COGWA Members App
Feast App
ROKU AppFOI Fundraiser
We are pleased to sponsor a fundraiser benefiting Foundation Outreach International (FOI) at this year's WFW.
All proceeds from the sale of the Winter Family Weekend 2022 logo'd Hoodies and Tumblers will go directly to FOI in support of their mission to do a world of good around the world!
ORDER FORM
Orders will be collected through 11/16/22
Payment is due by 11/18/22*
An invoice will be sent to you from "Church of God, a Worldwide Association" within 24 hours following the receipt of your order. Please make sure to check your spam/junk folder.
Hoodies (unisex)
Dark Heather Grey
Adult Sizes Small - XL: $30.00 each
Adult XXL: $32.50 each
Adult 3X & 4X: $33.50 each
Youth Sizes XS - XL :$30.00 each
Size chart is included on the order form for your reference.
Tumblers
20 oz, 100% stainless steel, double wall insulated tumbler.
The Exterior is white with the WFW 2020 logo.
Keeps hot liquids hot for up to 6 hours and cold liquids cold for up to 24 hours. BPA Free.
$20.00 each
Hoodies and Tumblers will be available for pick up at Winter Family Weekend.
If you are not attending WFW and would like to have your order shipped, a $10.00 fee will be added to your invoice. Orders will be shipped following WFW.
*if payment is not received by 11/18, your order will not be processed*
We are unable to provide refunds after 11/18 as we must pre-pay for these items.
Twin Cities, Minnesota
Hello and welcome to the Twin Cities! We think you will enjoy your visit to this area of the country. The Twin Cities is a beautiful area to visit in September, with average temperatures in the 70s during the day and in the 50s at night. You also will enjoy the beautiful fall colors at this time of year.
Venue
The venue where we will be meeting on Saturday and Sunday is:
Evolve Workplace
260 Wentworth Ave. E
West St. Paul, MN 55118
Sabbath services will be at 2:30 p.m. at the same location.
Schedule
Friday, Sept. 2
| 6 p.m. |
Dinner and games. Meet and greet, with meal provided. The Yorker Condos (party room) |
Saturday, Sept. 3
| 9:50 a.m. |
YALW sessions begin. Please try to be on time. Coffee and snacks will be available for those who come early. Evolve Workplace |
| 12:30 p.m. | Break for lunch. |
| 2:30 p.m. | Sabbath services (combined with the Twin Cities congregation). |
| 6:30 p.m. |
Dinner and games. The Yorker Condos (party room) |
Sunday, Sept. 4
| 9:30 a.m. |
YALW sessions begin. Evolve Workplace |
| 12 noon | Break for lunch. |
| After lunch | We will participate in an FOI service project. (More details will follow as we get closer to the date.) |
Cost
Fee for the weekend is $20 per person, which covers supplies, dinner Friday night, lunch and dinner on Saturday, and lunch on Sunday.
Pay by Check
Make checks payable to COGWA–Twin Cities and send payment to:
Larry Solomon
6400 York Ave. S., Unit 416
Edina, MN 55435
Free Housing
We have a number of local members who have offered to house those who will be attending from out of the area. If you would be interested in this, please contact Larry Solomon. (See contact info at bottom of page.)
Hotels
Listed here are a number of hotels near the venue if you would like to book one. You would most likely get the best price by booking online. If you have questions or need assistance, Larry Solomon would be happy to assist you. (See contact info at bottom of page.)
Hampton Inn Woodbury
(10-minute drive)
1450 Weir Dr.
Woodbury, MN 55125
651-578-2822
Country Inn and Suites
(13-minute drive)
6003 Hudson Road
Woodbury, MN 55125
651-739-7300
Holiday Inn Express
(6-minute drive)
5653 Bishop Ave.
Inver Grove Heights, MN 55076
651-450-1100
Questions?
If you have any questions or if I can assist you with housing or a ride, please don’t hesitate to call or email.
Larry Solomon
[email protected]
417-437-5412
Lodi, California
We are happy to host the Young Adult Leadership Weekend in Northern California over the Labor Day weekend, Sept. 3-4, 2022.
The weekend will begin with a barbecue and fellowship reception at Besore-Newton Ranch in Clements on Friday evening. Sabbath activities will include the morning seminars, fellowship and Sabbath services at the Grace Presbyterian Church Social Hall in nearby Lodi, followed by a dinner, bowling and games at the new Lodi Games Center.
Sunday morning seminars will take place at the Hutchins Street Square in Lodi. After lunch (provided by the Stockton congregation), we plan to have an FOI service project of distributing frozen turkeys to local food banks. The turkeys will be donated by the Diestel Farms of Sonora, California.
After our service project, we will have free time to explore historic downtown Lodi or one of several local wineries. (Lodi wineries are famous for their old vine Zinfandel vineyards and wines.)
Schedule
Friday, Sept. 2
| Evening |
Barbecue and fellowship reception Besore-Newton Ranch |
Saturday, Sept. 3
| Morning | Seminars and fellowship |
| Afternoon |
Sabbath services Grace Presbyterian Church Social Hall |
| Evening |
Dinner, bowling and games Lodi Games Center |
Sunday, Sept. 4
| Morning | Seminars |
| Noon | Lunch |
| Afternoon |
FOI service project Hutchins Street Square |
Cost
Registration fee is $20 per person and includes fee for materials and dinner on Saturday evening.
Pay by Check
Please make checks payable to Church of God, Sacramento and mail to:
Beth Besore
P.O. Box 514
Clements, CA 95227
Housing
Housing may be available in members’ homes. Please contact Tom Provine or Michael Lindenberg for details and information.
If you prefer, you may make your own reservations at Lodi hotels, near CA Highway 99. Currently no group discounts are available.
Questions?
If you have questions, please contact any of the following:
Tom Provine
[email protected]
530-520-6061
Michael Lindenberg
[email protected]
209-531-4488
David Register
[email protected]
818-939-5091
Cincinnati, Ohio
Welcome to the information page for the YALW in the Cincinnati area! We are excited you will be attending this year’s leadership weekend, located just north of Cincinnati in Blue Ash, Ohio. Here are a few details for your planning purposes.
Venue
The venue for Saturday is:
Blue Ash Community Church
10272 Alliance Road
Blue Ash, OH 45242
The venue for Sunday morning is:
Embassy Suites Blue Ash
4554 Lake Forest Drive
Blue Ash, OH 45242
Schedule
Saturday, Sept. 3
| 9:50 a.m. |
Seminars begin. Blue Ash Community Church 10272 The church location—only four minutes away from the Embassy Suites—is in a business park, so when you see office buildings and wonder if you are in the right place—you are! We encourage you to arrive early on Saturday so you can enjoy coffee and a few snacks while you fellowship. |
| 2:30 p.m. | Sabbath services (combined with the Cincinnati/Dayton congregation). |
| 6 p.m. |
Catered barbecue dinner followed by an escape room activity. Feel free to change clothes before dinner. Since our weekend theme is “In the World, but Not of the World,” following dinner and fellowship, we will have an escape room activity, where you will be challenged to “Escape Satan’s World.” |
Sunday, Sept. 4
| 9 a.m. |
Seminars begin. Embassy Suites Blue Ash We will begin the day at the Embassy Suites Blue Ash. We will not be able to provide snacks because of the contractual agreement with the hotel, but we will provide lunch at an alternate location as we head out to our service project. |
| Afternoon |
Lunch and service project. After lunch, the weekend will conclude with a hands-on service project. Details are in the process of being developed. |
Cost
The registration fee for the weekend is $50 per person. This fee includes lunch on Saturday, dinner Saturday night, lunch on Sunday, and conference materials for the weekend. You will be on your own for breakfast.
Housing
You are welcome to make your own housing arrangements, though we do have a block of rooms reserved at the Embassy Suites in Blue Ash.
Embassy Suites in Blue Ash
4554 Lake Forest Drive
Blue Ash, OH 45242
One king bed
$129 (includes breakfast)
Two double beds
$139 (includes breakfast)
Of course, it may be possible to make other housing arrangements to help save on the cost, and we invite you to do such if it makes sense for you.
We look forward to having you in Blue Ash for the 2022 Young Adult Leadership Weekend!
Fort Worth, Texas
The Fort Worth Young Adult Leadership Weekend will begin Friday evening with food and fellowship at the Red Robin located at the Hulen Mall (within walking distance of our hotel). Saturday activities include seminars and Sabbath services at the Fort Worth Orchestra Hall, followed by a group dinner and activities that evening. Sunday will feature more seminars and fellowship in the morning with a chance to work together and benefit others through a meaningful service project in the afternoon.
Venue
Our venue for the YALW sessions is our Fort Worth church hall:
Fort Worth Youth Orchestra Hall
4401 Trail Lake Drive
Fort Worth, TX 76109
Schedule
Friday evening, Sept. 2
| 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. | Welcome dinner (at your own expense) Red Robin, 4700 S. Hulen St., Fort Worth |
Saturday, Sept. 3
| 7:45 – 8:45 a.m. | Hall opens; coffee and light refreshments |
| 9:00 – 10:00 | Keynote message #1: “In the World, but Not of the World” |
| 10:00 – 10:30 | Facilitated discussion on above topic |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Break |
| 11:00 – 12:30 p.m. | “Come Out of Her, My People” presentation and facilitated discussion |
| 12:45 – 2:30 | Lunch served at meeting hall |
| 3:00 – 5:00 | Sabbath services with local Fort Worth congregationl |
| 5:00 – 6:00 | Fellowship at meeting hall) |
| 6:00 – 11:00 | Dinner and “A Night at the Thrift Shop” |
Sunday, Sept. 4
| 7:45 – 8:30 a.m. | Hall opens; coffee and light refreshments |
| 8:30 – 9:30 | “Truth vs. Relativity” presentation and facilitated discussion |
| 9:30 – 10:30 | Keynote message #2: “Blameless and Harmless” |
| 10:30 – 11:30 | Facilitated discussion on the above topic |
| 11:30 – 12:30 p.m. | Lunch served at meeting hall |
| 12:30 – 3:00 | Service project |
A Night at the Thrift Shop
It’s time to break out those “vintage” finds for a night of food, fellowship, group games, prizes for the best dressed, karaoke and much more!
Rules:
1) Sometime before the weekend, go to your nearest thrift store and buy the weirdest/wackiest outfit combination you can find.
2) Spend no more than $15!
3) Come to dinner dressed in your crazy getup.
4) If you go all out, you might just win one of the best prizes ever!
Cost
Registration fee is $50 per person, which includes lunch and dinner Saturday, lunch on Sunday, as well as supplies and a T-shirt for Sunday’s service project. Registration will remain open until Friday, September 2.
If you stay at the hotel, ALL of your meals for the weekend (with the exception of Friday evening) will be paid for by your registration fee. Please contact us if you need assistance with payment of your registration fee.
Pay by Check
Please make your check payable to COGWA–Fort Worth and mail to:
Church of God Fort Worth
P.O. Box 2462
Burleson, TX 76097-2462
The deadline for registration and payment is Monday, Aug. 8.
Hotel
Hampton Inn Fort Worth Southwest Cityview
4799 SW Loop 820
Fort Worth, TX 76132
817-346-7845
(only 6 minutes from our meeting venue)
Check-in: Friday, Sept. 2; check-out: Sunday, Sept. 4.
Two queen beds
$99 per night plus 15% tax (4 guests maximum, no extra person charge)
One king bed
$99 per night plus 15% tax
Rates good until Aug. 2, 2022.
You may also call the hotel directly at 817-346-7845 and mention Church of God group rate to make reservations.
Rooms include a small refrigerator, complimentary hot breakfast, Wi-Fi, parking, indoor saltwater pool and fitness center. Within walking distance of restaurants and a large shopping mall.
Questions?
If you have any questions, please contact Kenneth Giese at [email protected] or 832-573-1450. We look forward to hosting you for this exciting weekend!
Bentonville, Arkansas
Welcome, 2022 northwest Arkansas YALW attendees! Known as the mountain biking capital of the world, northwest Arkansas is an ideal location for hosting the Young Adult Leadership Weekend! Plan to join many other young adults from all over the area as we focus on the theme “In the World, but Not of the World.”
Northwest Arkansas is an easy drive from many neighboring states—and if you plan to fly, Northwest Arkansas National Airport (XNA) is within 25 minutes of the event location.
Schedule
Friday evening, Sept. 2
| 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. |
Welcome drop-in at the Home of the Kapales family (contact Dennis Fultz for address). |
Saturday, Sept. 3
Seminar, Sabbath services, and dance location:
Hope Church Building
1700 Moberly Lane
Bentonville, AR 72712
Dinner location:
Arvest Conference Center
201 NE A Street
Bentonville, AR 72712
***Please park at the 21c Museum Hotel parking structure on Blake Street. Parking is FREE and is a two-minute walk to the conference center
| 8:00 a.m. | Breakfast |
| 8:45 a.m. | Kickoff |
| 9:00 a.m. | Session #1 live webcast from Atlanta (Jim Franks) |
| 10:00 a.m. | Session #1 discussion moderation (Dennis Fultz) |
| 10:30 a.m. | Break |
| 11:00 a.m. | Session #2 "Come Out From Among Her" interactive discussion groups (Tom Clark) |
| 12:30 p.m. | Open |
| 1:00 – 2:15 p.m. | Lunch and coffee klatch with Bentonville congregation (food provided) |
| 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. | Sabbath Services (sermon, Clyde Kilough) |
| 4:30 – 5:45 p.m. | Open |
| 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. | Dinner |
| 7:30 – 8:15 p.m. | Open |
| 8:15 – 10:00 p.m. | Dance |
Sunday, Sept. 4
Seminar location:
Arvest Conference Center
201 NE A Street
Bentonville, AR 72712
***Please park at the 21c Museum Hotel parking structure on Blake Street. Parking is FREE and is a two-minute walk to the conference center.
Optional Activity location:
Coler Mountain Bike Preserve
South Gateway Parking Lot
NW 3rd Street
Bentonville, AR 72712
| 7:30 a.m. | Breakfast |
| 8:00 a.m. | Session #3 "Truth vs. Relativity" (Dennis Fultz) |
| 8:45 a.m. | Session #3 discussion moderation (Clyde Kilough) |
| 9:15 a.m. | Break |
| 9:30 a.m. | Session #4 live webcast from Fort Worth (Joel Meeker) |
| 10:30 a.m. | Session #4 discussion moderation (Tom Clark) |
| 11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. | Lunch |
| 12:30 – 2:30 p.m. | FOI service project "Feed the Funnel" |
| 2:30 p.m. | Concluding remarks and group photo (Dennis Fultz) |
| 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. | (Optional) Coler Preserve and Airship Coffee, Bentonville |
Cost
Registration fee is $20 per person and includes breakfast, lunch and dinner on Saturday and breakfast and lunch on Sunday. It also includes an FOI T-shirt!
Pay by Check
Make checks payable to Church of God, Bentonville and mail checks to:
Dennis Fultz
1 Wembly Circle
Bella Vista, AR 72715
Free Housing
There will be limited housing available with some of the brethren from the Bentonville, Arkansas, congregation. If you need a place to stay Friday and/or Saturday night, please let us know as soon as possible!
Hotel
We have secured a block of rooms at a hotel minutes from the event location:
Quality Inn Hotel
215 SE Walton Boulevard
Bentonville, AR 72712
479-250-9944
Nightly rate: $89 plus 13.5% tax (deluxe double or deluxe king)
Booking deadline: Rooms must be booked on or before Aug. 19.
Questions?
If you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact Dennis Fultz by phone at 479-633-2777 or by email at [email protected].
We hope to see as many young adults as possible!
Atlanta, Georgia
The Atlanta area is excited to welcome you this September for the 2022 Young Adult Leadership Weekend! This year we’ve moved up and out of the city, 50 miles northeast, to beautiful Lake Lanier and adjacent Gainesville, Georgia. Join us for a weekend filled with good food and good friends as we learn and work together in service to our church and community.
Venue
Gainesville Civic Center
Sydney Lanier Room
830 Green St. NE
Gainesville, GA 30501
Overall Schedule
Saturday, Sept. 3
| 9 a.m. | Doors open, light breakfast and coffee |
| 9:50 a.m. | Welcome and introduction |
| 10 a.m. | Keynote #1, followed by discussion |
| 11:30 a.m. | Break |
| 12 noon | Interactive Session |
| 1:30 p.m. | Lunch |
| 2:30 p.m. | Sabbath Services |
| 4:30 p.m. | Break |
| 6 p.m. | Dinner |
| 8 p.m. | Quiplash Game |
| 11 p.m. | Good night |
Sunday, Sept. 4
| 8:30 a.m. | Doors open |
| 9 a.m. | Local seminar, followed by discussion |
| 10:30 a.m. | Keynote #2, followed by discussion |
| 12 noon | Lunch |
| 1 p.m. | Service project |
Activities
Saturday night we’ll all pull out our phones to laugh, play and vote together in a giant group game of Quiplash. Perfect for introverts and extroverts alike, you can participate without being in the hot seat … unless you want to be!
Cost
Registration fee is $38 per person, which includes coffee service all day both days, light breakfast items, lunches both days, dinner Saturday night and an FOI/YALW T-shirt.
If you have a PayPal account (completely free to set up), you can pay quickly and easily by clicking on this link: paypal.me/atlantacogwa. Click “send” and enter $38 for a single registration, or $76 for a couple registration. The default “sending to a friend” setting will incur no fees to either you or us.
If you do not have a PayPal account and prefer to pay via credit card (with a small service charge), click on the Donate button below:
Hotel
We have secured a block of rooms at the Holiday Inn Express, located just 3.2 miles from the Gainesville Civic Center. There are also a few other hotels and a number of motels in the vicinity with rooms at various price points, but please keep in mind that Lake Lanier is a very popular holiday weekend destination and that several weddings have already secured large blocks of rooms in the area, so book early.
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Gainesville–Lake Lanier Area
1189 Dawsonville Hwy. NW
Gainesville, GA 30501
Nightly rate: $169+tax
Group rate code: YAL
Booking deadline: Wednesday, Aug. 3, 5 p.m. Eastern time
As a courtesy, the hotel will extend the same rate to you one night before and after (Sept. 2 and 4), based on availability. Breakfast is included.
Questions?
If you have any questions, need help finding roommates, need transportation to or from Atlanta’s Hartsfield–Jackson Airport, or have any dietary restrictions or allergies, please email us at [email protected], and we will do our best to accommodate. See you soon!
This is a reference list of activities and volunteer opportunities we have planned for the Winter Family Weekend this year. You will be able to make your selections for each when you register.
FREE ACTIVITIES
- Bible Study (general and teen)
- Sabbath Morning Seminars (all ages)
- Sabbath School
- Continuing Education Seminars (all ages)
- Family Dance (all ages)
- Family Fun Fair (all ages)
- Pizza Dinner (Saturday)
- Bunko
- Cornhole
- EEI—Make It, Take It, Teach It! (ages 12 and under with parents)
- Euchre Games/Tournament
- Karaoke (all ages)
- Jam Session (any musician wanting to play with others)
- Live Bands With Dancing (scheduled bands)
- Family Novelty Olympics (all ages)
- Preteen Art Classes (ages 4-7 and 8-12)
- Preteen Games (ages 4-7 and 8-12)
- Preteen Volleyball Clinics (ages 8-12 and 12-18)
- Teen and Young Adult Trivia (ages 12-30ish) (smart device required)
- Teen Volleyball Clinics
FOR-A-FEE ACTIVITIES
- Axe Throwing & Go Karts (Go Karts ages 7+; Axe Throwing, ages 12+) $25 per person
- Main Event (bowling, laser tag, arcade, high ropes, billiards) (preteens, teens and their parents) $14 per person
- Churchill Downs Tour & Lunch (12/26, 12-4 pm) $75 per person
- Progressive Dinner (12/26, 5:15-9:15 pm, ages 18+) $160 per person
SPORTS
$20 per person (ages 13+)
No fee for those 12 and under*
- Volleyball
- Basketball
*Registering a preteen for a teen sport will result in a sports fee
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
- Ensemble (for Sabbath services)
- Help With Family Fun Fair
- Help With Novelty Olympics
- Karaoke
- Pianist for Hymn Singing (Friday evening)
- Pizza Distribution
- Preteen Activities
- Referee Basketball
- Referee Volleyball
- Line Judge Volleyball
- Sabbath School Teacher/Assistant
- Security
- Technical Operations
- Ushering for Services
- WFW Registration Desk
Download Passover Service Instructions
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The Church of God, a Worldwide Association, Inc. (“Church”) regularly receives requests for information from members or supporters who wish to remember the Church in their wills, estate plans, gift plans, life insurance policies, or other estate planning devices. An estate donation to the Church enables you to leave a lasting legacy of sharing the gospel message with others after your death. Charitable donations are often included in a person’s estate plan and can take a variety of forms.
The Church strongly encourages potential donors to obtain independent legal and accounting advice (as applicable) relative to their personal financial objectives and estate plan goals. This article should not be understood as legal or accounting advice.
One way to make an estate donation is by designating it through a will (more formally known as a “last will and testament”). Generally, in a will you declare how your property will be distributed to your beneficiaries upon your death. Each will is unique and must be structured to fit the needs and estate plans of the donor, while complying with the laws of the state, province or nation relevant to the donor’s estate plan.
We strongly recommend consulting with a legal professional, and perhaps other professionals such as an accountant or financial planner, in drafting your will, estate plan, or other documents such as various types of trusts. This will help you feel more assured that your final wishes will be honored.
After considering the needs of your family and loved ones, if you choose to include the Church as a beneficiary in your will, please use the Church’s legal, proper name: “Church of God, a Worldwide Association, Inc.” For purposes of the Church receiving your gift without unnecessary complications, please do not use an abbreviation, such as “COGWA” or “Church of God, aWA.”
Here are other considerations to keep in mind:
- It is important that you independently make your own estate planning decisions. For ethical reasons, and to avoid even the appearance of impropriety, the Church generally cannot become involved in the details of a donor’s estate planning. While there are several reasons for this, one important reason is that the Church wants to see your genuine wishes honored in regard to your estate plan. One of the most helpful things the Church can do concerning your estate planning is refrain from becoming involved in the details.
- While the way in which you choose to make a gift is an independent decision that you should make, designating it as an “unrestricted” gift or bequest provides important advantages to the Church in administering it. Making it “unrestricted” permits the Church to use your gift where the need is greatest. This flexibility allows the Church to respond to changing needs as they arise. On the other hand, the wishes of the donor are important to the Church, and we will do our utmost to honor and properly act upon the donor’s wishes if the gift is designated for a specific purpose.
- In the history of the Church of God, individuals have made planned gifts in a variety of manners. Not all gifts to the Church come by way of a last will and testament; some gifts can be effectively made outside of what is known as “probate.” (“Probate” generally refers to the process by which a court formally administers the instructions contained within a will.) We encourage donors to discuss probate and nonprobate alternatives with their lawyer. For example, subject to applicable law in your state or country, another way to give a gift to the Church may be to set up a “payable on death” (POD) account for money in a bank account or a “transfer on death” (TOD) account if funds are in a brokerage account. These options may or may not be best for your situation, and the Church strongly recommends that you get proper and independent guidance.
- A comprehensive outline of estate planning mechanisms is beyond the scope of this article, and there are many options that our donors have utilized. For example, another alternative is to make a gift to the Church by designating the Church as a beneficiary on a life insurance policy. Still another method is to designate the Church as a beneficiary of a trust.
- If you choose to donate a house or other real estate to the Church, it is particularly important that you consult with a competent lawyer, as these transactions tend to involve special considerations.
The correct information for identifying the Church as a beneficiary is as follows:
Church of God, a Worldwide Association, Inc.
3701 Medical Center Drive
McKinney, TX 75069
Thank you for supporting the sharing of the gospel message now and, if you so choose, after your death through planned giving.
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I never thought I would be posting a “building update” in February, but here it is! Our original date for moving into the new building was last fall, just prior to the Feast of Tabernacles or just afterward. No one thought we would still be in our current office in Allen into the new year.
But the end is in sight! We have good assurance from the builder that he will finish by Feb. 19. After that it will depend on the city of McKinney to issue the final occupancy certificate (OC) or at least a temporary occupancy certificate (TOC). We have another three weeks to go and that should be enough to get everything done. We unfortunately had to pay rent for another month (February) for our Allen office. But because of all the delays, our builder has agreed to help with some of the cost for the additional month.
I visited the building site today (Thursday, Jan. 31) and was very pleased to see the progress since my last visit. I try not to go by every day, although it is tempting to do so. Going by each week gives me a better perspective on what has been done. In the past few days, carpet has been installed, and about 75 percent of the wood paneling is complete. All the tile has been installed in the four bathrooms. We still need to install the vinyl flooring for the two break rooms. The framing for the canopy in the back has been installed, and the canopy itself should be finished by Monday, Feb. 4. Additional canopies have been installed over the windows on the west side of the property.
Most of the trees have been planted, and sod has been installed around the building and grass seed has been sown on the rest of the property. Originally we asked for only minimal landscaping since we were unsure where we would be moneywise as we got to the end of the project. I am happy to report that in spite of the additional costs (some at our request and others because of city requirements) and difficulties along the way, it looks as though we will have money left in our budget to add more landscaping and to do additional work on the studio.
We have contracted with a moving company to move our furniture from Allen to McKinney on Monday, Feb. 25. Our last day of work in the “old” place in Allen will be Friday, Feb. 22. Our plan is to move all the technical equipment—computers, servers, etc. on Saturday night and Sunday (Feb. 23 and 24). Then everything else will be moved on Monday. When the furniture arrives, we should have all our computers, servers and other equipment up and running. So, there should be very little downtime. Also, we were able to contract with a moving company for several thousand dollars less than we originally budgeted. In spite of the frustration with this process, we are seeing several remarkable things occurring here at the very end.
Interestingly, we moved into the Allen office on Tuesday, March 6, 2012. A little over a month from now we will celebrate our seventh anniversary in the Dallas area. I am happy to report that it appears (barring any further delays) that by March 6, 2019, we will be a full week into our new office! All of this is quite amazing, but the credit goes to God our Father, who has made all this possible!
Thank you for all your support. Please enjoy the video that accompanies this message. It won’t be long until we will be reporting from our new address: 3701 Medical Center Drive, McKinney, TX 75069.
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I wish I had better news for this week’s update. We hold regular meetings with Highland Builders every two weeks on Thursday morning. This Thursday, Jan. 10, we held our 31st meeting. The building superintendent for our project informed us that there have been some additional delays. This was not the news we had hoped to hear. He recounted the weather delays that began last fall and have continued into the new year. We lost 16 workdays in September and October because of more than 30 inches of rain—the wettest September and October on record for the North Texas area. This pattern got better in December, but it was still very wet. Since Dec. 1, we have lost an additional six workdays due to rain. And it wasn’t just the days lost due to rain, additional time was lost because of the wetness of the ground. All in all, we have seen more than a month of delays since we began the project last year.
The good news is that we are getting really close to the completion date. In our contract with Highland Builders there is a definite date for completion, but that date is movable if there are delays beyond the control of the builder, such as the weather. The contract date is important because of a financial penalty the builder must pay if the project goes beyond that date. With the latest delays, our new contract date is Feb. 19. Highland feels confident they will meet this date barring any additional weather delays, but in reality the weather is less of a factor now that the building has been closed in. We now hope to move in between Feb. 15 and Feb. 19. And since our landlord requires that we pay for a full month at a time, we have an additional 10 days’ latitude for the move. Our goal now is to be fully operational in the new building by March 1.
While it is disappointing each time we deal with a delay, we are doing just fine. We can continue operating from our current office through the month of February if needed. Our landlord was gracious enough to allow us to extend our current lease by one more month. Originally, we were due to be out by Jan. 31. Now that date has been moved to Feb. 28. This means that the video studio will be shut down at the end of January. We must disassemble everything—green screen, equipment, stage and lights—and reassemble it all in the new building. In order to make this work, we will cease all recording during the first three weeks of February. We hope to begin recording again with In Accord on Feb. 28. That should be exciting—our first video effort from our new studio!
We are learning a lot about patience with this project, but that has not dampened our enthusiasm. Each week when I go by the building—or when I drive home in the evening and view it from the freeway—I get excited.
I hope that over time many of you will be able to visit us here in the Dallas area and take a look at the building. It is an office building, not a place of worship. It isn’t ostentatious, but it has many beautiful, high-quality features. After almost three years of planning, we are ready to move in! Please view the drone footage from this week to get a good overview of what has been done.
Jim Franks
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This will be my last building update for this calendar year. I wish I could announce that the building is complete, but that hasn’t happened. Prior to the Feast, we were given the date of Dec. 21 for completion, but then we experienced September and October, the two wettest months on record for a September and October with more than 30 inches of rain. We lost approximately 16 working days, or a little over three weeks.
The most recent completion date given to us by Highland Builders is the last week of January. Our lease here in Allen ends on Jan. 31, so we are still okay, but we will be pushing it a bit. We did lose a few more days in November and December because of weather.
I visited the site on Wednesday (Dec. 19) and saw good progress since our last meeting on Thursday, Dec. 13. Tile has been installed in the men’s and women’s restrooms. This is an upgrade from the original plan, and I believe everyone will be impressed by the quality. There is a different tile in each of the bathrooms, which adds to the beauty of the building.
The lower cabinets have been installed in the two break rooms.We are now waiting on the countertops, and then the upper cabinets will go in. These have all been custom-constructed at the cabinet shop, and we are just waiting on the countertops.
The big news this week is the delay in pouring the remaining concrete. Because everyone is so busy and our remaining concrete is only a small amount, we are having trouble getting the trucks scheduled. We think that problem has been resolved,and we are now scheduled to pour on Friday. Here is the front of the building where the sidewalks are ready for concrete.
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After the sidewalks are poured and all the scaffolding is removed, the black tile for the seven pillars at the entrance will be installed. Since our building is the only construction on this portion of Medical Center Drive, it will make a big statement. Already you can see it from US-75, a half mile away. A 30-foot-tall entrance makes it appear much bigger than a single-story building.
We are eager to get it finished and get moved in, but we are learning to be patient!
Take a look at the drone footage from this past week.
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In our meeting with Highland Builders on Thursday, Nov. 29, we were given the date of Jan. 18 as the completion date for the building. This assumes no more lost work days due to weather. We may need to wait a few days beyond Jan. 18 to get the final occupancy certificate (OC) from the city of McKinney. However, we have been told that even if we don’t get the final OC on that date, we could get a TOC (temporary occupancy certificate), which would allow us to move all our furniture and equipment into the building. We just won’t be able to work from the building until that final certificate is obtained. We have tentatively chosen Monday, Jan. 21, as our move-in date. We would appreciate your prayers that all goes well.
Even as I write these words, it seems unreal that we are almost done! This has been a long project, which has taken almost three years. There were a number of challenging days along the way, but now it seems that all our efforts are about to come to fruition. Ever since we began this project, we have sought God’s support and His blessing. This year, after beginning construction in January, we have clearly seen God’s hand in the project. Each time there was an obstacle, an answer was provided. It seems as though in a building project like this everything can be fixed with money! Some of these additional expenses were created by the city of McKinney, and others were caused by our desire to upgrade from the original plan. Our goal from the beginning was to pay for the building with a mortgage and with cash that we had in the building fund and our reserves. Amazingly, even after paying for all the upgrades and the requirements from the city of McKinney, our reserves are virtually the same as they were on Jan. 1 of this year, and we have taken nothing away from our approved budget for 2018. I am amazed myself as to how that actually happened. Of course, a big factor was having a year-to-date increase of 9 percent over our income in 2017.
The building itself is completely enclosed. The interior walls have been painted with a primer coat, and the final coat will go on in the next few days. There is only one section of stone that has not yet been installed on the outside. The steel canopies over the front entrance and the side entrance have been installed, and in a few more days the steel canopies over the back, outside the two break rooms, will be installed along with the canopies over the windows on the west side of the building. Each of these is custom-made and requires a reinforcing of the building at the location where it will be hung. And next Tuesday the black tile will be installed on the seven pillars that surround the lobby, and the concrete for the sidewalks around the front entrance will be poured. A week from now, the front entrance will look noticeably different!
There is still a lot of work to be done in the studio, the lobby, the conference room and the two break rooms. The cabinets for the break rooms have been built and are on-site, waiting for installation. Some of the interior doors have arrived and will be installed after the painters are finished. The ceiling tiles have been installed, and just today (Dec. 6) the ceiling inspector from the city of McKinney gave us a passing inspection on the ceiling. And, yes, McKinney has a different inspector for each facet of the building. I believe they have more than 100 inspectors on their payroll. Next week the fire marshal will inspect the interior sprinkler system. If that passes inspection, then all the walls can be closed in and the remaining ceiling tiles can be installed.
Our biggest challenge remains the studio. The original plans, for some reason, called for minimal soundproofing. We are convinced that if we had constructed the room as drawn on the plans, we would have major issues with any recording done in the studio. After hours of discussing, we now have a plan to remedy the problem. There should be no additional delay as far as the completion date, but it was a bit frustrating, time-consuming and more expensive than we thought.
We are now interviewing moving companies to help us with the move. We have been pleasantly surprised to get quotes from three companies. All three were about half the price we anticipated, and all three, after inventorying our equipment, concluded they could make the move in one day. That means disassembling all our desks and office equipment, transporting it the 6 miles or so to the new building and reassembling everything, all in a 24-hour period. If this does work out, we may only lose a day or two in making the transition. At the present time, it does appear that we have an excellent chance of making a seamless transition from our 8,000 square feet of leased space in Allen, Texas, to our 17,000 square feet of new office space in McKinney, Texas, by the third week of January. What an exciting time that will be!
We have some new drone footage posted with this update. If you have been following the construction story via video, I believe you will recognize some major changes in the latest video. Please continue to pray that all will go well with the completion of the building. Three years is a long time for one project! It is hard to believe that we are almost there!
Jim Franks
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After almost two months of record-setting rainfall (30 inches in September and October), November has been more promising. The rain has stopped for the most part, giving us several good days for working on the building. Most of the ledge stone is up on the backside of the building and on the section where Foundation Institute will be located, but because of the muddy landscape, the workers are unable to get close enough to install the stone on the long west side of the building. The rain was so severe that it has created a muddy, swamplike area around the building, preventing the workers from finishing up on the outside. Most of the work this week is taking place inside.
Next week Oncor, the electric company that provides power to this part of McKinney, should install the transformer for the building. We already have the approval from the City of McKinney for the electrical work in the building, so as soon as the transformer is put in place, we will have power throughout the building. Once all the windows and doors are in place, we can close up the building, which means we won’t have any further weather delays, at least for the interior work.
We’re excited to see what has been done and eager to get it all done. When you walk into the lobby area, you are struck by the height of the building—30 feet in this area. We have approved a design for the lobby that will be quite impressive. How much we do with granite and marble will depend on our funds when we get to the point of completion, but I believe the lobby, the conference rooms, and the FI classroom will be very impressive.
The two large break rooms with expansive windows that will look out over a nice, gardenlike area in the back should be very attractive and will provide quality places for our employees and students to have lunch and participate in special dinners and other activities. It is also impressive walking down the main corridor. With a 12-foot ceiling and a wide hallway, you have the feeling of an open space and not one that is closed in.
Before the next building update, the power should be on throughout the building; windows and doors should be installed; and the outside stone work should be completed. At least that is what we are being told.
One major concern that hasn’t been completely resolved is the soundproofing of the studio. Once we saw the interior of the studio as it was being constructed, we raised questions about soundproofing. After consulting with sound professionals, we were convinced that as the studio was being constructed it would not have enough soundproofing. We are asking Highland to go back and make sure this room is adequately soundproofed. This will add to the cost of the building, but we cannot accept a studio that isn’t soundproof! We are working with Highland to resolve the problem, and we expect to have a solution within a few more days.
Everything else is going well, and we are still hopeful for occupancy in January. I hope you enjoy the latest video, which will give you a bird’s-eye view of the progress. The next update will be in December.
Jim Franks
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One word summarizes the biggest news for this building update—rain! Rain, rain and more rain! We have not seen the devastating rainfall that south central Texas has received, which resulted in terrible flooding, but the same series of weather systems has dumped extraordinary amounts on us here in north Texas.
For example, the city of McKinney, where the new office is located, averages 3.15 inches of rain in September and 4.24 inches in October. This year we had 12.44 inches in September and, so far, 8.81 inches in October! Cumulatively, for the past two months we have had three times the normal amount of rainfall. This is already the second-wettest October ever in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, and we still have a week to go with more rain in the forecast. One weatherman noted on the local news that we had more rain in the six-week period from Sept. 1 to Oct. 14 than we had in the first eight months of the year! Another month like this, and we’ll be thinking about redesigning everything so we can work out of an ark!
While all this rain has not stopped progress on the building construction, it has certainly slowed it significantly. Major exterior work especially, such as masonry, stucco and exterior glass installation, has been impossible on many days. Most of the building is dried-in, thankfully, which has allowed a lot of interior work (electrical, for example) to proceed for the most part during the rainy days. But even some of that has been slowed. For instance, the drywall installation has slowed because all the moisture in the air makes it take longer for the joint compound to dry.
Our concern, of course, is how this impacts our move-in date. When builders create their construction timelines, they have formulas, based on historical averages, by which they calculate how many rain days they expect to lose in the process. We have now used up all of the projected rain days, which means they have had to recalculate our projected move-in date. The rain, plus some additional design changes, now makes our completion date look more like it will be in mid- to late-January.
That could all change, of course. There is an old saying here: “If you don’t like the weather in Texas, wait a minute!” We could just as easily see a shift to a streak of dry weather as we saw the unusual rain. As another saying goes, “You have to play the hand you’re dealt,” so that’s what we’re doing. But we’re also praying for a stretch of good weather that may allow us to catch up as much as possible. We’ll keep you informed!
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Upon returning from the Feast of Tabernacles, we were truly excited to see the progress that’s been made on the building! The roof has been completed, and the air-conditioning units have all been installed. Throughout the building, the air-conditioning ductwork has been installed, along with the sprinkler system. Most of the preliminary wiring is complete, and we are waiting for Oncor (the power company) to install the transformer. When that is done, we will have electricity throughout the building.
Most of the inner walls have been completed as well. You can now walk around in the building and go from room to room. We were all impressed by the size of our new conference room. It will be more than double the size of our current one and should seat 40 or more people comfortably. Currently, we have trouble getting all 23 employees into the conference room for staff meetings.
Everything seems to be on schedule. There is still a lot of work left to be done: all the stone and masonry must be put on the outside of the building; glass must be installed in all the windows, doors and the main entryway; the black tile for the seven pillars in the entryway must be attached; all the interior tile and carpet must be installed; and the landscaping must be completed. All of these jobs will begin shortly. The completion of the building is scheduled for the last week of December, but because of the Christmas holidays, we anticipate that the city won’t release the final occupancy permits until after Jan. 1. That is okay with us. The lease in our current building is good until the end of January.
With only a few weeks remaining, we are getting estimates from various moving companies to relocate everything the 6 miles or so between our current building and the new one. We are also looking at some new furniture (or used furniture, depending on the best price) that will be needed in the new office. For the most part, we plan to simply pick up what we have, move to the new building and begin working right away. We will only purchase new furniture and equipment as we have need.
The video below is from the end of last week, but it gives you an idea of how far we have come just since we all left for the Feast. I hope you are enjoying watching the new building come together. We are getting close to its completion!
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My first reaction to seeing the building after more than a week was, How big it is! I am very pleased that the building itself looks quite impressive. The height is 30 feet at the entrance, dropping down to 24 feet in the office area. It really looks like a two- or three-story building even though it is only one story. Our desire from the beginning was to have an open feel to the office, with high ceilings throughout. The studio will be open to the roofline, which will be quite impressive when completed.
I was able to walk around in the offices this week, since the walls have mostly all been framed. The roof is in place and now being sealed. The parapet around the top, where the air-conditioning units will go, is in place as well. About half of the outer skin is on the building, now waiting for the masonry and the stone. The fins (or pillars) are being framed this week. These are framed with plywood, but the outer surface will be a beautiful black tile, which has been shipped from Italy. The tile actually arrived in Houston via ship just last week and will be loaded onto a truck and brought to the site when the time is right for installation. The stone for the siding is scheduled to be delivered next week.
We did lose some time this week because of rain, but overall, we are still on schedule. We will lose more time this month because of the holy days, but we knew that from the beginning. We are still on schedule to finish the building and move in by the first week of January. That is only 17 weeks away!
Below are a couple of pictures that I took this afternoon (Thursday, Sept. 6) that give you an overview of what has been done. We also have some drone footage attached that was taken on Tuesday of this week. I hope you enjoy seeing these videos. Chantelle Breidenthal is our editor and Kelly Cunningham is our “pilot.” Together, every two weeks, they produce a quality product that gives you a bird’s-eye view of what has taken place.
This is my last update until after the Feast. I expect there will be some major changes to report at that time!
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“It looks like a building!” After weeks of seeing only a slab of concrete on our property, it is so exciting to see an actual structure taking shape! This week more progress was made. We held our 20th meeting with the builder (Highland Builders) on Thursday, Aug. 16. Our pattern is to hold meetings every two weeks on Thursday. Then on the off week I write a building update. Even in weeks that we don’t have a scheduled meeting, I still find myself going to the property on my way to work Thursday mornings.
The outside steel structure is mostly completed and will be finished by the end of this week or the first of next week. The windows have been framed in; the ductwork for the air-conditioning and heating has been completed; and the air-conditioning and heating units have arrived. As you can imagine, to heat and cool a building this size (17,000 square feet) requires a lot of muscle, especially for cooling. The heating is minimal when you live in this part of the country, but air-conditioning is extremely important. I counted eight large units sitting in the parking lot waiting to be placed on the roof. These should be up early next week.
Once the outside is completely framed, the outside skin will be put in place, which will be followed by the stone and masonry exterior. We are at a critical point in the building when it comes to making any changes. Several from the Media department were on the property this morning, checking out the details in the new studio. We have to make sure all electrical plugs are in the right locations and that all the walls are where they should be.
Even though the plans have been completed for several weeks, there are still details that can slip through the cracks. One detail that had to be decided was the height of the studio ceiling. The northern part of the building is actually 30 feet in height. The idea was to have the studio with an open ceiling all the way up to the roof line, but we don’t really need 30 feet in the studio, so we may lower that ceiling to 20 feet or 24 feet. Now is the time to make this adjustment and not once all the steel has been put in place. There are a thousand little details that need to be decided, and it is difficult keeping up with it all. I am so happy that we have people here in the office who can help oversee all of this. It would be impossible for one person to do so!
Take a look at the pictures below that I took this morning (Thursday) along with the drone footage from earlier this week. Chantelle Breidenthal edits the raw footage taken by the drone and turns it into a neat short film, replete with music! When the project is finished, these will make a wonderful video of how things progressed from start to finish.
Our next building update will be Friday, Sept. 6, which will be our last one until after the Feast!
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On Aug. 2, we held our 20th meeting on the building site with Highland Builders. We are making progress! The major news this week is the completion of the steel outer structure and the first covering of aluminum for the roof.
The frame for the air-conditioning units that goes on top of the building has also been installed. The city of McKinney requires that we build a blind around the roof (sort of like a parapet) to prevent anyone from seeing the air-conditioning units that will be installed on the roof. Living in North Texas, where the temperatures get into the 100-degree-Fahrenheit range, you know how important air-conditioning is. It will require more than one large unit to adequately cool the building, with 17,000 square feet of space. As soon as the roof is completed, the units will be installed so that they will be ready to go once the building is enclosed and interior work begins. Without the air-conditioning, it would be unbearable to work inside the building.
The superintendent on the job for Highland, Kelly Bradbury, informed us at the meeting that we have not experienced any delays in the past three weeks. So we are currently on a good streak when it comes to building.
Of course, the work crews will lose four work days in September and early October because of the holy days. The first Monday in September is also a national holiday. Essentially, for the month of September, the crews will only be working four-day workweeks when you take into consideration the fact that Monday, Sept. 3, is Labor Day; Monday, Sept. 10, is the Feast of Trumpets; Wednesday, Sept. 19, is the Day of Atonement; Monday, Sept. 24, is the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles; and Monday, Oct. 1, is the Last Great Day. Although these days were all planned for in the original schedule, there will still be some additional delay that will impact the finish date of the building, but we are fine with that.
Earlier this week, Kelly Bradbury sent us some pictures from the site that I thought you would be interested in seeing. These pictures give you an idea of how much steel has now been installed. The roof is basically enclosed and the side walls should be going up in the next couple of days. Once the building is enclosed, which should be in 10 to 14 days, the interior walls will be constructed. We have ordered all the stone that will be on the outside of the building, and the tile for the front is on its way from Italy. All is looking good!
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In addition to the pictures, I am sure you will enjoy the latest drone footage that has been taken over the past couple of weeks and is attached to this update.
The next update will be on Friday, Aug. 24. We are finally getting there! As of today, the project is at the halfway point based on the estimated number of work days required for completion.
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Even though today is not the date for a regularly scheduled building update, because of the progress we have made in the past few days, we wanted to get this recent video out to everyone right away. With this report, we are adjusting our schedule slightly to provide you with biweekly updates, but on the off weeks from our regular meetings with the builder. The new update schedule will be as follows:
Aug. 10, 2018
Aug. 24, 2018
Sept. 7, 2018
This will take us right up to the Feast of Trumpets. Since many of us will be leaving for the Feast the day before Atonement, we may need to adjust the schedule to account for the time away for the Feast. So, it is likely that the Sept. 7 report will be the final one until after the Feast of Tabernacles.
I am happy to report that this week was a very busy week at the building site. We were told in our meeting with the builder on Thursday, July 19, that as soon as we received the one final permit from the McKinney Fire Department we would “go vertical.” That meant that the steel girders would be put in place.
It was par for the course that it took another full day to get the fire department on-site for an inspection. This finally took place on Friday morning, July 20. Within an hour after the fire department signed off on the permit to actually begin building the structure, the crane began lifting the girders in place. The workmen then bolted them to the foundation. In this week’s video you will see the girders being bolted into place and an actual structure beginning to take shape.
Before the end of the day on Friday, more than half of the steel had been installed. Then on Monday, July 23, the rest of the exterior steel was moved into place, and the roof trusses were added. Within a few days, the shell for the building will be complete, and the roof will be installed. We are now hopeful that within the next two weeks the entire building will be enclosed.
I hope you will enjoy watching this all take place on the attached video. It is truly exciting to see the outline of the building taking shape! We can now see how it will look on the lot, and we are very happy. God has truly blessed us! Two years ago, it was difficult to even imagine this could actually happen!
Don’t forget, the next report will be posted in two weeks, on Aug. 10.
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Each week we are seeing additional progress with the building. The weather is still a factor, with temperatures predicted to reach 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) in the Dallas area over the weekend. Hopefully there will be a break by the middle of next week, when the temperature is predicted to drop back into the 90s.
We now have all the concrete poured, which was a big challenge given the extremely hot weather. The effect of the hot weather is now mostly with the workers. It is dangerous for anyone working outside in these extreme temperatures, so much of the work is still being done in the mornings when the temperature is a “cool” 90 degrees.
With all the concrete poured and the fire lanes marked off, we are ready for one more inspection from the city. Before we can erect any steel structure, the McKinney Fire Department must sign a statement saying we are compliant with all fire lane requirements. During our meeting on Thursday, July 19, Highland informed us that once we receive the approval from the fire department and have it confirmed by the city, we can begin construction of the building itself within the hour. At the close of work on Thursday, we were still waiting on the final approval from the fire department.
I am writing this report on Friday morning and before the day is over, we expect to see steel pillars being lowered into position by a large crane and then bolted to the foundation. I believe there are 30 of these steel pillars. Once this is done, the outside walls will begin taking shape, followed by the roof. Within a couple of weeks, the building should be enclosed. I am told things “really go fast” when you reach this point in construction. I have to admit with all the delays, I am more than ready for things to “really go fast.”
Please check out this week’s drone footage from the property. We continue to do these videos every two week so you can have a visual idea of how things are going. Excitement is certainly growing! I will write another update in two weeks.
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Officially, we held our 18th meeting with Highland Builders on Thursday, July 5. This is the 18th meeting since we signed a contract with Highland in December of 2017. We spent most of the previous year purchasing land and working on the floor plan for a potential office building. I can’t even tell you how many internal meetings we had during those days.
After months of work and multiple meetings, we are beginning to see real visible progress. This week the concrete for the driveways and parking areas was poured. We now have a concrete foundation, two driveways and most of the parking completed. Very soon now we will begin to see the steel structure go up. From the beginning, we determined to build a modest, but functional office that will serve the needs of the Church for many years to come. Our total square footage will be 17,000, with plans for expansion when needed.
The major news this week is the weather. We are well into the heat of the summer. Unfortunately, temperatures in the 100-degree range can have an adverse effect when pouring new concrete. Most companies will not pour when the temperature exceeds 95 degrees because of the potential difficulties with the end product. When the temperature is this hot in North Texas, concrete is poured at night or early in the morning. The city of McKinney will not allow us to pour at night, so we must do all the pouring early in the morning before the temperature exceeds the 95-degree mark. This has caused some delay.
If the city had not delayed us more than two months at the beginning of the project, we would have been at the stage for pouring concrete in March and April, instead of June and July, and would have avoided the extreme heat. But we are all very happy to see the concrete in place and the building taking shape. We can’t wait for the steel to go up. Current plans are for the remainder of the steel to be delivered by July 16, and the construction of the actual building to begin on that day.
Current plans also call for the building to be completely enclosed by the first week of September. After that, it will be the interior finish work, and then sometime around the first of the year, occupancy! Of course, there can still be delays along the way. We must pass at least two more city inspections (fire and final occupancy) before we can move in. If we can catch a break and get everything working well together, we could still finish the building before the end of the year. But as things currently stand, the date we are looking at is the first week of January 2019. That will be a truly great day!
Please be sure to take a look at the attached video. Kelly Cunningham is doing a great job chronicling what is going on at the building site. In this edition, he has drone footage and an interview with the project superintendent, Kelly Bradbury. I believe you will find it very interesting.
Our next update will be in two weeks, after our 19th meeting!
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On Thursday, June 21, we held our latest biweekly meeting with Highland Builders and CBRE. To refresh your memory, Highland is the general contractor for our new office building, and CBRE is providing project management for the construction.
While there have been a few weather delays in the past two weeks, considerable progress has been made on the site. You will see quite a change in the drone footage for this week’s update. Once again, our drone pilot, Kelly Cunningham, has done an excellent job capturing the progression of the building. A lot of concrete has been poured during the past two weeks. The slab has been poured; the underground drainage is complete; the retaining wall has been finished; the bike path is partially complete; and the lime stabilization for the perimeter driveway has been completed. Today (Friday, June 22) we expect the construction of the forms and the steel to be complete for pouring the perimeter driveway. It may not be complete until next week, but we are getting close to another round of concrete pouring.
There is a lot of concrete left to be poured, and because of the excessive heat at this time of year, ice will be added to the concrete to keep it from getting too hot. Once the outside temperature gets above 95 degrees, this becomes a necessity. The temperature here in the McKinney area is predicted to be over 100 degrees for the next several days. Due to the rain we had earlier in the week, we are now approximately three days behind our proposed schedule. This is still within the range of what we can make up. The project is still scheduled to be completed by the end of December or the first week of January. Depending on how much time we can make up, we are hopeful to finish several days prior to this date. By adding in the weather delays, early January is now the contract date for completion.
We have now designed a very nice sign that will sit at the main driveway when you enter the property. Our plans are in the hands of the architect for final specifications. In order to make sure the sign doesn’t begin to tilt over time, we will need a concrete base with piers going down into the ground. The upper surface of the soil in this area is very porous and subject to shifting, but we are blessed with the fact that we don’t have to go too far down to reach a layer of rock. Once we get the final design for the sign, we will share it with everyone.
Next week we have a “water sounding” company coming on-site to do water testing. Given the high cost of water in this area, we are considering drilling our own well, especially to handle the landscape watering that will be required. Once the company provides us with a report on the location and quantity of water underground, we will make a decision as to whether it will be cost-effective for us to drill our own well on the property or simply depend on the city water.
We had one piece of really good news this week. When we made the original plans for the parking lot and driveway, we realized there was more concrete than we were going to need. The city had already approved the original plan, and the pricing from the general contractor was based on that amount of concrete. Since we have scaled that back in more recent plans, we will be getting a rebate on the cost of the concrete. Today the general contractor indicated that this rebate could be as much as $40,000. This will go a long way toward offsetting the several “surprises” we have received in the construction to this point. This is the first substantial item of savings we have seen, so it was indeed welcome.
Take a look at the drone footage and watch the building as it continues to come together. Our next update will be in two weeks and should show a lot more concrete. Thank you for your support! It has been very encouraging to know that everyone is praying for this project and that many have been able to contribute to it financially!
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Last week’s long-term forecast of hot and dry days ahead took an unexpected turn Sunday night as the first in a series of storms rolled through north Texas. At our building site in McKinney we saw 3 inches of rain over three of the next four days! We dodged the surprise hailstorm that hit nearby sections of the Dallas area early Wednesday morning. The Insurance Council of Texas estimated that as many as 20,000 home insurance and 25,000 automobile insurance claims would be filed, totaling between $400 and $500 million in damages!
Rain is a mixed blessing. In Texas, generally speaking, we always like to see rain—but it obviously seriously impacted the site work this week. For example, the city won’t do certain inspections during rainy periods, so some of those scheduled inspections were delayed by three to seven days. Weather permitting, over time the builder hopes to catch up on these schedule delays.
In the meantime, with the foundation poured last week, the next big step is to form and pour the driveways and fire lane, so preparatory work is currently being done for that. In this week’s meeting we went through the usual status report on the many areas of the construction, such as schedule updates, design changes, furnishings, utilities, data/security, tile and stone, irrigation, sign design, etc. It seems like there are hundreds of details that are constantly being adjusted, so every two weeks the bulk of our Thursday morning meeting consists of discussing these areas.
We’ll be back on June 22 with the next report and new video with more progress to show!
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This week we expected to see the concrete foundation poured, but that wasn’t to be. Everything is ready—the frame is in place, the steel is in place, along with the plumbing and the electrical wiring. There was one minor issue. The concrete was scheduled to arrive today, Friday, May 25, but the builder felt there wasn’t enough time to finish the job in one day, and they knew we did not allow any work on Saturday. So, rather than getting caught in the middle of the project, they chose to delay it until next week. The new date for pouring is now Tuesday, May 29, since Monday is a holiday.
We will actually lose a couple of days, but we are fine with that. Our working relationship with Highland Builders has proven to be a wonderful one, and they have been willing to adhere to our requirements for days when no work can be done. In spite of losing a few days in the building process, we are all much happier with this outcome rather than being pushed to allow work on Saturday. Highland didn’t even ask us, they simply rescheduled.
In spite of the disappointment that the slab was not poured this week, there is still a lot going on. If you take a look at the attached video, you will see how the area is changing almost daily. In our meeting on Thursday, we walked around the building site with our hard hats on and marveled at the extensive underground drainage that is now in place. On the back side of the property, we also inspected the stone retaining wall that was completed this week.
Once the foundation is completed and allowed to “cure” for a few days, the steel superstructure will go up. Highland is telling us that at this stage they should be able to make up several of the lost days. The weather here in Dallas is predicted to be hot and dry with no rain on the horizon. The temperature is rising each day and is predicted to reach over 100 by the middle of next week. With no rain in the forecast, a lot should be accomplished in the next couple of weeks.
There isn’t much more to report from this week. Our next update will be in two weeks, and I anticipate there will be more to see, especially with the foundation being poured next week and the superstructure built the week following. This process has been long already, and there is much more to go! Today was our 15th meeting with the builder since work began on the property. There will be many more meetings, but it is exciting to see the changes each time we visit the property.
Please enjoy the drone footage that is attached. Once again, Kelly Cunningham, our drone pilot, has done an excellent job of capturing the work as it is taking place.
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We held our bi-weekly meeting with Highland Builders and our project manager from CBRE on Thursday, May 10. This was the first time I had been on the property in two weeks. Progress! It is great to see progress! We did lose two days last week due to heavy rain in the area. This gives us a total of three days of rain delay in the past month. So we are a couple of days behind schedule, but we should be able to catch up with the very nice weather we are now having in the area. Although the temperature is reaching 90 degrees, the humidity is low enough that it still feels comfortable.
The framing for the foundation is now going into place, and the plumbing is completed up to the building. In the next few days, the plumbers will install the plumbing in the foundation itself. All the piers (a total of 26) have been poured and some additional concrete has been poured around the exterior of the foundation. In the next few days, the steel rebar will be installed in the foundation itself. We should actually see the foundation being poured in the next week to 10 days if the weather continues to cooperate.
On the back side of the building, there is a rather extensive underground drainage that is being installed, but is virtually completed. Because this will be the major drainage for the entire property, it needs to be extensive. Since we informed the city that we are planning for another building on the north end of the property, they are insisting that we provide enough drainage for the entire property from day one. This is okay with us, but it was an added expense.
Within a couple of days, work will begin on the retaining wall that will run the entire length of the building on the east side. One issue that came up in our meeting today is whether we should put a railing on top of the retaining wall. This may be a good idea for safety reasons since the drop off from the top of the wall is about five feet in some locations. I believe we would rather err on the side of safety than to take a risk of someone falling. Normally no one should be in this area, but you simply never know.
We are very close to completing the design of the sign that will sit in the corner of our driveway and Medical Center Drive. We are considering a triangular shape that will be visible from both directions when traveling on Medical Center Drive. The current design we are considering will be made of stone that matches the building with a dark plate on which our “logo” will appear—Church of God, a Worldwide Association—with the street address “3701” appearing at the bottom. I hope that in my next update I will have a drawing of the sign to share with everyone.
We have attached some excellent drone footage from this week. I believe this will give you a good idea of the amount of work done in the past two weeks. Personally, I really appreciate the video we have from the drone in these building updates and I want to thank Kelly Cunningham from the office for all his work he has done as the “pilot” of the drone. Our next building update will be in two weeks.
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Yesterday, April 26, we held our weekly meeting with Highland Builders and our project manager from CBRE. This was our 13th meeting. We are all becoming quite comfortable with one another, which is a good thing. You really want to have a good relationship with all those who are part of this kind of project. Even when there is bad news, such as schedule delays or additional costs, it is easier to work through them when you have a good relationship with all those involved.
This has been a very good week for progress. Even though we lost a day because of rain, we are still on target to get the piers poured by April 30, which is according to the work schedule. We are getting closer, only days away to pouring some serious concrete—the foundation and all the driveways and parking lots.
To give you an idea of the amount of work that has been done, there are 60 piers that must be drilled and poured under the foundation. These piers are concrete, about 2 feet in diameter and must go deep enough to hit rock. Normally this is estimated to be 14 to 20 feet in this area. Unfortunately, the depth is varying by as much as 8 feet, and in some cases they are having to drill down 24 feet before hitting rock. The contracted price for the piers was based on an average depth of 16 feet. Once all 60 are poured, we will know if there will be some additional costs for the concrete and the added depth for the drilling. The good news is that we had 47 piers drilled and poured before the rains came. We only have 13 more to drill and pour, which can easily be done in a day once the ground dries out a bit more. This should put us no later than Monday, April 30, for completion of this aspect of the building—and should keep us on schedule.
This week we also took the drone out and recorded the drilling of the piers. Hopefully, you are enjoying the videos we are getting from the drone. When we are done with the building, we will be able to review the drone footage and produce a documentary of our first major building project in Church of God, a Worldwide Association.
Also in yesterday’s meeting we had an update from Oncor (the electric provider for our area). They have given us an estimate of 12 weeks before we can have the transformer in place and get power to the building. If this turns out to be correct, then we should be okay. Currently we are using generators to power the trailer and any tools that are needed. Once we get the structure up, we will definitely need something more substantial than a generator to power the job site. We are hopeful that Oncor has given us a realistic time frame to get their part done. The trenching along the front side of the property has to be completed before electric lines can be pulled. This is a distance of more than 400 feet from the southern corner of our property, where the nearest power pole is located. This has to be done before the transformer and other work connected to the power can be completed.
Since we have agreed to meet every two weeks with the builder instead of every week, we will adjust the posted update schedule to every two weeks as well. I hope that by the next report (scheduled for May 11) you will see some actual concrete being poured!
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Finally, we are truly making progress. In fact, the builder informed us yesterday that we are about two days ahead of schedule in getting the pad site ready for the concrete. After all the delays, it is good to hear the words “ahead of schedule.” Of course, that must be put into the context of starting two months late!
Yesterday, April 19, we held our weekly meeting with Highland Builders and our project manager from CBRE. Mostly this was to update us on the progress since our last meeting, on April 12. Most of the work this week was underground. In order to connect up with the sewer and water, we have to dig a wide trench from the southern edge of the property to the building site. This is roughly 400 feet. Most of this work was accomplished in the past few days, but there is still a ways to go. The trench has been dug from the corner of the frontage road on the south side, across the dry pond area, and now only the short distance to the building itself remains. All of this must be completed before any concrete can be poured.
Much of our meeting was spent discussing what our sign out front will look like. Even though we are several months away from the time a sign will be constructed, we have to know its location and size now. It will be much less expensive if we have a design and location scoped out before they finish pouring all the concrete. That will make it possible for us to pour the base for the sign at the same time. As far as location, we are planning to erect the sign at the major entrance on the south side, which will line up with Gateway, the street that runs perpendicular into Medical Center Drive.
As far as the design, we are looking at something simple that will have the Church logo (name) and the address (3701 Medical Center Drive). We must decide if we want the sign to be parallel to Medical Center Drive or perpendicular to this main street. Both designs have their pluses and minuses. We have to ask a basic question: Do we want the sign to be visible primarily to those coming down Gateway or those driving down Medical Center Drive? Another possibility is to make the sign triangular, so that it could be seen from all directions. These are some of the decisions we must make over the next few weeks.
One of our office staff, Kelly Cunningham, took some video footage of the pad site using our drone and superimposed the actual office layout, with the offices, conference rooms, studio, lobby, classrooms, etc. Check out this video, and you can see how the office will actually look as far as layout. When it is completed, we will have room for future growth, with six empty offices and space for cubicles inside an open office area. Hopefully, we have covered all the bases. We will have a small conference room, for meetings of 12 or fewer people, and a large conference room that will accommodate the entire staff (23 currently).
Since most of the work is taking place underground, you won’t see a lot of change in appearance. The dirt work for the pad site has been mostly completed, and in the next two weeks the plumbers and electricians will come in to do their work of laying pipes and wires underneath and inside the foundation. At that point, we have to make sure everything is set and that we have identified all the floor outlets and all the plumbing outlets, because once the concrete is poured, we won’t be able to make changes!
The builder also let us know that on Monday, April 30, we will pour the first concrete. This will be for the piers that will support the foundation. They must be drilled and poured before the foundation can be set. It is predicted to rain over the weekend, but hopefully this important step will not be delayed.
We also discussed with the builder about changing our meeting to every two weeks instead of every week. If that is the case (we will decide next week), then I will also plan to post an update every two weeks instead of every week.
Thanks for your support for this project. Keep watching this page on our website! Once the building is completed, we should have a great tool to further the work of the Church! We are truly excited to see the progress each week!
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Yesterday, Thursday, April 12, we held our weekly meeting with Highland Builders, CBRE (the project manager), the electrical contractor, the interior designer for the project, and Alliance (the architects in charge of the project).
It was exciting to see all the work that has been done in the past two weeks! The soil has been stabilized, more dirt has been moved in, and we can actually see the pad site where the foundation will be poured in the next couple of weeks. It was exciting to see the actual shape of the building! As you will recall, the size of the building is just under 16,000 square feet. This should give us adequate space with room to grow.
One thing that we’ve found amazing is how much space there is left on our lot. The lot itself is 7.4 acres, but a 2-acre portion is really not usable to us, and we actually have it for sale. The building will occupy the southern portion of the property leaving us with about 3 acres for future development. We can easily see another building—an auditorium, a learning center or possibly something else on the northern part of the property. There is plenty of room.
The more I travel out to the site and see all the areas nearby that are being developed, the more I believe God led us to the most appropriate lot for our needs. We have everything we were looking for—a nice location near the freeway; a flat area that doesn’t require a lot of additional ground work; a developing area for restaurants, shops and industrial; and plenty of room for expansion in the future. In my experience, it is very unusual to get everything you want in a piece of land. Normally you have to make compromises when buying land to develop, but in this case we got everything we were looking for!
In addition to the work on the pad site (which you can see in the video link attached to this update), there is a lot of underground work being done. Trenching is being done for the sewage pipes and the underground drainage that is being required. Excavation for the bike path, which will run the entire length of the property, is taking place as well. Once the pad site is completed, plumbing and any other work that goes underneath the foundation will be installed. Piers will also be dug to make sure the foundation is stable—we don’t want any shifting to take place. Once the piers are dug and poured and the plumbing is installed, the foundation can be poured. That will be an exciting day as well.
This is the latest on the building. Even though there are still several months of construction, I can tell you that everyone here in the office is excited to see the work that has been done. We are still looking at after the Feast for completion, but seeing progress has provided a real boost for all of us.
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Progress! At last we saw some real movement this week with the building. Good weather and city approvals for our site plan made for a very productive week. With this update you will find our latest drone footage. Our goal is to document every step of construction.
On Thursday, March 22, we held our weekly meeting with Highland Builders. They are as excited as we are to finally see some real progress. In only a few days, trees have been removed, and the entire area for the building and parking area has been grubbed. Today they are removing top soil, which will be replaced and then prepared for the foundation. In order to prevent any sort of movement once the foundation is poured, the soil must be thoroughly prepared. In one corner of the building the cut is 10 feet, and in another corner on the west side of the building the cut is only 5 feet.
Once the top soil has been removed and then replaced, piers can be poured for the actual foundation. There are several piers that must be put in place around the foundation of the building. These piers are deep enough to sit on rock to provide the stability that will be needed for the foundation. Of course, there is the biblical principle about building your house on a rock (Matthew 7:24-27)!
We were also told today that the steel has been ordered for the structure and should arrive early next month. Things will really begin to change once the foundation is poured and the steel structure begins to take shape.
We spoke with the builder about the possibility of installing our own well to cut down on water cost. The city of McKinney will require us to water everything that we landscape. Along the west side of the property, there will be a row of trees, plus grass beside the bike path. Water isn’t cheap in the city of McKinney, so we could save a lot of money by having our own well. In the next week we should be meeting with well drillers from the area to get an idea of what they propose and what it will cost.
Unfortunately, the weather forecast is for rain much of next week. Please enjoy the video of the work done this week. Finally, real progress to report!
Due to the upcoming spring holy days, we’ll be taking a brief break from posting updates. Look for the next update on Friday, April 13.
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Once again, I am sorry to report that there isn’t much to report this week on the building! We are having to work around the city of McKinney’s schedule. For some items they only meet every two weeks, which means we have to wait on them. This week the city approved all our permits (once again), and the only item left is a preconstruction meeting with our builder—Highland. That meeting is scheduled for Friday afternoon, March 16. Assuming this meeting goes well, permits will be issued and work can begin. Up until now, all we have been allowed to do is a small amount of dirt work, installing the erosion material, staking off the construction site, setting up the construction trailer, installing a gravel parking area for workers, and establishing an entry point from the main street (Medical Center Drive). We have been waiting for four weeks for the city to allow us to begin the actual construction. This long delay should end today (Friday) or Monday.
We did install a 20-foot pole on the property this week, from which we plan to mount a video camera to record the daily building progress. When the project is complete we should have an excellent video so we can show in time lapse how the building was constructed from an empty lot to a completed office. Since this is such a historic occasion, and so many are unable to visit the site, we believe it will be a popular video for all to see—hopefully sometime after the Feast of Tabernacles this year.
There is one more item I wanted to share with all of you. From the beginning of this project (and included in our contracts), we have insisted that no work be done on the Sabbath or any of the holy days. At our last meeting with the builder, we were happy to see a poster in the construction trailer that stated this in large lettering for all to see. Here is the poster:
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Jim Franks
Click on a microsite below and share it with your friends!
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December 2017: Read Mr. Franks' Member Letter
July 2017: Read the One Accord
January 2017: Read Mr. Franks' Member Letter
On Thursday morning, March 8, we held our weekly update meeting with Highland Builders. The main topic discussed was the schedule. As you can imagine, with additional requests from the city and two weeks of rain, we are behind schedule. The completion date has now been pushed to after the Feast and more toward the end of the year. Thankfully, our landlord has given us an extension to our lease that will carry us into January of 2019 if necessary. We certainly hope that won’t be necessary, but it is out of our hands. We have now fulfilled all the requests from the city and should be ready to go with actual construction.
With this update, you will see some drone footage that was taken on March 8. You can see that a parking lot has been prepared to facilitate the heavy equipment getting on-site. You will also see stakes set at various locations to mark the actual construction site.
We will keep you updated with drone footage each week as we see additional progress. It is exciting to be at this point, but we hope things will go much faster in the weeks and months ahead.
Jim Franks
If we have learned anything in this building process, it is that the wheels of bureaucracy turn very slowly! As you know from past reports, we have been waiting on the city of McKinney to approve all of the necessary permits, and we have come to understand that the words “It should be soon” seem to mean different things to different people.
That said, we seem to be really close to having all of the fire, landscape, engineering and storm water permits in hand in the next few days. Actually, it wouldn’t have mattered if we had received the permits two weeks ago since we have had one storm system after another rolling through Texas and much of the southern United States. According to the March 1 Fort Worth Star-Telegram, “A whopping 4.72 inches of rainfall at DFW airport on Wednesday pushed the region’s official rainfall total from 6.59 inches to 11.31, according to the National Weather Service in Fort Worth. … Normally, North Texas averages 2.66 inches of rain in February, according to the weather service.”
The next 10 days look like the rain will abate, so we’re hoping that forecast holds and work can begin. In our weekly meeting with the construction and management team, we reviewed a variety of details on the building itself.
Our weekly meeting with the builder and project manager on Thursday, Feb. 22, was relatively short, so we don’t have a lot to report. We understand that we are very close to receiving the final plan approvals from the city of McKinney, which will allow construction to begin. The building plans and revisions submitted have been accepted by the city, but they are dependent on a small revision to the civil engineering plans being approved. That should be done by early next week.
Even if the city had approved the plans earlier, no work could have started this week due to the heavy rains we have received in north Texas. McKinney had around 6 inches of rain Tuesday and Wednesday, and a continuing cycle of storms is predicted for a few days.
Check back with us next Friday for the next update.
On Thursday, Feb. 15, we met for our weekly update with Highland Builders. Present for our meeting was the president of Highland, our project manager from CBRE, the project supervisor and the project coordinator for electrical.
We discussed the delays we are experiencing from the city of McKinney. Unbeknownst to us, the city has three steps in the process of getting final, final approvals to begin construction. The first step is submission of your plans to the planning commission; the second step comes after suggested revisions are completed; and the third step goes back through the process again, which includes the city planning commission, fire department, parks and recreation, landscape design, and building design. Our plans have been approved by the commission, but permits have not been released by the city. It seems there were some suggested changes to our plan that came from the city rather late in the process. We are still being told that final permits will be released by the city any day now.
We have completed some of the preliminary work since we broke ground on Jan. 22, but the major work of moving dirt and preparing the underground drainage and the pad site for the foundation and parking lot are still on hold. Highland expects these permits to be released in the next few days. Rain is predicted here in the Dallas area beginning tomorrow and continuing through much of next week. We don’t know what impact that might have on the dirt work that should begin immediately after the permits are released. We are hopeful that by our meeting next Thursday we will actually see heavy equipment on-site moving dirt!
Another item that we are working on is putting a sign up on the property that will picture the finished building. Scott Kelley, a member in Ohio who owns a sign company, created the sign from the artist sketches of the building. We will be putting this sign up in the next few days. Here is a picture of the sign identifying the building as the future headquarters of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association. This sign will be seen by all the traffic that travels on Medical Center Drive.
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We have also been given our physical address, and it will be 3701 Medical Center Drive, McKinney, TX.
This is really all we have to report this week. Thanks again for your support. We knew going into this project that our patience would be tested, and that is truly the case this week!
Jim Franks
Mr. Franks is on a church visit to Barbados and asked me to write the update this week. William Beech and I visited the construction site today for our regular Thursday morning meeting. We met with the owner of the construction company, the architect, the on-site construction supervisor and the project manager.
There is not a lot of visible progress to report from the property at this time. We are still waiting for the city to sign off on the permit that allows the site preparation to begin. This is where the grading is done so that actual construction on the building can start. The construction supervisor said that the permit should be approved one week from today, Feb. 15.
Since our last visit, a chain-link fence has been erected around the site perimeter so the property can be locked and secured each evening. Later today, the electrical contractor will stop by the office here in Allen to discuss several items.
Here are some of today’s agenda items:
- Discussion of when the temporary electrical power installation will occur and where the utility company will locate our access.
- The civil engineering firm is working with the city to approve the design plan to the move our northern driveway to line up with a future street.
- Discussion about how to ensure smooth engagement between the electrical and security contractors.
- The builder brought up that when grading starts they will move the top layer off, bring in stabilizing soil and then bring the topsoil back in. We won’t have to remove any dirt from the site; we will likely need to truck more dirt in to level the site.
Thank you for your prayers for the success of this project. Mr. Franks will be back next week and will give you an update.
Britton Taylor
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We held our weekly meeting with Highland Builders on Thursday, Feb. 1. Our schedule calls for a meeting every Thursday at 8:30 a.m. on the property. This Thursday, Britton Taylor, Clyde Kilough and William Beech attended the meeting with Highland, along with our project manager from CBRE. I could not attend the meeting since I was teaching a class at Foundation Institute. It seems that we are still in the pattern of “hurry up and wait.” We hurried to get to the ground breaking at the end of January, and now we are in a holding pattern until the city releases the final permit that will allow us to begin excavation and to pour the foundation for the building. Erosion fencing, fencing for the trees and a construction trailer are all on site. Above is a picture of the property with the recently placed construction trailer.
Because of the delays from the city and also our request that no work be done on the Sabbath or any of the holy days, which will add a month to the project (7 months x 4 Sabbaths plus 5 holy days = 33 days), the date for completion is now estimated to be in the October-November range rather than the August-September range we had hoped for. Our contract allows for 200 work days before the contractor begins paying a daily penalty, but our hope is that it will be less. Since we aren’t starting until February, 200 days will take us into November. We are hopeful that this can be shaved back to early or mid-October. This would put us moving in right after the Feast, which will actually be a good time for us. Right before the Feast would be difficult, but after the Feast should be okay.
This wasn’t the news we had hoped for, but it is the news we received this morning. We are anxious to see the building completed, and we will continue to update you each week, even though some weeks there will be little to report. Please continue to pray for the success of this project. We believe that when we are finished we will have a quality and effective tool to further the work of preaching the gospel and caring for the brethren that we can use for many years into the future. I pray every day for Christ to return, but we all know that the timing for that return is out of our hands. In the meantime, we plan to do our part to further the mission of the Church. We want to be a servant “whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing” (Matthew 24:46).
Until next week,
Jim Franks
A major milestone for the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, was reached this week! On Monday afternoon, Jan. 22, 2018, we broke ground on our new office building! Join COGWA President Jim Franks on this week’s In Accord as he introduces two short videos providing the latest information on the building. The first video was taken last week before any construction took place, and the second video is of the groundbreaking ceremony itself.
We made good progress over the past few days, ending the week with a committed date for groundbreaking. This is something we have been working on for a long time. Originally we thought we could break ground the third week of December, then it was the second week of January, but we now have a firm date of Jan. 22, which is more than a month beyond what we originally thought!
We have scheduled a formal groundbreaking ceremony at 1 p.m. on that date. We originally planned to have the ceremony first thing on Monday and then get out of the way of the heavy equipment, but the weather is forecast to be in the 30s on Monday morning, warming to the 50s by the afternoon. After giving it some thought, we decided to schedule it for when it would be warmer. You know us Texans—we can’t handle cold weather!
We are inviting the office staff and the FI students to attend the groundbreaking. Our builder, Highland Builders, and the architect, Alliance Architects, will both have representatives at the ceremony. We expect there will be 40 to 50 people present. We plan to record the ceremony and have it available for next week’s update. I will also be showing some excerpts from the ceremony on next week’s In Accord.
With the groundbreaking scheduled for next week, we decided to get some video of the property before any construction begins. This will make it possible for us to have a before and after look. In order to get this footage, we needed to act right away. So, on Thursday of this week, Clyde Kilough, William Beech, Britton Taylor and I recorded an on-site video tour of the property, showing how it appears before any construction has taken place. I believe you will find this an interesting presentation of the four of us, standing on the location of the building and narrating a description of the area. To add to the presentation, we used our new drone to capture some footage from the sky. We are posting some of this video along with this week’s building update. More will be coming next week, so stay tuned! We should have pictures of actual construction next week!
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Hello, everyone! Our project to construct an office building has now moved to a new phase. Each week on Thursday throughout the duration of the project, we have a meeting scheduled with our project manager (CBRE), builder (Highland Builders), civil engineer (Cross Engineering) and architect (Alliance) to discuss that week’s progress. From that meeting, I plan to post each Friday a brief summary to keep all of you informed.
This is our first weekly report, so I need to bring you up to date on the progress to this point. We have completed all the architectural drawings and civil engineer drawings. Since the city of McKinney has formally approved all the civil drawings, we are only waiting for the formal grading permit to begin the excavation. In our meeting today we were told that even though the city has approved the necessary permits, there has been a delay in getting the grading permit out of the city planning commission. The delay seems to be a matter of paperwork and getting everything properly recorded. We expect to have the grading permit in hand in the next few days. Once the grading permit has been issued, there is one more meeting between the builder and the city to make sure we have an adequate erosion plan in place before we can move any dirt.
One thing we have learned about this project is that the city never gets in a hurry! We have been anticipating breaking ground since the last week of December. Until all these pieces are completed, we can’t do any work on the property. But it seems that there is good reason to believe there will be a groundbreaking ceremony next week. We are working on a simple ceremony with the office staff whenever we get the final go-ahead.
Next week takes us to the middle of January, so we are already a couple of weeks behind our original plan. I am confident some of this time can be made up, but we just need to get started! When we began this project back in July with the purchase of the property, we were cautioned that the wild card in this whole process would be the city. We were told to expect at least six months to get everything approved by the city of McKinney. We are now in our seventh month!
I am optimistic that next week I will be able to report the groundbreaking. If so, we will have pictures and possibly some video. We now have our own drone here in the office, which will make it possible for us to get good video from overhead. Thank you for your support. Some of you have been sending donations to the building fund, and they are very much appreciated. Until next week.
Updates
Visit this page to see the latest updates to the new office building project.
October 26, 2017 In Accord
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Location
The COGWA property is located in McKinney and is about 10 minutes from the current office. It consists of 7.4 acres and is ideally located between two major freeways.
Thank you for supporting the work of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association.
Online Payment
If you wish to pay online (highly encouraged), we can accept debit and credit cards only. Please click the link below to be directed to your COGWA Member Portal WFW Registration or visit the link in your WFW Registration Confirmation email.
Pay by check:
You are still welcome to send your check payment to the COG-Louisville address listed below.
Make checks payable to:
COG – Louisville
c/o Nathan Willoughby
850 Augusta Drive SE
Corydon, IN 47112
Music
We are looking forward to the return of the combined teen and young adult choir this year, as well as the opportunity for several small group or solo pieces.
If you would like to participate in the teen and young adult choir (ages 13+), please check the appropriate box on your WFW registration under volunteer opportunities and the special music coordinator will reach out to you with additional information in the near future.
If you would like to perform in a small group or solo, or if you have any questions relating to special music, please contact the special music coordinator Braden Ebersole .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
We're happy to provide these PDF rehearsal copies of the music and the MP3 rehearsal recordings for you to be able to learn the WFW Choir song before arriving at the event. It is a great convenience to be able to post these recordings, but due to copyright concerns we ask that you not share the URL and password to this page with anyone who is not participating in the choir at the 2022 Winter Family Weekend. We also ask that you not copy or pass along the PDFs of the music. Due to copyright requirements we will take up and destroy these rehearsal copies at WFW when we hand out the purchased copies.
Thank you for your diligence in learning these vocal parts BEFORE we arrive at WFW. If you have any questions or difficulties doing this, please contact Ken Treybig at [email protected].
Right-click on any of the links below and select “Save As”, "Save Link as" or “Save Target as” (or whatever other text your browser uses) to download and save a copy of these rehearsal recordings to your computer.
Find Us Faithful, SATB, by Jack Shrader
Rehearsal copy (3 MB) PDF
Sample performance (5.3 MB) MP3
Accompaniment (3.3 MB) MP3
Soprano part (3.5 MB) MP3
Alto part (3.5 MB) MP3
Tenor part (3.5 MB) MP3
Bass part (3.6 MB) MP3
The Church of God, a Worldwide Association, Inc. (hereinafter the “Church” or “COGWA”) is committed to protecting your online privacy. We feel it is important for you to know how we handle the information we receive from you via the Church website. You can visit http://cogwa.org without revealing any personal information.
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The Church will allow members, prospective members or associates to create accounts and enter personal information for the sole use of the Church. Personal information may include your name, address, telephone number, email address, payment information (if you choose to make a donation), and other personal information that you choose to provide to us. That information will not be sold or shared with third parties, except as described in this privacy policy or permitted or required by applicable law. By creating an account, members, prospective members or associates give permission to the Church to store and use said data, for purposes including:
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We may use, or disclose your personal information to third parties, if we have reason to believe that using or disclosing such information is necessary to: (i) conduct investigations of possible breaches of law; (ii) enforce our legal rights; or (iii) cooperate with government or law enforcement authorities pursuant to a legal matter. Lastly, we may disclose your personal information for any other purpose to which you consent or where permitted or required to do so by applicable law.
The Church website may contain links to sites operated by third parties. The Church has no control over and is not responsible for the privacy policies and practices of such third-party sites. If you have any concerns, you are urged to review the terms of those sites for more information about the policies applicable to those sites.
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Email communication that you send to COGWA may be routed to the person who is most able to address your inquiry. We make every effort to respond in a timely fashion once communications are received. Once we have responded to your communication, it is discarded or archived, depending on the nature of the inquiry. If you choose to use your own email system to communicate with us, we cannot control the security of your message. If you wish to keep your communication private, please use our “Contact” link (available at the bottom of every page).
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If you believe your privacy rights have been violated or if you have another complaint or problem, you may email us by clicking the “Contact” link at the bottom of any page. We will endeavor to respond to you in an attempt to resolve the problem.” You may also call 1-972-521-7777 or U.S. toll-free 888-926-4929. You may contact our Media Operation Manager at 3701 Medical Center Dr, McKinney, TX 75069.
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For persons who are not residents of the United States, please note that some or all of the personal information we collect may be stored or processed on servers located outside your jurisdiction of residence, including in the United States, whose data protection laws may differ from the jurisdiction in which you live. As a result, this information may be subject to access requests from governments, courts, or law enforcement agencies in those jurisdictions according to laws in those jurisdictions.
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10. Changes to our Privacy Policy
We will occasionally update this Privacy Policy. You will see the word “updated” followed by the date next to the Privacy Policy link near the bottom of all pages on the site. If the “updated” date has changed since you last visited, you are encouraged to review the policy to be informed of how this site is protecting your information.
11. Online Privacy Policy only
This Privacy Policy applies only to information collected through our website and not to information collected offline.
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By using our website, you acknowledge and consent to our Privacy Policy.
| Feasts | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Day of Sacred Year | Mar 23 | Apr 9 | Mar 30 |
| Passover* | Apr 5 | Apr 22 | Apr 12 |
| Days of Unleavened Bread | Apr 6-12 | Apr 23-29 | Apr 13-19 |
| Pentecost | May 28 | Jun 16 | Jun 1 |
| Feast of Trumpets | Sep 16 | Oct 3 | Sep 23 |
| Day of Atonement | Sep 25 | Oct 12 | Oct 2 |
| Feast of Tabernacles | Sep 30-Oct 6 | Oct 17-23 | Oct 7-13 |
| Last Great Day | Oct 7 | Oct 24 | Oct 14 |
* Passover service is always held the evening before.
All holy days begin the evening before.
Christian Parenting Blog · Godly Women Blog · Living Christianity Blog · The Man Blog · Teen Blog · Young Adult Blog
WFW Registration FAQ
Q: Why is there an event fee for everyone aged 13+ attending the WFW?
A: We ask for this to help offset the cost of running the weekend. If you are not involved in any of the sporting events or special activities requiring payment, this is the only fee you’ll pay. Those playing sports will be asked to pay a sports activity fee in addition to the event fee, which helps offset the additional cost of renting the sports complex.
Q: If I booked a room at the hotel, do I still need to register for the WFW?
A: Yes, your hotel reservation and WFW registration are completely separate.
Q: Do I need to register all members of my family?
A: Yes, every household member who plans to attend or participate in WFW activities needs to register. This helps tremendously in planning for all events, including Sabbath services.
Q: Do I get a discount for paying prior to arrival?
A: Yes, the discount is already deducted from the amount due listed in your email confirmation. The early payment discount is $5 per person for the WFW registration fees and $5 per person for sports fees. If payment is not received by Dec. 22, you will lose the discount.
Q: How can I pay online?
A: Please visit the Online Payment page for more details.
Q: Can I pay by check?
A: Absolutely! Please follow the instructions in your confirmation email. The mailing address can also be found on the WFW online payment registration tab.
Q: What if I need to make changes to my registration, such as adding or deleting a family member, or changing my activity selections?
A: If you wish to make changes to your registration or activity selections, you can do so through the portal at any time prior to WFW.
Q: What if I need to make changes to my sports team?
A: If you need to make changes to your sports team, please contact [email protected]
Q: Whom can I contact if I need help with my WFW registration?
A: If you have questions related to your registration, please email us at [email protected]
Registration
Click the Registration link below to begin. After you register and select the activities for each member of your household and submit your registration, you will receive a confirmation email that will include your total amount due, payment link, hotel reservation link and other important documents.
We ask that you note the following important points!
- Designate one person per household to register (or make changes) for the members who plan to attend.
-
To help prevent the system from timing out, it would be extremely helpful if the person handling registration would gather as much information about what each attendee would like to participate in BEFORE starting the registration process. A list of the activities, sports and volunteer opportunities is included on the Activities page for your reference.
- If you need to make changes after you complete your registration, you can make modifications at any time through the registration portal.
- If you have any questions or need assistance with your registration or payment, please email us at [email protected]
Schedule
Schedule subject to change
We invite you to join your fellow friends and family members for a weekend of fun, fellowship and learning at this year’s COGWA Winter Family Weekend!
The weekend starts off with Bible studies geared toward all ages, followed by Sabbath morning seminars and Sabbath school—all centered around our selected theme.
The non-Sabbath time is filled with more fellowship, continuing education seminars and other group activities—such as sports, dances, axe throwing, bowling and laser tag, cornhole, jam sessions, live bands, preteen activities and art classes, visual art show, games, Louisville experiences, family fun fair, a free pizza dinner and more. The weekend has proven to be fun for all ages!
When is it?
Friday, Dec. 23- Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022
Where is it?
The beautiful and newly renovated Galt House Hotel and Convention Center
140 N. Fourth Street, Louisville, KY 40202
What is this year’s theme?
This year’s theme is “Walking by Faith,” based on 2 Corinthians 4:18.
We see and believe God’s wonderful long-term promises of Christ’s return, our resurrection as spirit beings, and the establishment of His Kingdom. But in the short term, when we’re facing the unknown, life’s challenges can loom large and test our faith. It’s in those times, when we can’t clearly see what lies ahead, that we need the confidence to base our life decisions not on what we see going on around us, but on everything God has taught and promised. At this year’s Winter Family Weekend, we will explore the keys that will enable us to “walk by faith, not by sight”!
Do I need to register? If so, when and how?
Yes! We will open registration via a link in your COGWA member portal on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022.
A link to registration will also be posted on the registration page of this website.
Are there any fees?
All attendees aged 13+ are charged a WFW event fee of $15 (if paid by Dec. 22) or $20 (if paid after Dec. 22). There are no registration or sports fees for anyone under the age of 13**.
Sports* (all inclusive) is $20 per person (if paid by Dec. 22) or $25 per person (if paid after Dec. 22).
The maximum sports fee per family (all living under one roof) is $100.
There are additional special activities* that may require a fee, such as the Main Event, axe throwing, roller skating, Taste and Tour of Louisville, etc. These fees will be posted prior to opening the Winter Family Weekend registration portal.
*The fees for the special activities are in addition to the sports and registration fees and do not count towards your maximum sports charge per family.
**Registering a preteen for a teen sport will result in a sports fee
There are no additional fees for activities such as the dances, jam sessions, preteen art classes, art show, family fun fair, continuing education classes, Sabbath school or the pizza dinner.
Are meals included?
Attendees are on their own for meals outside of the free pizza dinner.
In the past, some families have chosen to bring their own food to enjoy in their room.
The Galt House Hotel has several on-site restaurants, and there are several other restaurants within walking distance for those who don’t wish to drive.
What are the housing costs?
The rate for 2022 is $86 (plus tax) per night per room for two queen beds or one king bed.
Rooms also have a parlor area with a sofa, minibar area with small sink, single-serve coffee maker and mini fridge.
Please note that not all rooms have a sleeper sofa. If you need to sleep additional people in the parlor area, please plan accordingly.
How can I make hotel reservations?
Your WFW registration confirmation email will contain a special link to make your hotel reservations at the Galt House Hotel.
Booking a room at the hotel does not mean you are registered for the WFW. You must still register for the WFW through your COGWA portal.
Hotel Reservation Deadline: December 16, 2022.
Queen Suites have 2 Queen Beds with a regular sofa in the sitting room.
King Suites have 1 King Bed with a pullout sofa bed in the sitting room.
Our room block on King Suites is limited. Unless you need a pullout sofa bed, we ask that you please book a Queen Suite.
You may also make hotel reservations by calling 1-800-843-4258 and reference group code 122222COG
How do I volunteer for special music?
We will have a combined teen and young adult choir, as well as several small group or solo pieces. If you would like to serve in this way, please check the appropriate box on your WFW registration under volunteer opportunities. The special music coordinator will follow up with you at a later date.
When or where will the schedule be posted?
A general list of activities is posted on the activities page.
The general schedule will be posted to this site by Nov. 1, 2022.
The WFW app will also be available for download prior to the start of the event.
Will there be a dance, and what is the theme?
Yes! We will have one family dance on Saturday evening. Please feel free to wear your favorite costume! We will once again offer pictures in front of the step and repeat and prizes for best costumes. No scary, vulgar or immodest costumes, please.
Will the Sabbath morning seminars and Sabbath services be available on the webcast?
Yes! More information will be made available prior to the WFW.
How about COVID or illness protocols?
In following with good general health practices, we request that you refrain from attending the WFW if you have a fever, are feeling unwell or have knowingly been in contact with someone with COVID or with another illness in the days leading up to WFW. If you become ill while at WFW, we ask that you isolate and/or leave the event to help prevent spreading the illness.
In the World, but Not of the World
Navigating Satan’s Alternate Universe
Are you living in an alternate universe? How can you know? God expects His servants to be in the world but not of the world—but how can we do that?
Join us September 3 and 4 for a weekend of fellowship and leadership development as we identify practical ways to come out of this present evil world.
Locations
Atlanta, Georgia
Bentonville, Arkansas
Cincinnati, Ohio
Fort Worth, Texas
Lodi, California
Twin Cities, Minnesota
Why the YALW?
The Church desires to educate, motivate and inspire young adults to reach their God-given potential. Our hope is that through instruction and training, our young adults will be prepared to fulfill leadership roles in the local congregation and the work of God as a whole.
This year we will simultaneously host weekends in six locations to provide focused education and social opportunities to better equip young adults to serve the Church as Christian leaders. It is essential that the Church hone the talents and abilities of its members to carry on God’s work into the future.
We hope you’ll join us in our effort to do just that.
Video Archive
2020
2018
2017
2016
2015
Porland, OR is known as ... Give some information about the city, attractions.
Give details on travel--transportation from the airport to hotel, etc.
All meetings will be held at the ...
Add information about the meetings, sessions, maps to hotel, etc.
All meetings will be held at the ...
Were the 10 Commandments Around Before Moses?
Are the 10 Commandments Upheld in the New Testament? Does Hebrews 4:9 Refer to Sabbath Observance?
When and How Did the Change in Worship From Saturday to Sunday Occur?
Was the Sabbath Changed to Sunday?
Did God Create the Sabbath in Genesis 2? How Should a Christian Keep the Sabbath?
Is the Sabbath Only for Jews? Is the Sabbath a Sign of God's People?
Did Christ Break the Sabbath? Did Paul Change the Sabbath Command?
Did Jesus Purify Unclean Meats in Mark 7? Did Peter's Vision in Acts 10 Abolish the Clean and Unclean Laws?
Does God Care What Meats We Eat? Does Romans 14 Abolish the Law of Clean and Unclean Meats?
Did Jesus Die on Good Friday? Was Jesus Resurrected on Easter Sunday? The New Testament Passover (black & white)
Did Jesus Die on Good Friday? Was Jesus Resurrected on Easter Sunday? The New Testament Passover (color)
What Happened to the Thief on the Cross? Does the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man Prove the Existence of Hell?
Will There Be a Secret Rapture?
Can Humans Designate Holy Days? Which Calendar Should We Use to Calculate Biblical Festivals?
What Is Faith? Does God Heal People Today?
Some of our senior pastors who travel in international areas post travel blogs on their trips. We have received requests for these to be more accessible to allow people to learn more about their spiritual family in other parts of the world. We will post a link to each travel blog here.
Joel Meeker's July 2022 pastoral trip to French Africa.
Joel Meeker’s April 2022 pastoral trip to Martinique, France, Belgium and Switzerland.
Tom Clark’s July/August 2021 pastoral trip to Ghana.
Joel Meeker's February-March pastoral trip to Côte d'Ivoire and Togo.
Tim Waddle's February 2020 pastoral trip to Kenya.
Tom Clark's January 2020 pastoral trip to Ghana and Nigeria.
Joel Meeker's December 2019 trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Tom Clark's August 2019 trip to the Ghana Youth Camp.
Joel Meeker's August 2019 pastoral trip to Africa and Europe.
Dave Myers' June 2019 travel blog about the FI Educational Trip to Israel.
Tom Clark's spring 2019 pastoral trip to Ghana and Nigeria.
Joel Meeker's February 2019 pastoral trip to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Joel Meeker's September-October 2018 pastoral trip to Africa and Europe
Doug Johnson's July 2018 trip to the Canadian Maritimes (scroll to bottom of the linked page)
Joel Meeker's May-June 2018 travels to Europe, Asia and Africa
Joel Meeker's April-May 2018 pastoral trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Tom Clark's April 2018 pastoral trip to Nigeria and Ghana
Joel Meeker's Spring 2018 Pastoral Trip in French Africa (Togo, Burundi, Rwanda and Mauritius)
Tom Clark's 2018 pastoral trip to Ghana and Nigeria
Tom Clark's 2017 trip to the Ghana Youth Camp and first trip to Nigeria
Joel Meeker's 2017 pastoral trip to Europe
If you need to add, delete or modify your contact information, please use the email link below. If this is a change, please give us your previous mailing and email addresses (or your donation ID number). Thank you for your assistance!
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General Correspondence:
Church of God, a Worldwide Association, Inc.
P.O. Box 3490
McKinney, TX 75070-8189
Phone Number: +1 (972) 521-7777
U.S. Toll Free: (888) 9-COGWA-9 or (888) 926-4929
Fax: +1 (972) 521-7770 or
U.S. Toll Free (888) 926-4929
Donations: View Instructions
In our dedication to spreading the hope and truth of God’s way of life, we are also committed to following Jesus’ instruction of Matthew 10:8: “Freely you have received, freely give.”
Everything we offer on our websites is free of charge, without obligation. We do not solicit funds, but we do gratefully welcome donations from anyone who wishes to support our work of providing this priceless information to others.
The Church of God, a Worldwide Association, Inc. is recognized by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) church organization. Contributions are gratefully acknowledged by an annual receipt and are deductible in the United States under IRC section 170.
Donate Online
You may securely donate online via credit card, debit card or e-check. In order to allow more of your funds to go toward your intended purpose instead of bank fees, we encourage you to use the e-check option. You may contribute to more than one fund by choosing the “Split-Funds” option and listing the amount for each fund in the Memo field.
Donate By Mail
Send your check donation to:
Church of God, a Worldwide Association, Inc.
P.O. Box 731480
Dallas, TX 75373-1480
Donate With Your Estate
An estate donation to the Church enables you to leave a lasting legacy of sharing the gospel message with others after your death. Charitable donations are often included in a person’s estate plan and can take a variety of forms.
