• Second Gift Day takes Building Fund to nearly £3 million
• Auction raises almost £10,000
• Members’ Meeting update

The month began with the second Gift Day on 2^nd November. The results continue to be very encouraging, with the total building fund, including pledges, now just under £3 million.

Another significant fundraising event this month was the auction held at Trent Vineyard on Saturday 15th November. This was a well attended and fun evening, during which people paid handsomely for a range of highly desirable lots! As a result, almost £10,000 was raised for the building fund. Thank you to everyone who donated item, attended and/or bought something. A small number of items were unsold. These can be viewed at: http://www.cornerstoneuk.org.uk/files/auctionitems1.pdf and if you want to make an offer, please contact the church office.

Lastly, at the end of the month (27^th), there was a well attended church members’ meeting. One of the agenda items was a building programme update. Paul Couchman gave an update during which he explained our stronger financial position given the month’s giving and fundraising. He also explained that the search for a site was continuing and that the discussions with one previously discussed confidential site were ongoing.

With an eye to the future, Paul explained that the church was now seeking to appoint a professional services company that would be a ‘one stop shop’ for the Church’s multiple requirements once a site had been chosen. Joff Gribbin, one of the elders, thanked Paul for his excellent work as project manager since our requirement for a new building became apparent earlier in the year. Joff explained that there would be a search for a new project manager in the near future as Paul would soon be moving on to other things and hence unable to perform the project manager role on a full-time basis.

The church meeting ended with a call to continue praying for:

• Land, without which we cannot move forward;
• Wisdom in decision making and negotiations;
• and Patience as we wait for the next move.

We would encourage you to please join us in this exciting project. We very much need and appreciate your support.

• Special Building Programme update meeting
• Second gift day announced
• Items for Cornerstone Auction flood in!

October has been one of the more eventful and active months since the launch of the building programme.

On Monday 13^th October, a special meeting was held to provide an update on building programme progress. The first item for discussion was that we have identified a freehold property in an excellent location, which seems to be a great possibility for us. The owner has requested that details of the site be kept confidential at this point until we were in a position to take negotiations to a more advanced stage. However, it is thought that the property is big enough to meet Cornerstone’s current needs with potential for expansion in the future.

The second main topic at the update meeting was fundraising. The site has an existing building that would need to be modified and/or extended and therefore we would need to raise at least £4 million to achieve this. While good progress has been made in terms of donations and pledges, it was evident that there is some way to go in terms of getting enough money to avoid having to borrow heavily.

With a view to boosting funds, two forthcoming events were promoted during the month. Firstly, our second gift day on Sunday 2^nd November. Everyone was encouraged to consider and pray about giving more, bringing forward the payment of future pledges or maybe giving for the first time. Secondly, an auction is taking place at the Vineyard Church on Lenton Lane on Saturday the 15^th November starting at 7.45pm. A wide range of items were donated during the month, from holidays in the sun to a years’ supply of cake, as members and friends of Cornerstone were encouraged to spread the word.

Look out for next month’s news when we’ll be able to provide an update on the Gift Day, the results of the auction and an important members’ meeting taking place on 27^th November.

• Church Weekend provides update on progress and next steps
• Another week of prayer held to commit our plans to the Lord
• Elders take time out to review the programme status
• New and improved website launched!

After a relatively quiet summer for the Building Programme, September saw an increase in activity on a couple of fronts.

The Church Weekend provided an opportunity to bring everyone at Cornerstone up to date with developments. On the Sunday morning we got a comprehensive update on the building programme including an update on the status of the building fund which focused minds on the significant fundraising challenge faced by the church. In the same presentation, information about some of the sites under consideration provided everyone with tangible examples of where our future home may be.

All this equipped the Church for a special week of prayer when we were able to devote significant time to pray for our gospel ministry at home and abroad. We also prayed for all aspects of the building programme, including: continuing to preserve the unity of the Church, a suitable new location, progress with fund raising, sound decision making, temporary arrangements and the programme team.

This month, the Elders held an away day to review the overall progress of the building programme. Their time together included prayer for the project, a review of the financial situation and discussion of a number of potential sites. The results of the away day were set to be communicated to the Church during October.

Lastly, a new building programme website was launched (where you are probably reading this update!). We want to keep everyone with a link to Cornerstone, where in the past or today, up to date with news about our building challenge. Look out for more news in the weeks and months to come!

• The £1 million milestone is passed!
• Temporary move to the Bluecoat School, Aspley Lane Campus

Summer holidays meant a relatively quiet month in relation to site search activity. However, a significant milestone was surpassed on the fundraising front. During the month of August, the amount of money actually given to the building fund (as opposed to pledges) passed the £1 million mark. This is an important first step towards our overall target of £6million for the project.

This month also provided us with a potential foretaste of things to come with a temporary move (for two Sundays) to the Bluecoat Aspley Lane Campus, while electrical work was carried out on the Wollaton Campus. This presented a significant logistical challenge for Spencer and the team, but went smoothly with the help of an army of volunteers and good planning.

• Building Programme update at Members’ Meeting and opportunity for questions

Overall, activity levels dropped a little given the onset of the summer holidays. However, Paul gave an update on Building Programme progress and activity to date at the Members’ Meeting on 10 July. After members of the Steering Committee and other teams were introduced, Paul shared the current financial position which included the significant amount of giving and pledges from last month’s Gift Day. This was encouraging but we still have some way to go.

More detail about our building and site requirements was also communicated at the Members’ Meeting. While specific details of potential sites couldn’t be revealed in case it unhelpfully impacted ongoing discussions, it was clear that the search for a suitable site had been active and that a number of sites have been reviewed and considered. None of these sites met all our requirements. We heard that discussions with the school had re-opened regarding the possibility of Cornerstone in some way sharing the redeveloped site at Wollaton Park.

• First Gift Day takes place, taking the total amount given or pledged to over £1.6M
• Building Programme structure announced and steering committee formed

The month began with our first official Building Fund Gift Day. At both services on 1 June (and 7 June for those who were absent the previous week) everyone was encouraged to return the form, which was distributed last month, detailing the financial contribution they had decided to make to the Building Fund. Giving options included one-off donations and future pledges, whether in the form of a lump sum or regular giving. The total amount given or pledged was £841,690 (including an estimate of £150,000 reclaimable tax). This takes the overall value of the building fund to £1,672,287. We give thanks to God for the sacrificial giving of his people.

There were two major developments in the organisation of the Building Programme. The first was the formation of a Steering Committee. Comprised of Joff Gribbin, Spencer Hampton, Stephen Pinfield, Andrew Thurston and Paul Couchman, the purpose of the committee is to provide management oversight to all aspects of the Building programme. It will be accountable to the Elders, providing them with regular updates on progress as well as recommendations for key decisions to be made.

Secondly, Paul Couchman has defined the structure of the Building programme; that is, all the different teams he believes need to be in place to ensure everything that needs to be done, gets done. So, in addition to the Steering Committee there are teams (some large, some small) focusing on communication, strategy and requirements, fundraising, site acquisition, business planning and transition planning. The formation of these teams has started, utilising the skills and abilities of people throughout Cornerstone who are willing to give of their free time and expertise to help with the Building Programme.

• Building Programme begins to take shape
• First Gift Day scheduled for 1st June
• Paul Couchman appointed as programme manager
• Frequently Asked Questions booklet published: FAQs page

This month we have started to get greater focus on our twin challenge namely: finding a location and raising the funding. We estimate that we will need to raise £6Million to purchase a site and develop a building that will meet our vision for Cornerstone’s ministries for the next 100 years. We estimate £3-4 million will be needed to purchase a suitably large site within our target area (within 1.5 miles of the Queen’s Medical Centre) and up to £2 million required for the building.

A Gift Day has been scheduled for the 1st June and an accompanying giving guide has been published and distributed to every member of the Church. Everyone has been asked to prayerfully consider their response to the challenge of raising the money for a new centre for our Church.

Paul Couchman has been appointed, on a temporary basis, to manage and coordinate all of the activities needed to make sure the Building Programme is successful. His management skills and experience will help ensure a coordinated and organised approach to what will be a complex and long-term project.

Finally, a Frequently Asked Questions booklet was published to help address some of the more common questions and concerns that have been raised to date.

• News that Cornerstone needs to vacate Bluecoat School’s Wollaton Park Campus by the end of 2009
• The church’s leadership communicates the news and future challenges to the church
• Special week of prayer and Prayer and Praise meetings

This month, we received the news that the redevelopment of the School site was scheduled to go ahead in January 2010 and that the Church would need to find a new location in which to meet from the end of 2009.

News of our new building challenge was communicated to everyone, including a call for a special and intense period of prayer to focus on the issue of Cornerstone’s future accommodation needs. A week of prayer and a number of Prayer and Praise meetings were devoted exclusively to future building requirements. The focus was on locating, acquiring and financing a suitable site or premises, managing the period between leaving the church and having a new building and, of course, caring for our church family and continuing to grow for God’s glory.