Present Facilities Usage
Presently every room in the school building is used as a classroom during the school day. In addition, many spaces on the church side of the building are used by various classes and for special services throughout the day. This includes the vestry, conference room, upper room, nursery, and even the hallway behind the church. The reality of our growing school ministry has produced the blessed effect of every room in the building being used every day. We have maximized our facility usage. Much of this has been driven by the phenomenal and rapid growth of our school ministry, as the following chart demonstrates:
| Year | 2015-2016 | 2016-2017 | 2017-2018 | 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 | 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enrollment (3K-8th) | 208 | 203 | 202 | 229 | 237 | 224 | 254 | 292 |
Kingdom Opportunities Abound
As ministry in the school has grown, so too has ministry in the church grown. We continually welcome large classes of new members. Bible studies for everyone from young moms and babies through retirees are taught. Evangelism events happen monthly. Missions around the globe are supported. Confirmation classes and youth activities are thriving. Our music ministry is fully staffed and flourishing. We have at least six worship services every week. All of these activities require people and support from the office staff and volunteers. Many have been gracious with their willingness to move around and do activities in new places, but opportunity to do more abounds.
Ministry Opportunities Missed
In the present year we have missed out on opportunities for ministry in a few ways, and there are very real concerns about how we adequately prepare for the future. Our staff has continued to grow, and right now we have some shared offices, split work schedules, and more staff to come when we call an Associate Pastor. There have been conflicts of schedules when multiple groups tried to use, or traditionally have used the same spaces. The school ministry has hit a ceiling. Class caps forced us to turn away about 25 families, and at least 33 children, looking to enroll for 2023-24. Most of those children were under 2nd grade, which means we may have missed out on providing them up to nine years of education. We have missed many ministry opportunities for Christ’s kingdom.
Planning and Acting
Of course, much of this is not news. Many have been involved in researching the possibilities for Pilgrim’s future for the last few years. Following the great work of the Justification Committee, on June 25, 2023, Pilgrim adopted the following:
We recommend that PLC hires Keller, Inc. to be our Design Build Contractor and to proceed with the Design Phase of remodeling the Daycare building and adding 4 new classrooms to our school with the understanding that the Daycare project will cost between $100,000 and $200,000 and the classrooms addition project will cost between $1,200,000 and $1,500,000. We are also recommending spending between $3,500 and $10,000 to develop plans and to determine the actual costs of the projects between now and mid-August.
Prior to that date, and continuing since, the Building Committee has met almost weekly to determine both what is possible and what is the best use of our facilities. On Tuesday, November 7, the Building Committee and the Church Council met jointly and reviewed a proposal from Keller, Inc. with which the Building Committee and Church Council together recommend proceeding.
What is the Update?
In response to the work that has been done since June 25, we have a two-part update:
1) Due to discoveries in the discovery phase, we now know that modifications to the daycare building to operate it according to code are not necessary if we do not modify that building in any way. Some more significant changes could be done, but they would be neither overly impactful nor fiscally responsible in any kind of long-term plan. Therefore, the Building Committee and Church Council recommend not doing any substantial modifications to that building.
2) Through the discovery process and receiving bids from contractors, it became apparent that there are compelling reasons in favor of building all 8 classrooms immediately rather than proceeding with the four + four phased approach initially presented to the congregation. After considering those reasons, the Building Committee and Church Council recommend the proposed 8 classroom addition which Keller believes could be built in time for the 2024-25 school year.
What are the Compelling Reasons?
As the Building Committee continued meeting with Keller, we readily identified a few things as necessary for our next classroom addition. Foremost is the need to add classrooms. Along with that, we recognized the need to add bathrooms for the upper floor of classrooms. More kids will need more lockers or cubbies for their backpacks and supplies. There are requirements like adding fire alarms, a sprinkler system, and IT needs. Keller designed a plan that accommodated all of this, added desirable collaboration spaces, and would provide maximum flexibility for future building needs and sent that out for quotes. The price tag came back at $1,811,960 for the building itself, with the likely total expenses from the project (furnishings, current building maintenance and upgrades, and the like) being around $2,200,000.
Recognizing the demand for enrollment already experienced in the 2023-24 school year and the likely need for immediate use of three of the four classrooms in the 2024-25 school year, and knowing that this price tag was coming back higher than expected, we asked Keller to price out building all 8 classrooms now. Their proposal for that came back at $2,843,651, with a total cost of about $3,400,000. Further, there are hidden costs of about $810,000 that would be part of a second build if we wait to do the next four classrooms. Adding an additional four classrooms now would cost only about 1/3 of the total bill, and provides us with some creative ministry opportunities.
One opportunity this model provides is allowing us to effectively do “nothing” with the present daycare building. Instead, we can move the daycare into the school side of the building. Doing this satisfies all of the code requirements, meets the additional needs for daycare such as bathroom access, and provides for greater cohesion in ministry and for families. Second, this model creates space to bring the 3K class into the school side as well, again furthering cohesive ministry, and gives us a chance to highlight for younger parents an experience that cares for their children from 3K-8th grade, and provides the best Christian care and education possible. Finally, adding the 8 classrooms with some collaboration space and small group meeting space alleviates many of the current creative, but less than ideal, uses of the facilities, and provides opportunities for moving and adding church ministries to currently unavailable rooms. For instance, the present 3K room could become a room dedicated to Bible Study and Confirmation. Ministry opportunities abound!
Given the price disparity, the continued ministry pressure, and the expanded ministry opportunities made available, the decision to recommend building 8 classrooms now made a lot of sense to the Building Committee. The Committee brought Council in for a meeting with Keller, and at their meeting on November 13, the Church Council agreed. Together, the Building Committee and Church Council present this recommendation to the Congregation for our December 3rd meeting.
How does this Further the Mission of Pilgrim?
At Pilgrim Lutheran Church and School we Save the Lost and Strengthen the Saved. For the last 65 years Pilgrim has regularly responded to the opportunities of growth that God has given us and our faithful response to his gifts has proved to make Pilgrim a place where we see an abundance of ministry. As we have talked about over the last year, we do this in four distinct ways: Preach, Teach, Reach, and (reach) Each.
Pilgrim is known for being a Bible-teaching church. Regularly the pastors have this conversation with new members: “What is it about Pilgrim that made you want to join?” “You preach the Bible.”
The duty Jesus gives to his church is summarized in Matthew 20:19-20, also known as the Great Commission:
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
As a congregation, Pilgrim is known for its many efforts in the community. Whether it is reaching out through our monthly PACK events, hosting Neighborfest, going out through the Mountain of Food, or any number of other events we do, Pilgrim’s impact is wide ranging. Our congregation continues to grow as a result of our evangelical mindset.
Our Lord is with us, and has given us both the opportunity and obligation to be about his work in the greater Green Bay area, and indeed to the ends of the earth. Jesus Christ is the foundation on which the church is built (1 Corinthians 3) and the work we do faithfully following him will show.
What Comes Next?
Between now and December 3, representatives from the Building Committee and Church Council will be available between services each weekend to receive congregational feedback or answer questions. We recognize that this proposal is a change from the direction initially proposed, so the primary task for those members is listening to your feedback in order to ensure that all members of the congregation have ample opportunity to consider the proposal.
On Sunday, December 3, the congregation will decide at our voters’ meeting whether to move forward with the proposal from the Council and Building Committee or not. If the decision is made to move forward, we will continue the work of finalizing details and preparing for the new building and the 2024-25 school year. Our Capital Campaign team is in full gear and will soon be working to secure commitments for supporting the ministry at Pilgrim. Keller is targeting construction to begin when the ground is thawed (hopefully in April), and is confident they will have everything complete for the beginning of school in August.
Can We Afford This?
In addition to the new building costs, this proposal includes replacing facia work on the building, upgrading the HVAC and fire alarms (projects which are necessary regardless of whether we build), and cushion for unplanned necessary expenses. The estimated total cost is $3,400,000. The Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF) has approved funding for Pilgrim. Paying that mortgage back has been accounted for in our Foundations Campaign and in our future budgets.
Questions or Feedback?
There will be members of the Building Committee and Church Council available in the narthex to receive questions and feedback before and after services between now and December 3rd.