One Life Blog

During a recent staff informational meeting, Ron Urice, Executive Director of Operations and Special Projects, outlined some of the construction timeline and changes that will be coming soon to Immanuel.

Jack Bays, Inc. (General Contractor) will begin moving equipment and materials to designated areas on the IBC property beginning April 13. Parking outside the Backlick Road Entrance will be reserved for equipment and that area will be fenced off. The Glass Breezeway Entrance will be closed and converted to a Construction Entrance only. During remodeling of the B Wing (Backlick side of Immanuel), entrance to Immanuel Christian School will temporarily be through Entrance 4 (South Parking Lot).

Entrances (click to enlarge)

Access between Immanuel Christian School and the church will be through the C Wing hallway that leads past the Shop (Room C117) to the Gym. Senior High students worship at 9:30am in the Gym and VENTURE young adults ministry worship at 11am. Those who have to pass through the Gym to access either the Worship Center or the children’s classrooms or nursery in the C Wing are asked to pass through the Gym quietly during these worship services. Volunteers will be stationed in the corridors to provide information and directions. With parking affected, Immanuel attenders are asked to park at Phillips School and ride the shuttles. Families with small children are directed to park in the South Lot to easily drop off and pick up their children.

See the map above for affected areas. We will provide information, changes, and photos of the construction as they become available. Thanks for your patience as we enter this exciting and challenging time of ministry!

For me and for others in this church with a heart for world missions (hopefully all of us!), the One Life campaign represents a great opportunity to help reach the world in a unique way.  Yes, I am enthusiastic about the other aspects of the campaign: the much-needed enhancements to make this campus a 21^st-century facility and the opportunity to strengthen our presence around northern Virginia through community groups and at least one additional worship location (since we’re basically full-up here).  As one who has lived for nearly a decade in the developing world, however, I know how great the needs and opportunities are in many places in the world where the Church is surging in numbers but sorely lacking in resources. 

For several months, the elders of the world missions council and I have been developing a blueprint for Immanuel’s Global Leadership Endowment, and we’re excited about it!.  A portion of the funds raised through the One Life campaign will be carefully invested, generating interest income that will be “reinvested” into the lives of emerging Christian leaders in several regions of the world.  We anticipate paying the costs for two years of graduate seminary education and a year of internship at IBC or at a partner/model ministry site on each continent.  Recipients of these funds will spend at least two years planting or expanding a church in their capital city – and share their successes, frustrations and best practices with a growing network of up to 30 capital-city evangelical churches through web-based communication, regional conferences and visits by short-term teams.  Through the Global Leadership Endowment several planks of the current strategic plan are accomplished: an expanded partnership with Capital Bible Seminary, a robust internship program, and strategic partnerships established on one or more new mission fields.

For more information on the Global Leadership Endowment please visit www.onelifejourney.net or talk to any of the elders on the world missions council.

Michael Connor
Pastor, World Missions 

Below are answers to questions that people have asked.  Keep the questions coming!  If you have a question you’d like answered, click here. 

What kinds of communication can the church membership expect as part of the One Life program?  I attended the Town Hall Meeting last night.  I’ve been contacted to be part of a phone calling activity in March.   Another member told me she is part of a phone calling activity in June.  My husband and I have been invited to a dinner in March, but no one else we know has received the same invitation.  I’m having trouble understanding how all this works. Can you please explain the specifics of the communication plan to the church membership? 

There are five stages of the One Life capital campaign: 

The “Preparation Phase” — organizing and mobilizing various teams to accomplish specific tasks during the campaign. Much of this work is still behind the scenes as it is still early in the journey. 

Following that is the “Information Phase” — where through various means of disseminating information, the leadership shares with the congregation the vision for ministry, the financial need, and asks the congregation to begin a prayer process seeking God’s direction in their lives.  Thus far, the One Life information team has developed and mailed two newsletters, created a website and a blog, published FAQs, and begun a process of informing the congregation about One Life. 

Then we will enter an “Inspiration Phase” that will include sermons and teaching on stewardship for all ages from children’s ministry through senior adults.  During this time, we will also hear personal testimonies of God’s provision for cheerful giving.  The first Sunday in May will feature a Sunday celebration of commitment for the entire church. 

The fourth phase is the “Response Phase” — here One Life campaign volunteers begin a 30 day process of encouraging commitments from the congregation who were not able to attend the celebration of commitment event.  On the first Sunday in June, we will announce to the congregation the total amount of commitments received. 

A final phase called the BRIDGE phase is a 3 year process of enlisting people who are new to Immanuel to inform them of the One Life campaign and prayerfully consider commiting to the effort. 

Is the Library still included in the remodeling plans and when is it expected to reopen? 

Our current building plans still include a Church Library.  The library, as presently designed, is in the last phase of the Phase III building project.  The earliest we see it re-opening would be when Fairfax County allows us to re-occupy the new A-wing, probably about fall of 2010 (assuming an optimistic start of construction of July 08 and that the building process goes without too many delays).