New Mercies
In the 1930s, the church called Henry Ballard as pastor of the church, which had dwindled down to a small number of active members. Initially, the decision to bring Henry on as pastor was to serve as a chaplain, helping the church to die with dignity. But rather than give up, Henry embraced the challenge and saw an opportunity with that small group. Eventually the church rebounded and was able to purchase the land that we're currently on. Over the years, the faces at FBC have changed, but the presence on 10401 Lincoln Trail hasn't. To honor Henry's visionary work, part of the campus was named in his honor.
What we now call the "Ballard Building" is the oldest remaining footprint on our church campus. And that part of the campus is nearing 80 years old. With an 80 year old building comes 80 years of memories. But it also comes with 80 year old building concerns. The most pressing one is that we've discovered a leaking roof that has been letting water into the building for quite some time. A number of rooms have drop ceiling tiles with water damage. It's affected our Child Development Center and its offices. It's left damage to some interior walls. And it's become a building that has more storage rooms than used rooms for ministry.
In short, the time is now to revisit the urgency Henry Ballard had, and to embrace the challenges and also the opportunity ahead of us. That's why this isn't a "fix the roof" project or a "let's paint the walls" project. It's a chance for us as a church to come together and invest in the property that God has given to us. The Ballard Building continues to have a lot of foot traffic and has tremendous potential for us. While the total costs for this aren't fully known, we know it will be a significant. But we are confident that where we've seen God's hand at work, He will prove Himself faithful.
What we now call the "Ballard Building" is the oldest remaining footprint on our church campus. And that part of the campus is nearing 80 years old. With an 80 year old building comes 80 years of memories. But it also comes with 80 year old building concerns. The most pressing one is that we've discovered a leaking roof that has been letting water into the building for quite some time. A number of rooms have drop ceiling tiles with water damage. It's affected our Child Development Center and its offices. It's left damage to some interior walls. And it's become a building that has more storage rooms than used rooms for ministry.
In short, the time is now to revisit the urgency Henry Ballard had, and to embrace the challenges and also the opportunity ahead of us. That's why this isn't a "fix the roof" project or a "let's paint the walls" project. It's a chance for us as a church to come together and invest in the property that God has given to us. The Ballard Building continues to have a lot of foot traffic and has tremendous potential for us. While the total costs for this aren't fully known, we know it will be a significant. But we are confident that where we've seen God's hand at work, He will prove Himself faithful.
Showing how long the problem existed, this was what we found when we took out the ceiling panels!
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New Mercies will embrace three phases of investing in the Ballard Building as a ministry site for FBC Fairview Heights.
Phase 1 - Roof & Structural Concerns: We can't overlook the roof anymore and we must deal with the most pressing concerns. This will be a project handled by Bartch Roofing Company from St. Louis, who specialize in commercial roofs. Their initial bid is around $105,000. That does not include any structural concerns that may be under the existing roof. We aren't sure the extent of the damage under the current roof. While we are hopeful, we are expecting those costs to increase for materials and labor to ensure that our roof is safe and watertight.
Timeframe: February 2024
Update: The roof was completed and as an answer to prayer the cost was almost exactly at the initial bid. Thankfully the surface under the original roof was surprisingly in good shape.
Phase 1 - Roof & Structural Concerns: We can't overlook the roof anymore and we must deal with the most pressing concerns. This will be a project handled by Bartch Roofing Company from St. Louis, who specialize in commercial roofs. Their initial bid is around $105,000. That does not include any structural concerns that may be under the existing roof. We aren't sure the extent of the damage under the current roof. While we are hopeful, we are expecting those costs to increase for materials and labor to ensure that our roof is safe and watertight.
Timeframe: February 2024
Update: The roof was completed and as an answer to prayer the cost was almost exactly at the initial bid. Thankfully the surface under the original roof was surprisingly in good shape.
While the roofers were working on it, they discovered a leaking pipe to our air chiller. Thankfully this was something we could address as well!
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The roof includes a 20 year warranty which will help us to ensure our facility is protected from the weather.
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Thankfully we avoided any significant cost overruns from structural damage under the original roof cover.
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Phase 2 - Painting Clearing & Cleaning: We have a lot of stuff. Every cabinet has stuff, every classroom has stuff, and if you open a closed door you'll find more stuff. And while we're not opposed to stuff, we also don't need to hold on to everything. In this phase, we embrace the action steps of Sell, Donate, and Dump. There are any number of ministries, missions, non-profits, community partners, and more who could benefit from our surplus things. We have a room full of plastic classroom chairs collecting dust for example. Those could be sold or donated so they could be used. We also have an abundance of old televisions, carts, and an entire closet full of Bible-era costumes. Guess what they all have in common? Dust. They're not being used. Along with a surplus of stuff we have the normal wear and tear that a building will have. Fresh paint transformed the look of our atrium and foyer when we did Grace Overflows in 2023. That same can happen by sprucing up the Ballard Building.
Timeframe: Spring into Summer 2024
Timeframe: Spring into Summer 2024
Phase 3 - Repurposing Space: We have a number of adult classes that meet throughout the Ballard Building and a number of rooms that are unused on a regular basis. Phase 3 will be repurposing the rooms and spaces we have in the Ballard Building as a ministry center to not only our church but also to our community. One area FBC has been blessed to minister to our community through has been our Clothes Closet. Right now it's difficult to access and doesn't get a lot of foot traffic. It's also tied to the church's office hours. However, Phase 3 will look at converting currently underused space in Ballard to a "Fairview Heights Ministry Center" space where we'll host our Clothes Closet, develop a Food Pantry ministry, and share the love of Christ through meeting the tangible needs of our community.
Timeframe: Summer into Fall 2024
Timeframe: Summer into Fall 2024