You may have heard recently that our Breezeway Remodel project has been approved by the Simi Valley Planning Department. Any day now, our paperwork will arrive that will outline the conditions of the project, allowing us to form our working drawings from there.

We hope to submit plans to the Building & Safety Department in May. Once we have our Building Permit, we are full steam ahead to begin construction! We anticipate construction to take place this Summer.

The primary goals of the project include building new handicap-accessible restrooms , enclosing our breezeway/wind tunnel, and greatly enhancing our Sanctuary entrance.

Some of the actions you will see happen will include:

• Tearing down the current "Coffee & Donut Room" and the old office to its east.

• Tearing out the current Men's & Women's restrooms and moving "Usher's Office" wall.

• Modifying the ceiling of the foyer from its current 8' height to 10'.

• Reconfiguring the back wall of the Sanctuary to allow for greater use of the foyer as additional seating area for special services.

• New flooring throughout the foyer and Sanctuary.

• New doors and windows on the Sanctuary and Annex buildings.

• New roofing on the Sanctuary and Annex buildings.

• Replacement of current air conditioning/heating units with new, more efficient ones.

• Upgrade of our current 200 amp electrical service to 400 amps, which will finally remove the "temporary" power pole we've had in our front yard for MANY years!

• Upgrade of Sanctuary lighting system.

After years (12+) of trying to figure out how to make this project work best for us on this property, I believe we have finally (excuse the pun) "nailed" it! We've persevered through a number of concepts, as small as a simple remodel to as large as a new Sanctuary building. We have walked through tremendous healing and restoration of relationship with neighbors who had contention against the church for years that we didn't even know about. We've been through ups and we've been through downs.

NewHeart .... FINALLY .... It's Time To Build!

The budget is being put together as I write. We currently have a little over $100,000 on hand for the project. I shared about the project back in February. I mentioned then that I wouldn't be talking alot about the project from the platform because of the time it takes. So, it's my hope that you are reading this information thoroughly.

We are not using a fundraising campaign strategy to complete this project. We have done two of them in the past and they have been very successful in terms of raising the amount that was pledged. However, this time through, I just sensed that to do another one would be burdensome in a way that I don't want to see happen for us as a church right now.

It is our hope and prayer that we can facilitate the construction with as little debt as possible. We will seek a construction loan to make the project happen in the timing we believe it needs to happen in. However, in the meantime, I am asking all who call NewHeart your church home to prayerfully consider how God would have you and your family contribute to the project financially. Together, we can make it happen, not with equal giving, but with equal sacrifice. Not everyone can give the same amount, but we can give what God leads and provides us to give.

We are also considering options for where we will meet during construction. At this point, we will most likely meet at Township Elementary School across the street from us for our temporary Sanctuary space, which allows use of our South Building for Children's Ministries.

We will keep you well updated along the way. In the meantime, please pray for all aspects of the project, give to the project (above normal tithe and offering) as the Lord leads you, familiarize yourself with the plans on display in the foyer, and let's watch God do great things together!