1. Share Life?
2. What are the Strategies and Resources needed to Share Life?
3. Specifically, why do we need to build?
4. What are we going to build?
5. What will the new sanctuary and related improvements cost?
6. What is the plan to fund this cost?
7. How are our existing staff going to continue their work through this busy time?
8. How will the Existing Facilities be used once the New Sanctuary is built?
9. How is Christ moving in the process?
10. What can I expect?

1. Share Life?
Share Life is the answer to the question, "Why are we here?" In I Thessalonians 2:8 there is a reminder that real life is to be found in sharing life "So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us."

Sharing Life has always been a central component of Bethany's identity. We share our lives with each other, "tangling heart-strings" in life long friendships. We share the life of Christ with one another and our neighborhood, serving, celebrating, giving, and inviting one another to the wholeness that is found when His Life and reign takes root among us.

The vision to Share Life with one another and our world is presently taking shape as we collectively respond to the challenge of expanding our facilities. For us to step into our future, faith, vision, sacrifice, and the provision of resources will be required of us. As we step into this future we will immediately be more able to share life with our community, and will leave a legacy to future generations, enabling them to share life in new ways with more people, and equip leaders to share life around the world.

2. What are the Strategies and Resources needed to Share Life?
The Bethany leadership team has continually been considering long range facility options for our future, always asking the critical question: "How can our future facilities best enable us to continue fulfilling the vision to which God has called us?" Since a central part of that vision has always included a commitment to the Seattle population of college and university students, young families, along with young urban professionals, it became clear that our calling was to stay in Seattle and remain in proximity to the universities. Based on this commitment, our conclusion was that we should seek, as good stewards of the resources entrusted to us, to maximize the capacity for ministry on our existing footprint at the north end of Green Lake.

The Lord has blessed the decision to stay in the current location with remarkable growth and spiritual vitality. But because of the limited size of the current sanctuary, five services have to be conducted every Sunday to handle the attendance, and nursery, education, worship team, and children's ministry spaces are presently maximized. New ministries are also finding that the limited space is a hindrance to ministries and ministry growth. And of course, we all know about parking!

These realities have led our leadership team to the conclusion that a new facility will enable the growth of our community to continue, and will both enhance existing ministries, and provide the space for launching new ministries, and new partnerships with our neighborhood.

3. Specifically, why do we need to build?
Since 1995, Bethany's worship attendance has tripled, from an average of 300 to over 900 attendees. Our nursery requirements and children's ministry have tripled, and new ministries have been added, such as Mothers of Preschoolers, Wilderness Activities, Short Term Mission trips, Arts, the Alpha Course, the Beta Course, multiple new worship bands, and a Video Cafˇ, all of which are seeking increased and improved space to meet in.

This facilities expansion will enable us to better serve two important groups of people:

For those currently attending Bethany, the new facilities will provide important services that have made simply gathering for worship and our life together increasingly difficult:

• Additional parking
• Restrooms on the main floor
• Handicapped access and handicapped restrooms on all floors
• Nursery and young child-care facilities on the main floor, for safe emergency exit
• Increased space for children, youth, and college ministries
• Increase adult classroom and fellowship space

In addition, we need new facilities to minister to people who aren't yet a part of our community. Who are they?

• People who presently don't attend because of parking limitations or space limitations in the worship services.
• Children who will find friendship, tutors, and caring adults at Bethany Community Church.
• People who will become involved in the growing arts, music, and wilderness ministries.
• People from the neighborhood who will use the facilities for community meetings, concerts, theater presentations, and school meetings as we share our new facilities with them. God will use these facilities to help us share life with our city!

This is not the first time in Bethany's 89 year history that growth has required a step of faith. Forty years ago, Bethany's congregations purchased our current sanctuary building when we outgrew our church home in Ballard, built the overflow area, and later financed the acquisition of the CE building across the street. Now its our turn to leave a legacy to future generations, providing a base from which they will be able to serve our city, train new leaders, and start new churches.

4. What are we going to build?
The proposed building includes a 600 seat sanctuary (over twice the square footage of our existing Sanctuary), and a foyer area (3 times the size of today), which will enable us to display art, ministry materials, and comfortably handle large groups of people for conversation while entering and exiting the facilities before and after the services. The east side of the building will provide restrooms that are ADA compliant, childcare space for infants, waddlers and toddlers, and a nursing room. This space is strategically next to the Sanctuary, so young families can be close to their infants, while providing safe egress on the ground level in case of emergency. The main sanctuary floor also includes a prayer room off the sanctuary, new choir and band rehearsal space, storage, a baptism and small kitchen area. A second story provides balcony seating and space for new adult classrooms and fellowship. A partial basement will provide storage and some mechanical equipment. Building materials are to be brick masonry with timber connections, steel and glass. The materials and design are intended to blend into the existing neighborhood, while at the same time allowing the public to view activities inside, creating an accessible, yet transcendent facility, drawing and welcoming visitors to enter a sanctuary where Christ's presence is evident.

The design provides 36 parking spaces behind the new building and existing CE building, and 56 spaces at Bagley Elementary, for a total of 92 spaces, which exceeds building code requirements. Bethany, however, will continue to pursue parking solutions, such as relationships with local businesses, formal bus/carpooling program and off-site parking with shuttle options.

New landscaping is designed to unify the entire Bethany campus and honor environmental values by incorporating drought-tolerant native plant species and sustainable, water-saving landscape concepts.

5. What will the new sanctuary and related improvements cost?
The total cost is projected by professional estimators, to be $6.5 million dollars including "soft costs" (furniture, fixtures, fees, tax). These costs are dependent on the price of materials in the market at the time of construction. The goal is to start construction in 2006 to ready for use in 2007.

6. What is the plan to fund this cost?
The leaders of the church have initiated a comprehensive stewardship focus to raise the majority of the funds through contributions from attendees, friends and alumni of Bethany. It is believed that the Lord will motivate his people to give in ways that are unprecedented at Bethany. In addition, with the continuing growth of Bethany and even further growth expected after the completion of the sanctuary, a local bank has committed to lending sufficient funds on reasonable terms, if they are needed. The facility planning task force has considered a number of options to adjust to the amount eventually raised.

7. How are our existing staff going to continue their work through this busy time?
In order to assure that ministries are not compromised, and that our staff team is not stretched beyond their limits, we have contracted with a specialist in these matters who is serving as a catalyst in mobilizing large numbers of volunteers from within our congregation. The fees for this specialist will comprise less than 1% of the total cost of our building, and it has already become clear that the work of the ministry at Bethany has much more continuity because of this decision.

8. How will the Existing Facilities be used once the New Sanctuary is built?
In terms of our long-range planning (10-15 years) the new sanctuary is the first phase of needed facility improvements. For the near-term (5 years) analysis of our current ministry space clearly tells us that we need to keep all the current space to meet the variety of ministries that exist at Bethany. Fellowship groups, for instance, need more space than we have right now. A significant benefit to the proposed plan is that it allows for the new building to be constructed with little disruption of existing ministry space and ministry programs. The only exception to this would be our Youth, which will be relocated during the period of construction.

After construction, the existing Sanctuary and basement area will likely serve as college and youth gathering space, art ministry, an expanded coffeehaus space, as well as room for large classes (Alpha and Beta), the church library, and potentially the video cafe. Administrative functions will likely be expanded within the building to allow for conference room space and additional office space. In another, future phase, these spaces could be enhanced with a remodel of this facility.

The CE Building will continue to serve our meal ministries (Wednesday and Sunday night dinner), and pre-school through elementary age children's ministry. As with the existing sanctuary, a future renovation could enhance and improve this space.

9. How is Christ moving in the process?
Bethany faces many challenges in constructing new facilities. Its property is divided by a public street and alley; it confronts restrictive and exhaustive City regulations with a strong bias against the sale of any public right of way; it must meet both expansive and expensive parking requirements; and neighbors who are adversely impacted by our proposed plans have multiple channels to slow or obstruct the process.

Some of these challenges have seemed almost insurmountable. Yet one by one, they have fallen as God has miraculously intervened. Reversing its earlier opposition, the City agreed to entertain a proposal from Bethany to acquire the alley, a prerequisite of constructing a facility large enough to meet the requirements which would make facilities expansions worthwhile. The Seattle School District, predisposed against long-term leases in early meetings, remarkably stepped forward with a long-term proposal for Bethany to meet most of its new parking requirements on the Bagley Elementary School site. Remaining parking requirements were met precisely in the right location when a neighbor prayerfully agreed to an exchange for a home acquired by Bethany just months before. And perhaps most remarkable of all, a petition for the alley vacation that required the approval of a majority of adjacent property owners was signed virtually at the last possible moment by neighbors who only days before had adamantly opposed Bethany's expansion.

Much work lies ahead, but we have been awed by God's faithfulness in recent days in accomplishing what Bethany could not do in its own power.

10. What can I expect?
During April and May, we will together be focusing on stewardship as it relates to our calling to Share Life as a community. This focus will include teaching, dialogue, question and answer times with leadership, and a challenge for each person in the community to pray, asking God how He would have him/her be involved. Each person will have an opportunity to share their intended contribution to Bethany's future, in accordance with what God has placed on their heart to give. Every commitment will be kept anonymous, so that no person in leadership will have knowledge of any individual's financial gift, in keeping with our Lord's admonition that our giving be 'in private'.

Scripture indicates that some Christians have the gift of giving liberally, but also that all of us have the responsibility of giving as a spiritual service. Our goal is to build a new sanctuary, but more remarkable will be the adventure that awaits each of us as we pray, respond to God's direction, and watch Him provide for us, both individually and collectively as His people.

What will God do through a community that seeks His direction and is filled with people who are wholly given to His purposes and willing to climb new mountains of faith? We believe we're going to find out, as God writes a new chapter in our life together.