Building Up FAQs

We have a generous God who gives each of us gifts to serve the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ. Our vision of ministry at Immanuel speaks to how we build up the body of Christ as we are called to care and sent to serve. Our Building Up Capital Campaign helps us live into that call to care and serve. Our story of ministry is a story of people generously sharing gifts to build up the body of Christ. Those who came before us gave faithfully and generously that we might have a faith home in which to grow and be nurtured. We care for our facility not only to keep present ministry healthy and vibrant, but to provide for those who follow after us. The goal of our Building Up the Body of Christ Capital Campaign is three-fold:

• Caring for facility needs and addressing important enhancements which will strengthen our ministry.
• Preparing for future facility needs by building up a capital reserve.
• Sharing God’s abundant blessings as we continue to grow into our identity as a faithful and generous congregation, giving a portion of monies raised to support partner ministries.

As you prayerfully consider how you will be part of our Building Up Capital Campaign, I hope the information provided here will answer any questions you may have about how the campaign will enhance our ongoing ministry here at Immanuel, in our community, and in the world. Your fellow member of the body of Christ, Pastor Paul

CARING

WHAT BUILDING NEEDS ARE WE ADDRESSING WITH THE BUILDING UP CAPITAL CAMPAIGN?

• Replacing shingle roofs over the sanctuary and Luther Hall that are at the end of their useful life (and beginning to leak).
• Patching, resurfacing, and re-striping our parking lot to extend its life.
• 14 Sunday school rooms, some with carpet over 40 years old, will receive new carpet and flooring along with refreshed paint and cabinets.
• Replacing one of our large furnaces.
• Repairing or replacing a number of windows in the Sanctuary and Luther Hall.
• Freshening up our four main bathrooms with new countertops and paint.
• Enhancing the Sanctuary wall behind the altar by installing a stone facia.
• Installing a new shower, particularly for use by Families Moving Forward, a ministry that provides Immanuel the opportunity to host families experiencing homelessness.

It is estimated that these projects will cost between $230,000 and $250,000.

HOW WAS THIS LIST OF BUILDING NEEDS ASSEMBLED?

A number of items on this list have been on our list of projects to attend to for a few years, including the roofing, parking lot, and shower. This past fall, the Church Council, committees, and staff were asked to identify other possible facility needs. That list of potential projects was compiled and consolidated with input from all these groups and was ultimately approved by the Church Council.

WHAT OTHER NEEDS AND OPPORTUNITIES ARE WE ADDRESSING WITH THE BUILDING UP CAPITAL CAMPAIGN?

Immanuel will need $255,000 in the next three years to service the debt on the “church equity loan” we obtained in 2016 at the beginning of our Opening Doors Capital Campaign. This congregationally approved loan enabled us to meet the goals of our Opening Doors Capital Campaign. Leveraging our equity allowed us to address those ministry needs and opportunities immediately.

WHY DO WE NEED A CAPITAL CAMPAIGN?

Immanuel, like most congregations, relies on our general budget to financially provide for our yearly ministry programs, staffing, and annual property expenses. Unlike most congregations, Immanuel has also been able to give around 20% of our offering away in benevolence for well over a decade. Thanks be to God and thanks to you for your faithful giving! That said, like most congregations, Immanuel relies on special appeals to provide finances for larger capital needs. Our general budget simply does not provide the financial resources for construction, major upgrades, or large-scale remodeling on top of our regular annual expenses. Capital campaigns allow us to meet present needs, address future needs that keep our ministry vibrant, and remain faithful stewards of our facility.

DIDN’T IMMANUEL PAY OFF OUR MORTGAGE?

Yes! In 2016 Immanuel paid off the mortgage that was generated by the construction of our sanctuary, offices, atrium, music rooms and more in 1998. This mortgage was scheduled to be paid off in 2023. Our 5 for 50 Capital Campaign, celebrating Immanuel’s 50th anniversary, invited the congregation to take on the challenge of paying off that loan early. The congregation stepped up and raised over $1,700,000 in 5 years to pay off that mortgage, thanks be to God. Paying this loan off 7 years early enabled Immanuel to save tens of thousands of dollars in interest expense and gave us the capacity to address other facility and ministry needs with subsequent capital appeals.

SO WHY DOES IMMANUEL HAVE DEBT NOW?

Ministry needs and opportunities continue, and buildings need regular care and maintenance. Part of our responsibility as caretakers of Immanuel is to provide for ongoing maintenance and remodeling that addresses ministry needs and opportunities. Our last capital campaign, Opening Doors, addressed many maintenance needs and facility upgrades that have enriched our ministry. The congregation was also able to pledge $300,000 to support other outreach ministries, including Onward Eden Prairie and Redeemer Lutheran Church in North Minneapolis. Unfortunately, while our fundraising goal for this campaign was $900,000, we ended up with pledged giving support of $720,000. So, to ensure our ability to fulfill the promises of the Opening Doors Capital Campaign, Immanuel secured a church equity loan that enabled us to leverage our primary asset—the real property that makes up the financial backbone of Immanuel Lutheran Church—to attend to present ministry and facility needs and opportunities. A great example of this is Immanuel’s investment in livestreaming our worship services. The Opening Doors Capital Campaign provided funds not only for projection in our sanctuary, but the cameras and computers that enable us to livestream and post recordings of sermons, worship services, funerals, weddings, and other special events. There are thousands of people who have already participated in our worshiping community and hear the good news of Jesus proclaimed because Immanuel made the investment in this ministry.

PREPARING

With your faithful and generous support, Immanuel hopes to begin to build up our cash reserves to address future capital expenditure needs in the next 5 to 10 years. In the next ten years Immanuel will need to attend to roof and heating/air conditioning projects that will cost between $550,000 and $650,000. We hope to raise up to $150,000 in our Building Up Campaign to apply to these future expenses.

SHARING

WHAT MINISTRIES WILL IMMANUEL BE SUPPORTING WITH OUR BUILDING UP CAPITAL CAMPAIGN?

Our goal is to give away $50,000 through our Building Up Capital Campaign to realize our vision of reaching out further into our community and world. We will support two ministry partners:

• AMEXTRA, our partner ministry in Mexico. This non-profit organization transforms living conditions in marginalized communities, with values of service, compassion, and justice.
• An effort by our Minneapolis Area Synod to provide a Lutheran witness of grace and accompaniment among the Latino population of our southwest suburbs, including Chaska, Shakopee and Jordan. This growing population is in need of the spiritual leadership and congregational support that we can help provide.

WHY DO WE GIFT CAPITAL CAMPAIGN PROCEEDS TO OTHER MINISTRIES?

Immanuel has, for the past 20 years, given away around 20% of our general offering to support other ministries. In fact, Immanuel is among the top 40 congregations, both in terms of both percentage and actual dollars given away out of over 10,000 congregations in the ELCA. We have a remarkable history of faithful generosity! This generosity has extended to our capital campaigns, and every campaign since 2001 has included a benevolence aspect. This generosity was most notable with our 2016 Opening Doors Capital Campaign, when our congregation pledged gifts of $100,000 to our partner congregation, Redeemer Lutheran Church, and $200,000 to support Onward Eden Prairie, a new effort Immanuel helped launch to address the housing needs of young people. We continue this commitment to faithful generosity with our Building Up Campaign.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

IS IMMANUEL RESPONSIBLE FOR ONWARD EDEN PRAIRIE’S ONGOING EXPENSES?

Immanuel is not financially responsible for Onward EP. Onward Eden Prairie became its own 501(c)3 non-profit organization in August 2017 and has provided a safe home for 4 homeless or unstably housed young adults since October 2018. Onward Eden Prairie has independently assumed all costs related to the house, including insurance, taxes, a rental license and all utilities and upkeep. Immanuel provided support of $200,000 through our Opening Doors Capital Campaign ($86,000 to supplement gift money for the purchase of a house and $114,000 as seed money). Onward Eden Prairie has received wide community support from:

• The Eden Prairie Community Foundation ($25,000 in 2018)
• Hopkins Jaycees
• Eden Prairie Lions and Lionesses
• Eden Prairie Morning Rotary
• Other foundations in excess of $70,000
• The City of Eden Prairie ($50,000 for renovations to the house)
• More than 100 community members
• The Prop Shop and community volunteers furnished the house

More about Immanuel’s help in launching Onward Eden Prairie is available online: Onward Eden Prairie

WHY SUPPORT A LATINO MINISTRY IN THE SOUTHWEST SUBURBS?

• Pastor Jorge Espinoza has spent the past year exploring the Southwest Metro to learn about the Latino population around Chaska, Shakopee and Jordan. He immersed himself in the business community; studied the Latino religious landscape, met with pastors, lay leaders, and community leaders. He also attended community forums addressing Latino issues in the community - including immigration, health, child welfare, and deportations. Pastor Jorge discovered that there currently are no mainline Protestant Latino congregations in the area.
• Pastor Jorge believes that the Lutheran witness of grace and accompaniment is welcomed and provides a solid base to begin gathering a faith community. About 9% of the known population is Latino and there is desire and support for an ELCA presence. The church needs to go to them, meeting them where they are.
• With the concentration of Latino people in local trailer parks, it is a logical entry point to accompany and provide resources based on the need of the community, such as homework help with the aid of local Spanish-speaking students, and ESL classes for adults. It likely would also include addressing food scarcity and helping the community with securing good food (perhaps a community garden) and cooking classes. As relationships and trust deepen, religious formation can begin to happen (i.e. prayer circles, Posadas, First Communion classes, etc.).
• The Minneapolis Area Synod of the ELCA is facilitating this new ministry initiative and we have been invited to be one of several partner congregations.

WHAT DOES AMEXTRA DO AND WHY DO WE SUPPORT THE WORK OF AMEXTRA?

• Immanuel has supported AMEXTRA for over 25 years, especially the work of AMEXTRA in Lomas de San Isidro - on the eastern edge of Mexico City. Immanuel has had more than a dozen groups visit AMEXTRA sites since our relationship began and provided support through our benevolence.
• Immanuel’s support through Building Up will contribute to an AMEXTRA capital fund appeal whose goal is to purchase a building large enough to accommodate the growing number of volunteers, interns, and trainings that are becoming engaged in this work.

Read more about Immanuel’s relationship with AMEXTRA and learn more about AMEXTRA.

Celebration of Response

We make our pledge to Building Up:

• Bring your pledge to worship, or
• Mail your pledge, or
• Drop your pledge off at the church office
• Make your Building Up pledge online