St. Peter’s, Columbus, recently completed a $6.3 million expansion project. The congregation has added a building called The Den through a campaign titled “Together We Live.” This will serve as a sports complex for the church, school and the community.
(The Den now sits next to St. Paul’s Lutheran School, and the church sanctuary appears in the background.)
The goal is that this facility will not only host sports events, but will serve as a vehicle for lives to be transformed and God’s Kingdom to continue growing in Columbus.
The congregation completed a 2020 Vision exercise in 2016 that led to this project. They are guided by the following principles:
- We will intentionally seek God’s guidance in all we do.
- We are committed to our purpose and core values and will continuously align the vision with them.
- We will intentionally seek input and communicate regularly with our church family.
- We will seek to impact our community, starting with the downtown neighborhood surrounding the campus.
- We will not take on long-term debt St. Peter’s expands to serve community and will operate with a balanced budget.
Dan, a member of St. Peter’s, described the building as “a great addition to our school and so important to its future and the future of the church.”
The dedication was scheduled for Palm Sunday, but was delayed due to the pandemic. Dedication events were eventually held after services in July. While the delay was frustrating, it helped build anticipation for the event. The first games have taken place in the facility and the feedback has been stellar.
Lutheran Church Extension Fund was a partner in the project, providing a construction loan. The congregation is well ahead of campaign receipts for the project and plans to have the entire project paid for within the next year.
The congregation has had 530 people contribute to the project. Scott, St. Peter’s development director, said that they were amazed at the generosity of the people and their continued support of the project.
It is apparent God’s Spirit is moving through the people of St. Peter’s in the way this construction project has brought them together to accomplish something bigger than themselves.
The stewardship team at St. Peter’s is encouraged by the words of Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:11 (NIV), “You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”
LCEF shares your desire to transform lives through ministry, and uses its expertise to help you achieve that goal. The partnership is about more than money — it’s an investment in the future of the LCMS and its ministries. For more information, contact T.J. Mattick at TJ.mattick@lcef.org.