LCEF Congregational Stories
‘More space means more people’ at Lacey, Wash., church and school
July 10, 2007
When Laborer For Christ's Wayne Valentine returned to visit Faith Lutheran Church and School in Lacey, Wash., this spring, he received a warm welcome in an area known for its cool, rainy weather.
Faith is a participant in the Laborers For Christ (LFC) program and began construction of a 14,500 sq. ft. multipurpose facility last year. The building isn't quite finished, but it's already catching the eye of townspeople. Some have called to inquire about renting it for wedding receptions and other events!
The $2 million facility is in a relatively "unchurched" and growing part of the country and will provide "more space for the church, and the school, and the community," said Valentine, who served the congregation as project manager when Laborers spent seven months in Lacey working for Faith to help construct the building. The multipurpose facility will serve Faith's "ambitious outreach" efforts well, he added.
LFC is a ministry of the Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF) that helps congregations carry out their own construction projects and build within their budgets. Laborers framed the structure and installed windows and plumbing, "saving us a large fortune," said Alf Howald, a Faith member who is now serving as the project manager for the congregation.
Laborers working for the congregation did an "excellent" job, Howald said, and took part in worship and other activities at Faith. "They were part of our church family, and we miss them a lot," he said of the Laborers, who are both men and women, usually retired, who work for the congregation at minimum wage.
Today, Howald and others from the 100-family congregation are continuing the project--putting up siding, insulation, and sheetrock, and pouring concrete sidewalks. Completion is expected by year's end.
The facility will provide the school's first-ever gym--plus much-needed classrooms, lockers, a kitchen, a computer lab, nursery, and offices to the growing elementary school.
"More space means more people," said Faith Principal Connie Dougherty, who expects the school's enrollment of 160 students in preschool through sixth grade to grow as a result of the expansion.
The new facility also is intended for community outreach. "Hopefully, people will use it, and they'll find the other building--the church," Howald said.
LCEF's Capital Funding Services helped Faith Lutheran with a biblically based capital stewardship campaign that raised $310,000 in pledges for the new facility. The congregation has two LCEF loans.
The new multipurpose building is the second phase of a seven-step plan that includes a new sanctuary and a childcare facility. For more information about Faith Lutheran, visit www.faithlutheranlacey.org.