UPDATE 21 - FAQ for Project Sanctuary Renewed

Hey everyone!

We unrolled Project Sanctuary Renewed at our service at our Sunday service on November 16. If you missed it, check out my last post for the main points. Also, I would encourage you to listen to my sermon from this past Sunday. This building is an amazing opportunity, but Christ alone remains our Sanctuary.

As promised, here is an FAQ addressing some questions I have heard.

• Where am I at with my pledges?

  If you want to know how much you have given to Project Sanctuary towards your pledge from 2024, email Kate Perez at bookkeeper@liberti.org. 

• If I give a one-time gift at the end of this year, will it count towards my original pledge?

  Yes! If you are able to give more of your pledge on the early side, this would be a great help to us. We would count this towards our first goal of $175k before the end of the year.

  I would encourage you to prayerfully consider extending your pledge by a year in addition to giving early to help us meet the second goal as well.

• If I make a pledge for the first time, how long will it be for?

  A new pledge would run from January 2026 through March 2028.

• These financial goals are really big. What happens if we don’t reach them?

  Let’s pray that God helps us hit them! Here is a sneak peek announcement for you, beloved blog reader: after conversations with some leaders and givers, I can tell you that God has already provided a percentage of both our financial goals (both one-time gifts and pledges). I’ll announce more this coming Sunday, November 23.

  If we don’t reach our goals, we would be hit in the following ways: we would have to draw more from our reserves to complete the project in the coming months; we would have less contingency funds if we hit snags and surprises during construction; we would have a slimmer furniture budget for when we move in the building; and we would have a greater debt load in the coming years. In short: the project would continue, but we would lose flexibility and quality.

• Are we just going to keep doing this? I.e., keep asking people to give to this building? It feels like families have given so much already.

  Indeed, families have given so much already. My family sure has! And, if you’re reading this, I bet your family has too. Thank you for your generosity.

  In one sense, the answer is no. I have no intention of extending Project Sanctuary again. For what it’s worth, I feel some fatigue rolling this initiative out again. My wife and I are talking about extending our own pledge, and it will be hard! Know that we are on this journey with you.

  But in a greater sense, the answer is yes. We will keep calling people to give generously (financially and otherwise) towards what God is doing at Liberti, even if it won’t always be through Project Sanctuary. Giving is good for our souls. Generosity is first an act of thanksgiving and praise to God; it is us agreeing with him that all we have belongs ultimately to him and we are merely stewards of what he has given us. When we loosen our grip on our money, our money also loosens its grip on us. And when we give, we get to see how God provides– first for our own families, but also how he provides through what we have given. 

  If you’re looking for a primer on why we give, how we give, and how God will provide even as we give, I would recommend reading 2 Corinthians 8-9. Paul encourages the church in Corinth to contribute towards the needs of the church in Jerusalem. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” That’s the motivation for giving. In that verse is also the reward in giving: when we give, we join Christ in going low.

• How can I make a gift or pledge?

  The best way to give a gift or make a pledge is to remove the perforated section of the Project Sanctuary Renewed handout, indicating what gift/pledge you will make on the sheet, and handing that pledge in when we submit our sheets together at our service on December 14.

  To initiate giving, go to libertiriverwards.org/fundraiser and click “Give.” Those gifts will go through Zeffy. Please note that Zeffy automatically puts in a suggested donation towards their platform, but you can select to give them 0 if you want the entirety of your gift to go towards Project Sanctuary.

• What is the timeline for the project?

  The short answer: We should be worshiping in the building by the summer of 2026.

  The long answer: We signed a contract with our GCfor a maximum construction timeline of 250 days. Our official construction start date was November 13, 2025, which would put that 250-day mark on July 21, 2026. This date was negotiated with our GC to give them reasonable time to complete the scope of work; it also protects us from the project going unnecessarily long. Our GC is optimistic they will be done before that date.

  I am in conversation with our elders and with UWC about what our Sunday morning worship plans will look like after Easter 2026. It is looking like there could be a season of a few uncomfortable months while we wait for the building to be finished. You can pray that God makes a way for us!

If you have any more questions, I would love to hear them! Send them to swood@liberti.org. 

- Stephen