ADVANCE Phase 2 is a fundraising campaign to raise $800,000 by January 31, 2024, enabling Stone Arbor Church to build our next phase.

We’re asking God to provide, and bringing the biggest invitation to our people in our church’s history! Phase 2 is the crucial opportunity that gets us worshiping weekly at our Glenhaven Campus.

It’s not a typical capital campaign that lasts for a long period of time. Also, we don’t have flashy campaign plans… this is just an attempt to communicate the financial need and ask God to provide through our people and any outside supporters.

Establishing a home base is the first goal of our 10-year vision because we believe developing our campus is a foundational part of a much larger, kingdom vision. Over the next decade, we believe this permanent, strategic, and central location will be a launchpad to help us accomplish our vision to:

LAUNCH (at least) 3 healthy, reproducible churches in strategic California cities.

TRAIN 200 additional kingdom leaders with Biblical values.

EXTEND our reach through regional multi-site campuses.

Regarding the next generation, the Glenhaven campus enables training them in righteousness, and it is a ministry asset we can leave as an inheritance to them - for God’s work to continue.

Phase 2 gives us a HOME for Sunday morning worship and a HOME BASE for ministry.

Phase 1 gave us a new and extremely helpful operational base, but in many ways Phase 2 allows Stone Arbor to step across the threshold into a HOME. It will be tight (perhaps like your first-ever home) and we intend to expand it in the future, but finishing Phase 2 forever changes Stone Arbor’s status from portable church to permanent church.

Sixteen years of worshiping in rented spaces has been wonderful. It created a culture of deep sacrifice, faith, mission-mindedness, and upbeat endurance in our church. But by creating a home for worship, and a home base for training, outreach and other ministry, we can redirect resources…

… redirects our time and energy spent on being portable towards more front-line, missional efforts, like evangelism and discipleship.

… redirect our money into an asset that belongs to the Church instead of spending money on rented spaces.

Mobilizing phase 2 construction will require $2,750,000. In faith, we are asking God to provide - and we anticipate funding will come from multiple sources.

We have been approved to borrow up to 70% of Phase 2 costs. Fundraising the remaining 30% ($800,000) will mobilize construction. Gifts beyond the 30% mark will reduce borrowed funds.

Once all sources total $2,750,000, we will begin the 9-month construction process. We are praying God would allow us begin construction in February and to complete Phase 2 by the end of 2024.

If God supplies the funds, we have an opportunity to contract the $2,750,000 price, shielding it from any upward creep related to construction labor & materials price changes. Building costs in California have steadily increased, and there is no indication that prices will come down if we delay. Additionally, interest rates for borrowed funds have climbed. If that trend continues, it would be prudent to lock the rate sooner.

Also, there are some current challenges related to renting church space at our size. We have a decreasing amount of control over the environment we can create in our ministry settings. We also have zero control over scheduling - which limits our options.

God is in charge of it all… labor & material costs, interest rates, and scheduling rented spaces. So we commit to practicing faith and prudence.

We can only accomplish Phase 2 with God’s help! Pray with us that He would provide, and that He would bless these plans:

Invite our people to give sacrificially with faith, prayer, unity, and joy.

We encourage the faithful to give again to this new, specific effort

We want to invite new people (who missed Phase 1) to buy into our church’s vision

We invite our people to consider if sharing this with their friends,family & network - after walking through this personally

Organizationally, we are sharing our vision and Phase 2 need with external partners.

Our basic plan is to communicate the need to our people and ask them to give what they can by January 31st, 2024. Some in the Stone Arbor family may also have ways to earn additional money and/or share with friends and family who may be interested in giving as well.

1 Samuel 14:6 …Perhaps the Lord will help us. Nothing can keep the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.

Psalm 24:1-2 The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the Lord; for he laid its foundation on the seas and established it on the rivers.

Nehemiah 6:15-16 The wall was completed in fifty-two days, on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul. When all our enemies heard this, all the surrounding nations were intimidated and lost their confidence, for they realized that this task had been accomplished by our God.

Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.