Dear Family,

We are thrilled with how well the Love the Door building campaign has been tracking. We have received over 60% of our commitments so far, and as an elder board, we are humbled by the generosity of our church.

We do need to update you on a recent turn of events, however. The landlord has sold the East building where the Live For More Center (or LMFC) is located, and the relocation clause in our lease has been subsequently activated. CVS has already begun demolishing part of the lot to begin feasibility testing and reconstruction of their new retail space. In the meantime, the owners have asked us to move the LFMC down to the end cap of the shopping center to the empty space west of Papa John’s. The Worship Center will remain intact as it is in the West building, and will not be sold.

We were aware this scenario was possible when we signed the lease, although it was extremely improbable. At the time, the broker assured us the deal was off; in fact, the owner went so far as to block all calls from CVS. Our attorney and everyone involved agreed that the activation of the relocation clause was highly unlikely.

This is painful. As a church body, we have lost the unrecoverable buildout cost (floors, walls, construction), plus the enormous amount of time invested in the building. Additionally, the end-cap gives us roughly 2000 sqft less space (which at least makes our rent a lot less per month). As an elder board, this has been very confusing. We prayed long and hard for God to give us a space, and He graciously provided.

Please pray. God is up to something. From the elder board perspective, the best-case scenario is CVS backs out and all the effort and money we put into the space would continue to be used to reach people with the life-changing reality of Jesus Christ, and we’d watch our prayers be answered in a powerful way. If that is not what God has in mind, we need to pray that God might provide the space on the West side of Raggedy Anne’s where the liquor store just went out of business. This would give us roughly the same amount of square footage that we have in the current Live For More Center. If God says no to both of those options, we need God’s wisdom and patience in adjusting to a smaller space.

The owner has agreed to allow us to stay in the building until the day that CVS officially claims the space– which will most likely be around January 1st. Per the agreement, once CVS sets a closing date for the sale, they must give us 60 days notice to move out of the Live For More Center.

We know that all things work for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28); therefore, we know that we are in the front row of God preparing us for something. God is in control and knew that this would happen. Perhaps He is inviting us to a greater intimacy with Him. Perhaps He wants us to realize that buildings will come and go, but His Kingdom will stand forever. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

Continue to pray that we follow where the Lord leads!

Live For More!

WBCC Elders