We Have A Building!

Overview & Updates

Josh Hossler | 09/30/2017

THE SHORT

Well, it’s been a few weeks since I’ve given a real good update on the new building so here’s a quick breakdown… We closed on our new building July 31, 2017. August was spent clearing things out and having a huge yard sale. September has been spent securing an architect, working on drawings, and working with the township. As it stands right now, we are waiting on some township approvals, some additional work by the architect, and a few other odds and ends the renovation team is working on. This is the planning and dreaming stage. It’s going to be amazing to see all God does over the next few weeks, months, and years. (I give a break down of each thing in the rest of the post. Happy reading!)

CLOSING

It was amazing to see just how God opened doors throughout the course of the purchase of this building. One of our church members was up unexpectedly at 4:30am, saw the listing on an app on her phone, text me by 7:30am, and we had our team in to see it by 3pm that day. We had a congregational meeting after service the next day, and by Monday we had an offer in. Tuesday the seller accepted our offer. Wednesday we signed the purchase agreement. Thursday we had a commercial inspection. It really could not have gone any smoother. There were some bumps but again God helped open doors and clear the way. On June 18, our congregation unanimously approved the purchase. We’ve seen the hand of God on this so strongly the entire time. On Monday, July 31, 2017 (less than two months after we first saw the property), 52101 Gratiot Ave. became the new future location of Evident Church!

Evident Building Closing

Lions Club Board Members, Attorney, Real Estate Agents, and Derek Tunison and I at the closing.

CLEANING HOUSE

One of the first things we needed to do was get the buildings and property cleaned out. The buildings came with contents so we had work days in August and teams of people came to throw things away, clear things out, and get ready for a huge yard sale. Many people worked countless hours in this beginning stage. I want to give special thanks to Raelyn Hossler, Kristin Vernick, Samantha Thompson, and Sarah Bernock just to name a few for all they did during this phase. In all, they raised $500 for our Elevate student ministry and $2,300 for future renovations. A huge thanks to all who helped!

Evident Building Cleanup Team

RENOVATION TEAM

We have been blessed to have an awesome team of people helping with the transition to our new space. This team, affectionately called the Dream Team, has been meeting every other week since July to plan our transition. They’ve been working on things like volunteer work days, signage, securing an architect, getting bids from contractors, visiting other churches for ideas, and working the township. This team consists of Jeff Bandlow (building), Matt Montgomery (prayer), Sarah Bernock (communication), Derek Tunison (finances), Samantha Thompson (volunteers), Cam Walters (tech), Rachel Walters (design), Heather Bosanic (team lead), and me (pastor : ) ). Our meetings are usually powered by prayer, candy, and Taco Bell. I’m so thankful for all this team is doing.

Evident Building Team

WHERE DO WE STAND?

This past week we met with our architect, Chad Asman, and he presented his first set of drawings to us based on the ideas and input the renovation team gave to him. These plans include an addition and fully renovating the inside of the existing building. In total it would give us just under 9,500 sq ft of newly renovated space.

Right now, the renovation team is working on signage and a total project budget. Chad is working with the township on building codes and zoning ordinances. We’re praying for approval from the township to move ahead with the addition concept and then we can begin dialing in the plans a bit more. Once we have some more concrete answers on these items, we can nail down a more detailed timeline and share the vision with the congregation. We’re all super excited to see what this new space will look like in the next few weeks!

Old Evident Arial Footage

WHAT’S NEXT?

Next steps are approvals from the township, vision casting and presentation to the church, budget approvals, and securing contractors. What is the timeline? Work could begin in a few weeks with the total project taking a few months to complete but all of this depends on how quickly pieces fall into place. We’re asking for everyone to pray for open doors in the process. We all want to be in there as soon as possible, but a little extra time in planning and preparation at this stage will save us a lot of time, money, and headache down the road.

I can’t tell you how excited I am to get into our new building. It’s killing me not to be in there already. What God has been teaching me though is that this is about WAY more than just getting into a building. God is building a CHURCH – a gathering of PEOPLE. God is building US into the kind of church He wants and needs us to be. There’s more work to be done! He’s getting US ready for what’s next. The next few months are going to be so incredibly exciting. The journey together is going to be amazing. We’ve already seen God do great things but I believe we can’t even imagine all He’s going to do in these next few months!

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”
1 Corinthians 2:9

Thankful, grateful, and excited,

Pastor Josh

Old lions club address evident

Josh Hossler | Lead Pastor

Josh is the founding and Lead Pastor of Evident Church. He is passionate about helping people find their purpose and follow Jesus. Josh enjoys his family, preaching, leadership, writing, and is also is an adjunct professor of philosophy at Rochester University in Rochester Hills, MI. He and his wife Raelyn, have three daughters, AvaRae, AdaLyn, and AnaBel.

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