Update: 9/27/2009:
Here is an approximate accounting of the finances received toward this program and project
since 2004, and the funds expended getting to this point.

In 2004, the full Master Plan was approved. A total of $37,282 was given, and only $8,083 expended.
In 2005, $18,532 was given, and $13,691 was expended (feasability study & initial campaign fee).
In 2006, $86,325 was given ($5,387 before campaign pledges), and $25,026 was spent (Capital campaign).
In 2007, $119,040 was given and $36,205 was expended toward project development and bidding, and $7,390 was spent toward a Sanctuary upgrade plan.
In 2008, $122,694 was given, and $35,051, was spent on final development and project admin., and $660204 on construction. $395,000 was drawn on the construction loan line of credit, and $2,054 was paid to interest.
* In 2009, $578 was spent on Project admin., and $234,845 on project costs.  A additional total of $165,000 was drawn on the note making the total draw $560,000 to date, plus the origination fee of $2,277, and to date over $14,500 has been paid in interest.  As of 10/25/09 a total of $90,056 has been given toward paying the debt.

So since 2004 we have covered slightly over $445,000 in costs getting to this point .  Totals to date:
$ 83,113 toward the Master Plan, Project architectural fees and related expenses;
$    3,835 toward asbestos and soil assessment testing;
$    7,390 toward developing a plan for Phase II to update the Sanctuary;
$    8,190 toward assessing our probable financial capital giving capability; and
$  30,525 toward executing the financial campaign to underwrite the project start.
$859,910 toward actual project materials purchases, so we have drawn.
$562,277 against our construction loan line of credit to convert to mortgage.
$  21,620 in interest due on the construction loan drawn (as of 10/25/09).

At the June, 2009 quarterly business meeting the congregation voted to approve drawing
 the remainder of the construction line of credit (74,000+) due to the favorable fixed
 nterest rate of 5% for the emergency purpose o f replacing the roof shingles on the
 ntire facility and pursuing HVAC upgrades, also throughout the facility.  Thus our
 mortgage will be $637,000 beginning in late 3rd quarter.  Retiringf this debt will be the focus of the new campaign for "Building A Better TOmorrow."

Status 5/31/2009:
Thus the current cash on hand is about $5,000 with additional anticipated
pledge commitments of $5,100 still due by Sept., 2009. This is the financial
strength with which we secured the construction loan and approach the eventual
mortgage with completion of the project.

The permit hearing before the Zoning Board for Parkersburg went without a hitch last week (May 21st). Approval for the main portion of Phase I (all, but the changes to Joan Street parking behind Hope House) was granted without dissent from the public, or objection from the board. Three out of five of the Board were present for the quorum and the vote was unanimous. Our thanks to those who attended to lend their support at the meeting. We then found out that our project plans had to be reviewed by the State Fire Marshall (vs. the Parkersburg Fire Dept.), so we now are awaiting final approvals from the state office.

God provided a beautiful day for Ground Breaking on Sunday, May 25. Attending were Mike Noel, our architect, Cassie Bowen, our General Contractor representative and a good crowd from our congregation.

Closing with Williamstown Bank on the construction loan is complete.

Update: 4/27/08
As a formality of the financing the construction loan with Williamstown National Bank a statement was read, starting April 27th, notifying the congregation that the bank is offering a line of credit up to maximum amount of $650,000 for the construction period. Last Sunday, Mother's Day, a vote was taken to acknowledge the financing of this amount and approve acceptance of the encumber-
ment. The vote passed overwhelming positive, >98%. This was a formal requirement of the bank to ensure a legal and binding loan arrangement with the church.There was a pre-construction meeting on Thurs., April 10th. During the meeting we met the contractors and began to work on a schedule, shared contact information and asked/answered any questions regarding site access, work hours, security and Sunday normalcy. Due to some unexpected delays the next meeting will be June 5th. We have a couple of key dates on the calendar... please keep as a matter of prayer. May 21st... will be a hearing before the City Planning committe at which we will learn whether or not we will be awarded permits for the planned work on our main campus and building. Assuming success (very likely)... A ground breaking ceremony will be planned for May 25(Memorial Weekend) with construction to begin right after the holiday.

I truly believe this is a defining moment for the future of Emmanuel Baptist church. We haven't prayed so much, worked so hard, given so freely, planned so carefully, and seen God's leading so clearly to turn back now. The team has said "Let's Go!" The Board of Ministry has said "Let's Go!" We hope that the vast majority of our voting membership will join with us on March 9th to give a resounding "GO" to the Phase I project.

Have you ever seen the new show on the Weather Channel called "When Weather Changed History"? That's what happened this weekend. The Project Vote was to be today, March 9, but... Due to the snow storm which left us covered with 4in. of white stuff, the decision was made to delay the vote for one week, due to an expected low turn-out for Sunday worship. Now the same forum material will becovered in a less-detailed way (hopefully) before the vote during the SPECIAL BUSINESS MEETING after the 10:45 am worship service on Sunday, March 16.

Update: 3/9/2008:
AN OPEN FORUM ABOUT THE PROJECT was held on March 5 at 6:00 pm. About 100 people attended, and many questions were answered.

Update: 2/6/2008:
The presentation of the Project Team's proposal to the Board of Ministry went well. After discussion and answering of questions from the floor, the Board voted unanimously to accept our proposal to move forward based on Bid2 results and recommend the project to the congregation. The next step is to announce a special business meeting to occur by month end for the purposes of voting whether or not to approve the project and the financing that it will entail. The Project Team will be working to hold at least one informational forum for the congregation so that any questions can be addressed prior to the discussion and vote at the special business meeting.

Update: 2/4/2008:
The Project Team met again with the architect on Jan. 29th. The net result of the rebid was a savings of almost $125,000 from the lowest figures of Bid1. Unfortunately, that means the bids remain nearly twice as high as we anticipated. However, given that we were very clear about your disbelief of the Bid1 figure, the fact that the Bid2 results remain outside our expectation is an indication that costs truly must be much higher than we attempted to excalated from the estimates of 2 years ago.These bids are typically only good for 60 days. That gives us until March 22nd to move forward despite the cost, or... what? This will be our defining moment... after four years of work. Tomorrow night (Feb. 5) I will be making a presentation to the Board of Ministry recommending their support to explore financial options which will allow us sign contracts and begin this project, and... to borrow up to $500,000 by whatever arrangement can be made practical. If we receive the blessing of the Board of Ministry, then we will work toward informing the congregation and moving to a special business meeting where the final decision would/will be made to encumber the debt.I am confident that we can do this, despite the higher than expected debt requirement. Waiting longer is only going to make the costs go higher (as we've learned so recently). The "Joshua" in me says, "The financial giant is nothing to be feared if God be with us!" - or - What are the high financial walls of Jericho are no match for our God!" But in the end, it is God who must move His people to trust and do His Will. Will we go forard and make our facility improved for the future, or will we go on without change and continue patching our aging facility as we have for nearly 40 years? Please pray about that... urgently!

Update (1/21/08):
As potential candidates for Bidding Round 2 a list of 10 small and specialty general
contractors, and 9 specialty sub-contractors was delivered to Panich and Noel on Nov. 1. The second bid solicitation was started, but not all from the list decided to participate when contacted by Panich and Noel. Therefore, Panich and Noel contacted additional contractors with whom they are familiar from their project base and identified several more general contractors and mechanical contractors who indicated a willingness to bid.

Since these latter contractors didn't receive their materials until early Dec., a deadline of Jan. 15 was established to allow for the Christmas and New Years holidays and yet provide us bid information ahead of our annual business meeting. Then, just two days before the deadline, we learned that one contractor who had expressed interest in bidding never got his materials! So bids were received and the remaining contractor was given materials to review. After carefully studying the plans, and given the compressed timeline to develop a bid, that contrator then declined.

So now bids will be opened on Jan. 22, and the Project Team will meet within a week to out-line our plans for acting on these bids. Mike Noel reports that he was encouraged by those who now have agreed to participate in Round 2. Unfortunately he thinks the figures will still be higher than we anticipate. Assuming a financial plan for a manageable construction loan and future mortgage paymentws can be successfully determined, groundbreaking and construction would be anticipated sometime in the spring of 2008 and would continue through the summer.

As we say HELLO! to 2008, we rejoice in your faithful giving toward "Building For A Better Tomorrow." And I look forward to taking the first steps toward the revitalization of our facility. Therefore we have requested an explanation from the general contractors, and will allow them to participate in a rebid, IF they so chose, along with additional small contractors who are yet to be identified. If YOU know, or have experience with any, reliable, high-quality construction general contractor crews whom you would recommend for the project, please let the church office know by the end of Oct. at the latest.

Update Sept., 2007:
All the initial general contractor bids were rejected out of hand because they all were extra-ordinarily high priced, totaling well over $1 million vs. an expectation of under $500 thousand. The bids received fall beyond the expected norms for construction in this area. For example, the net cost per square foot of finished interior space would have been well over $500/sq.ft. compared to a "norm" typically less than $150/sq.ft.

Even though the new interior area we are creating is relatively small vs. the amount of exterior parking lot and site work, neither the architect nor we could account for why these bids were so exceedingly high.