Building Project

In an effort to keep members and visitors informed, the Session of WRPC offers the following brief summary of our prospects for the expansion of our facilities of the Woodruff Road Presbyterian Church. A fuller treatment of this topic is available in a letter to the congregation found here.

Situation

The elders and deacons bless God for the numerical prosperity our congregation has enjoyed in recent years. The combination of growth from expanding young families and the arrival of multitudes of people relocating to the Upstate of South Carolina has pushed the limits of our present facilities. Our present worship space maximally seats 400. Our regular Sunday attendance is hovering around 550 and we’ve seen numbers as large as 650 on a Sunday morning. WRPC’s leadership has worked to ameliorate the strains to both our worship space, Christian education classrooms, and nursery facilities by creating overflows spaces, adding seating, and repurposing rooms to better serve the congregation and visitors especially on the Lord’s Day. Even with these efforts, the need for more dramatic and permanents solutions is being advanced

Philosophy

The leadership has considered options besides building. These are addressed in the letter. However, at the present time, we are moved by two concerns to pursue expanded facilities. First, we have a particular love for the individual members of the congregation and find it challenging to conceive of sending them away to another church or church plant. Second, we recognize God’s providence in granting us the particular real estate we possess and its footprint in this part of Greenville County. We are convicted at this time that good stewardship would maximize this gift for the benefit of bringing more people under the Confessionally Reformed [Add LINK] preaching and teaching offered here. The ordained leadership has considered the opportunity to plant another or other churches nearby (please see the full letter), but remains convinced at this time that we ought to maximize our existing property and, going forward, to implement strategies for promoting church plants in Greenville and Spartanburg Counties (beyond our current efforts).

Design

Our current sanctuary has a maximum (but not realistic) seating capacity of 400 persons. Sunday worship currently averages between 350-400 in the sanctuary with often another 100-150 in overflow rooms and more in nursery and ushering roles outside of those worship spaces. Architectural and engineering surveys of our site indicate that our current property is suited to support a sanctuary with a capacity of 800 to 1,000 worshipers along with the necessary parking, nursery, educational, and recreational spaces. To this end we have further invested in a design plan to maximize the utility of the property for the benefit of the congregation. This plan is intended to preserve our conviction word-centered worship while reuniting the congregation into one space. Our building committee continues to negotiate details to maximize the facilities while keeping it within an attainable budget. The construction would come in phases beginning with a new sanctuary, followed by a conversion of the former sanctuary to supplement nursery and educational spaces, an additional wing for Christian education, reappropriated fellowship spaces, and eventually new offices for church staff.

Much of the structural and site plan have been approved. However, other design features are still in negotiation. Any drawings are, at this point, conceptual and subject to negotiation.

Financial Picture

From the faithful regular giving of God’s people we’ve saved a substantial amount of money and continue to operate a surplus budget in which we are both rapidly paying off debt and increasing capital in a building fund. To date we have about $2 million in savings toward a project of $10 million required for phase 1 (new Sanctuary construction ). While lending rates, materials, and labor prices remain in flux (and are generally rising), an additional $1 to 2 million is what is required to responsibly begin the project.

Starting the Project

As a Presbyterian Church, the elders of the church are responsible for setting the direction for the church as a whole. In concert with the deacons, they will proceed with research, savings, planning, and preparations. This includes saving for a down payment of 30-40% depending on the lender’s requirements. The plan will be to finance the remainder of the cost. The Session agrees that taking on debt is lawful, but doing so requires wisdom. When the time comes the Session will recommend to the congregation a plan to approve financing. Our form of government requires the congregation to vote on substantial property decisions.

Making Contributions

There are a multitude of ways you can contribute. Our philosophy of ministry is dependent upon the regular giving of God’s people. We also know that building projects historically require additional sacrifices. To that end we recommend you consider all of the following means and consult with your shepherding elder if you have further questions.

Regular Giving - From our congregation’s regular tithes and offering ordained leadership is setting aside a portion towards the building project. This account has grown steadily and has been prudently invested to further increase with interest.

Designated Gifts - Anyone can contribute a designated gift at any time to the building project beyond their regular giving. To do so, these gifts need to be designated at the time of their giving for the “Building Fund” either on the check or through the Giving Portal.

Estate Planning - End-of-life planning is also very helpful. The elders and deacons strongly recommend everyone have a clearly written legally binding will in place for the benefit of those left behind. Each estate and family situation is different and some people may have more room to leave part of their estate to the church. Please consult with a prudent estate planner for recommendations in terms of how to designate your priorities.

Donation from Tax-Deferred Retirement Accounts - Another donation vehicle for some people involves an IRS allowable charitable contribution from a retirement account. Account holders aged 70½ or older who make a contribution directly from a traditional IRA to a qualified charity can donate up to $100,000 without it being considered a taxable distribution. This will generally be an advantage and in some cases can be useful to avoid a further tax penalty in the case of the required minimum distribution (RMD). Again, please speak to your shepherding elder or assigned deacon and a financial planner to determine if this would be wise. WRPC’s leadership is very much in favor of sacrificial but not irresponsible giving.

Charitable Donations from Stock Holdings (aka, “Gifts of Appreciated Securities:”) - Lastly, members may directly donate stocks from a non-retirement account. Being a 501c3 organization, WRPC may receive stocks directly as a charitable contribution and the giver be granted full credit as with a regular cash gift (relative to AGI factors). In this event, neither the individual nor WRPC is required to pay capital gains. Again, please speak directly to a church officer and a tax advisor should you desire to make such a gift.

Projections

The Session and Diaconate of WRPC are optimistic and encouraged about the wisdom of building and increasing our capacity to serve this part of the Upstate of South Carolina, to unite the congregation in corporate worship, and to have space for our congregation to learn and fellowship together. We encourage you to pray and plan accordingly and to give generously.