You Gotta’ Have A Dream! If you don't have a dream, how you gonna’ have a dream come true?”
“Happy Talk” from South Pacific, by Oscar Hammerstein II
Recently we held a joint meeting of the Vision and Leadership, Trustees and Finance teams to consider a proposal that many will believe help us discern our next “big thing” for Jesus. A group of our church leaders have participated in a special learning cohort (“First Church Cohort”) which targeted some of the “anchor churches” of our Western NC Conference. Elkin FUMC is one the churches invited to this special opportunity for resourcing and training.
As we began to open our hearts and minds to each other about our future – we began to hear each others dreams. One catalyst to our dreams of future possibilities came in the form of our exposure to the excellent work other churches were doing with the Wesley Community Development Corporation. WCDC is an innovative ministry of our Western NC Conference: a full-service, non-profit real estate firm uniquely qualified to partner with churches in helping them reimagine, repurpose, and redevelop their physical assets to live into their vision.
WCDC has a proven track record of showing how church real estate and facilities can be empowered to strengthen our Christian witness within our community. Using precise and meaningful data to forecast church health, model possible scenarios for sustainability, and drive towards reimagining what church looks like, Wesley’s unique approach is helping churches bring hope and innovation to the vision of their future.
Wesley does this in three ways:
Comprehensive Real Estate
Wesley Community Development is a licensed full-service North Carolina real estate firm. They specialize in unique ways to use church-owned facilities. They work with clients in the areas of acquisition, disposition, and repositioning of their facilities and real estate assets.
Engagement Services
Through real estate consulting and congregational engagement, Wesley leverages their expertise and experience with faith-based communities to assist them in redeploying their physical assets in the service of ministry.
Construction and Development
Should church leadership adopt a development proposal, Wesley works with churches in the process of repurposing or redeveloping their property all the way from initial discernment, through designs, drawings, and construction. This helps congregations focus on growing ministries that fit the needs of their community.
At this meeting, our church leadership voted to contract with Wesley CDC and begin our assessment and discernment process with them. Please pray for this important work and watch for the information that we will openly share with you after this 2-3 month process.
For more information about Wesley CDC – please visit their website at: wesleycdc.com