Ambassador Presbyterian Church

“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”  — Romans 10:14-1

One thing I’ve never been accused of is having “beautiful feet.”   Yet, God has ordained that the good news of the gospel travel via “the feet” of his people taking that message to those who have not heard, and that’s a beautiful thing indeed.   
 
We have an opportunity this summer to send a group of “beautiful feet” from Ambassador to Rio Verde Mexico.   It promises to be an exciting, enriching, enlightening experience as we seek to serve our brothers and sisters south of the border, and I’m pretty sure God has blessings in store for us through their ministry as well.  
 
Here is a link to a World Witness’ s website where you can get a better idea of what this trip will be like.  If you click on “media” and then go to “movies” there is a short video for Mexico. 
 
I’ve heard from a couple of you regarding your interest, but I’d love to hear from more.   If you think you might be interested and just want to learn more about the trip, please email me or call the church office. 

What can be more Christlike that fighting over a bag of potpourri?

What can be sadder than a party where the best two gifts are a fake Wrestling Magazine with Matt Peedin on the cover and Pee Wee’s Big Adventure on DVD?

Below…Karl sniffs the potpourri, Kati unveils something worth nothing, Emily gloats over her new sweater, Matt and Ayla look on dismayed, and Jen fakes surprise after accidentally picking the gift she brought to the party. Click for a closer look.

Steve Brown discussed the committee’s current activities at the info meeting after church on 12/10/06. The main points are below, along with viewable site and building plans.

We would like your feedback regarding the floor plan in particular. Please submit your comments or questions through the website–anonymously if you prefer–by clicking here.

Click on these pics to see large, zoomable versions of the floor plan and site plan:

Update:
* Preparing to negotiate a contract with Farrior, the construction company
* Working on a site plan in conjunction with the site engineer
* Finishing the floor plan
* Working with the site engineer to submit a plan to the Town of Apex
* Working on the exterior materials and design with the architect

The most pressing deadline is to get everything ready to submit to the Town of Apex in February. We believe that our plan will be considered a “minor” plan, which would mean we could receive approval as soon as the end of April. Apex requires our site plan to conform with its “small town” requirements, which place constraints on the site layout and building exterior.

If everything goes well, we hope to be in the building around Easter ‘08. The current cost estimate is $1.3M - $1.4M.

from Don Knox, Capital Campaign chairman and APC Elder

I am overjoyed at the response to our capital campaign and what God has done! Here are the results, to date:

CAPITAL CAMPAIGN UPDATE

• Total number of pledges = 37
• Total pledged to date = $546,028.00 (over the 3-yr pledge period)
• Total received to date = $191,698
• Outstanding pledges = $354,330

We will receive a few significant gifts at the end of the year that will change these numbers.

BUILDING FUND UPDATE

• $484,400 in hand
• $354,330 outstanding pledges
• ————————————
• $840,000 in cash and pledges

This leaves us to borrow around $800,000, short term, with approximately $500,000 of that being longer-term debt (not offset by pledges).

If you are new to Ambassador or are interested in making a pledge at this time, check out the Building with Living Stones website. You can also get an info packet off the back table at church. It has lots of helpful info and a pledge card inside.

Please leave a “comment” below if you have any questions…or you can submit a question/comment/concern here.

Our covenant group is not just about studying the Westminster Confession of Faith…it’s about…um….babies and thumbwrestling.

From among the 13 in attendance yesterday, there were represented:

• two newborns,
• two in utero,
• ten kids downstairs, and
• 26 adult thumbs

- from Steve Brown, Building Committee Chairman

The Building Committee is working with Arks and Farrior to develop a draft floor plan for the new building based on the space needs presented several months ago. After several iterations, we are nearly ready to present a recommended plan to the Session for their review. We are also developing a site layout with the goal of submitting it to the Town of Apex for site plan approval, hopefully by the end of the year. The Apex site plan approval process will be the critical path for the project schedule, and will likely take about 6 months. Once the site plan is submitted to Apex, we will return our focus on the building itself and seek input from the congregation on specialty areas such as worship service arrangements, music program needs, Sunday school, nursery, hospitality, building and grounds, interior décor, and others to make sure the diverse needs of Ambassador’s ministries are suitably addressed. All of these other activities will occur parallel and simultaneously with the site plan review process. Our goal is to have all of these details resolved and begin construction once the Town approves the site plan. We will have more specific schedule details once the early key issues get resolved. Stay tuned!