Greetings!
We wanted to share some updates from the Building Steering Team regarding the Master Plan project related to our church campus and grounds.
Completed – Season of Intentional Input
Starting in August, we began a season of intentional input to ensure wide-spread collaboration as we re-engaged with Master Plan work previously conducted in 2022-23. Thank you for showing up and engaging in so many ways:
112 responses to our congregation-wide survey
8 Listening Sessions conducted by the Building Steering Team with various classes, groups, and worship communities
6 focus groups with 40+ people conducted by GFF (architecture and design firm) with a diverse array of FUMC Denton members around a series of topics like worship spaces, hospitality and accessibility, children and youth, and missional use.
We feel confident that our partners at GFF now have ample input from our congregation to properly assess and vision our building and grounds for the future.
Currently – GFF is at work!
The designers at GFF indicate they have what they need and are now working on design recommendations. They expect to have a proposal ready for delivery shortly after the turn of the year.
Upcoming – Building Steering Team Submits Master Plan and Recommendations to Administrative Board
Once we have the Master Plan in hand, the Building Steering Team will determine the proper next steps to take, including (but not limited to) feasibility studies and strategic prioritizing of phases. This will conclude with a series of recommendations made to the AdBoard during the first six months of 2027. Once the Master Plan and recommendations have been made, the Building Steering Team’s role will end and the AdBoard will consider creating teams like a Building Committee and Campaign Team to address the building and financial needs that come with executing the first phase(s) of the plan.
A few “Frequently Asked Questions”
How much will this cost? We do not know yet. The Master Plan will include some combination of demolition, renovation, and new construction, and GFF is aware that cost is an important factor in those plans. The Master Plan will also be designed in a way that allows for phases to be completed in strategic steps, rather than an “all or nothing” approach. We understand from the season of congregational input that financial responsibility and sustainability is a high priority for our church, and those practical conversations are coming, we assure you.
What exactly are we talking about demolishing? For those familiar with our building, essentially, we are talking about the buildings that are constructed with cinder block (the “Education Wing” and Flinn Hall). Despite its name, the Education Wing is not the building that currently houses the day school and children’s ministries; the Education Wing currently houses church office spaces on the ground floor and Sunday morning youth ministry spaces on the third floor. Flinn Hall currently houses modern worship, and part of GFF’s task in the Master Plan is to help us imagine where we can invest in modern worship moving forward.
What about Cole Chapel? One thing that you made abundantly clear is that Cole Chapel is a deeply loved sacred space at FUMC Denton. We share that love with you. The truth is Cole Chapel will be impacted in one way or another by our Master Plan; it currently relies on the Flinn Hall building for structural support as well as bathroom access, both of which would be removed through demolition. We do not yet know what potential plans and/or costs would look like regarding Cole Chapel’s future, but we can promise that every conversation regarding this cherished chapel will be done prayerfully and collaboratively.
A word of encouragement!
This fall, we opened a 50-Year Time Capsule put together by the Middle School Students in 1976. Included was a weekly newsletter, which contained an interesting front page story. The headline reads: “Board Approves Studies of Church Physical Plant.” The story goes on to say that the church had begun working to make long-term plans, knowing the existing building (including the Education Wing and Flinn Hall) were not long-term solutions given their poor structural integrity and high ongoing maintenance costs.
That was 50 years ago, and yet here we are today, talking about the same building with the same problems. Some of you may be tired of talking about it. Some of you weren’t aware that anything was wrong until we began this process. Some of you are wondering when we will start, how on earth we will pay for it, and every other detail about what comes next. Here’s the good news: Let us be the generation of leaders at FUMC Denton who finally does the thing we have talked about for more than 50 years.
There is a spirit in the air at FUMC Denton these days that is electric, and we are confident that God is leading us to not only do great ministry today, but to prepare the way for unimaginable ministry for the people looking back 50 years from now.
This will take time. It will cost money. We will disagree along the way. But prayerfully, this will also be a season where God leads us not only to work on a building, but to build up the body of Christ through encouragement, through mutual care, and through a unity of vision.
We are blessed to serve you as your Building Steering Team, and we are grateful for your passion, commitment, and support as we discover God’s great future for us together!
Grace and Peace,
Chuck Rives
Building Steering Team, Chair
Raegan and Scott Gilliland
Lead Co-Pastors