey.

Last night we met out behind the old church building and prayed prayers of remembrance.  Remembering who God is, what He has done in ages past, what He has done for us thus far, and asking Him to remember our situation and intervene.

We have also formed a small ‘location strategy team’ which is exploring raising more funds (which we will need no matter what option we pursue), venue options, official negotiations for the old building, and long-term strategies for our church ‘home’.

Pray for Susan and Nichol whom God has brought to our church just at the right time to help us navigate these days.  They have lived in Glasgow for a long time and know much more about commercial property than I do.

I cannot help but be encouraged by the timing of everything.  This is the perfect Summer for this upheaval to happen as I am not in Seattle.   Summer is the perfect season for this to take place as the students vacate Glasgow and many people are here and there on their holidays.  I cannot think of a better week to have moved out than the one we did – the last weekend before the start of summer.  God seems to be in all of this, even in these small details.

Keep praying!