The Next Chapter

New Life’s existing Worship Center frequently fills to capacity, especially during the school year or during holiday services. Our research tells us that a church’s worship space is considered full when they are at 80% capacity; this is due to the fact that to make visitors and guests feel welcome, you want to leave at least 20% of your capacity available for them to choose seats they like and to make them feel comfortable.
The Deacons regularly have to setup additional rows of chairs in the back, sides or front of the Worship Center to accommodate all those who want to join us for worship. This can be awkward and uncomfortable for current members or visitors, especially if they happen to arrive late. We have seen instances where visitors will walk in hoping to join us for worship but instead opt to leave because we simply do not have room for them. 

New Life’s current Worship Center can comfortably hold around 675, with a maximum of around 725. The proposed space would hold approximately 1,075. 

The main portion of our current facility was built in 1996. In 2008, an education wing was added to provide more room for classrooms and youth space. New Life has been in various talks about a new sanctuary off and on for many years. In fact, renderings from the original building project in 1996 have “Phase 2” drawings of a worship space that could be added to the south side of our building. Part of the reason the current worship center has carpet with athletic lines on it is due to the fact that the congregation saw the potential for a building addition back in 1996. 

Yes, New Life has given this topic considerable thought. Over the years, we have had several “town hall” style meetings to discuss what two services might look like compared to one service. What we have found is that two services would put additional burden on our existing staff and volunteer base. We have heard concerns about two services creating “two congregations” instead of one body of believers. When we discuss the possibility of two services with different stakeholder groups, we hear overwhelming support for staying with one service. 

The proposed construction project benefits New Life and those who worship with us. The proposed plans include additional fellowship space to allow people to fellowship before and after church services. The current fellowship hall is too small, and it’s common for lines to form in the Worship Center as it quickly fills after the service. Additionally, the coffee area is located right outside the door between the fellowship hall and the worship center, leading to additional congestion.
Having a dedicated worship space will allow our current worship center to host dinners, receptions, conferences, and a variety of other events more seamlessly, as we won’t need to set up and take down chairs and tables for each event and for worship.
We have identified several ways that additional space would help New Life enhance its ministries as we seek to Love God, Love Others, and Serve the World. With a building addition, we would be able to:

• Use the current worship space for kids’ ministry on Wednesday nights
• Enhance our summer VBS experience for kids
• Utilize space and options for our kids’ Christmas program
• Host community programs
• To let our staff and volunteers leave chairs up or down for various events instead of having to setup chairs each Sunday for worship

New Life has been blessed financially over the last several years. We have a healthy general fund, as well as savings built up in our building fund. Additionally, we have funds set aside for our sent workers and youth. New Life currently has no debt.
Giving exceeded expenses by approximately $200,000 each year during 2022 and 2023. Total giving in 2024 exceeded giving in 2023, but expenses were also higher in 2024 as we paid for some significant building updates with cash from our building fund. This resulted in expenses slightly outpacing giving in 2024. Overall, giving has been very strong over the last several years. 

The latest estimates from our architect reflected total projected costs of approximately $9.724M for the project. We are rounding that figure to $10M and using $10M as our projection. The Consistory and congregation gave the church the blessing to move forward with construction once we raised 65% of the projected cost in a combination of cash and pledges. With total costs of $10M, that means we need to fundraise $6.5M worth of cash and pledges before we move forward. 

New Life received drawings for a proposed expansion in 2019. A combination of high costs and the COVID-19 pandemic caused us to pause expansion talks for the time being. After receiving feedback on previous plans, we opted to ask a different architect to draw plans for more practical, affordable expansion. The updated building plans we have now reflect a savings of approximately $5M compared to the first round of drawings and still allow us to significantly increase our worship and fellowship space as well as make updates to existing facilities. 

We feel that the growth of Sioux Center and the surrounding area present great opportunities for us to grow our congregation and, ultimately, create a space where people can come to know Jesus.
Sioux Center has been growing by approximately 1,000 people every 10 years since 1990. Sioux Center’s population was 5,074; 6,002; 7,048; and 8,229 in 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020 respectively. Sioux County is the only rural county in Iowa that is growing. Many of the people relocating to Sioux Center and the surrounding area are looking for a church home, and we would love to have the space to welcome them to New Life! 

New Life had total in-person attendance of approximately 21,000 in 2019. The number of attendees pulled back in 2020 due to COVID-19 but bounced back to pre-COVID levels in 2021. Attendance increased steadily to 26,000 in 2023 before pulling back slightly to 25,000 in 2024. The numbers reflecting increased in-person attendance over the last few years is a great sign! However, we wonder if the plateau we experienced in 2024 is due, at least in part, to not having enough space to seat visitors who want to give New Life a try. 

New Life’s facilities host a variety of different events all year round. We love to welcome people to our space and provide opportunities for others to utilize our building for their events.
To list them all would be impossible, but several examples of events New Life hosts or could host include:

• Non-profit auctions and fundraisers
• Weddings
• Funerals
• Baptism/profession of faith meals
• Therapy Services
• Quilters
• Baking Groups
• Family Bingo Night
• TEC
• Soup & Pie/BBQ Suppers
• Bible studies and small groups
• Summits and conferences (ex. ResGen & The Mom Event)
• Coffee time
• 5th Quarter
• Alcoholics Anonymous