Coming Soon...

In January, we installed a new sign on the Hwy 121 Land announcing the future home of the Sports Ministry Complex of First Baptist Carrollton. As construction continues, we are thrilled to let people who are driving by know about this exciting new ministry that is almost here. With regard to the construction work on the land, our contractors are still working on the installation of utilities. And soon the contractors will be laying the concrete for the parking lots, fire lanes, and the foundations of the buildings. Once the fire lanes are in, we will be able to begin construction on the buildings themselves. We anticipate all of the concrete and utility work will be done within the next thirty days, if the weather cooperates. We hope to see the construction “going vertical” (as the contractors all say) in the next 30 to 60 days. Please continue to pray for the construction process and for our church’s preparation for this exciting new ministry to our community..

Progress Continues: Building Permit Received

The month of December saw a lot of progress made in the construction of the Sports Ministry Complex. The grading was virtually completed. The picture shows the outline of the Sports Ministry Complex very clearly now. The water injection process also continued, and more still needs to be done to ensure that the soil is made as stable as possible. The City of Carrollton issued a building permit in December, which gives the green light for the remainder of the construction. With that permit issued now, we should begin seeing actual construction on the Sports Ministry Building sometime within the next month or so, assuming the weather will cooperate. It is an exciting time and your continued support and prayers are essential.

Work on the Land Continues

The grading and soil preparation work continues on the land. The latest work involves injecting water into the soil and then sealing it with a lime cap. This process essentially pre-swells the soil to minimize the expansion and contraction of the soil as the weather changes, preventing the concrete foundations and the concrete in the plaza area from cracking in the future. Soon, the utility work will begin on the land and next will be concrete and paving work. Once these processes are complete, construction of the buildings and fields will begin.

Please continue to pray for the project. Pray for safety for all of our contractors and workers. Pray for good weather to enable us to get the work done on time, and pray for the people in our community who will be reached through our Sports Ministry.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

The earthwork and clearing process on the land began several weeks ago, but has been delayed quite a bit due to all of the rain we have had. The tractors are running just as much as they can, though, and are probably moving more mud than dirt right now. The work they have done so far is beginning to show a rough outline of the property and the fields, which is exciting to see.

We hope to have a sign on the property soon showing that it is the “Future Home of the First Baptist Carrollton Sports Ministry Complex.” And we hope finally to receive our building permit from the City of Carrollton in the next couple of weeks. Please continue to pray for the whole process. Our next 100 years is going to have an exciting start!

Construction Begins

On September 23, the actual construction of the Sports Ministry Complex began. The tractors began clearing the land and leveling the ground for the sports fields and buildings. Utility work on the land should begin very soon and the foundation of the Sports Ministry Building should be laid not too long after that.

On the reverse side of this Update are pictures of what the Sports Ministry Complex should look like after it is completed. We are excited about the plans and how beautiful the entire Complex will be. We believe that this facility will become a place, not only for playing sports, but for families and individuals to hang out and to relax – for Bible study classes to meet and to fellowship together – for neighbors to picnic – for our community to gather. It will be a place to worship God and to develop new relationships with people from our community.

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!

Okay, so the title sounds like the beginning of a Nascar race, and we’re not building a race track. But we are finally at the starting line for our new Sports Ministry Complex. The tractors and bulldozers are on the land, the surveyors have staked out the property, and the engineers have put together the plans. Once the City of Carrollton approves our request for an early grading permit, the tractors and bulldozers will “start their engines” to begin leveling the grounds and preparing them for construction. Continue to watch fbcc.org for pictures of the construction process.

The Building Committee selected Kart Construction & Equipment Company to do all of the earthwork on the property and Llano Utility Services to put in all of the utilities for the Sports Ministry Complex. The Building Committee is working with the Sports Design Group to design and build the sports fields. Simeone Residential is the contractor for the Sports Ministry Building.The Committee has not yet selected a concrete contractor who will lay the sidewalks and parking lot or a landscaper to design and install the landscaping. So the team of contractors is almost all in place. Once the “gun sounds” with the grading permit, the construction will be going “full speed ahead” (which is not actually a race car term, but it ought to be).

When we started the Get in the Game capital campaign, Dr. Taylor challenged the church to pay off the full cost of the construction of the Sports Ministry Complex in 27 months. He divided that time period into 9 “innings.” Every three months is one “inning.” At the end of the first inning, we now have enough to pay off all of the initial preparatory work (such as the grading and utility installation) and a portion of the landscaping. As we begin the second inning, we are challenging the church to give at least another $185,000 before the end of November. That amount will pay for the cost of the remainder of the landscaping and the construction of the walking trail that surrounds the entire complex.

The Bottom of the "First Inning"

We are at the bottom of the first ... for Get in the Game, that is. We have just completed the first half of the First Inning for Get in the Game. As you remember, every three months begins a new inning as we seek to financially support this first phase of construction on our land. So far, the total raised through your gifts and from the proceeds from the sale of a portion of the land is $1,755,773. That is 29% of our total goal of $6 million. We also set a more immediate goal for the First Inning of raising $1,960,000 to cover the cost of infrastructure and landscaping. To meet the First Inning goal, we need an additional $204,227 by the end of August. After we complete this goal, we will begin raising the amounts that would cover the cost of the Sports Ministry Complex and sports fields.

What’s really exciting is that we should begin actually “turning dirt” sometime in August. We continue to work with the City of Carrollton to obtain the necessary permits to begin construction and believe that the permits will be issued very soon. Watch for pictures on our website of the construction process.

We are also still in the process of interviewing candidates for the Sports Outreach Minister. We have some highly qualified candidates. As you know, the person selected to lead this ministry has a great opportunity before him and we want to make sure we pick God’s person to lead. Please be in prayer about this.

If you have yet to give financially to Get in the Game, we need you. Please pray about getting involved through your regular giving. There is no pledge card to fill out. Your generosity will allow the church to accomplish more through this ministry even sooner than we might have expected. But for this to happen, it will take everyone. Giving is easy. Simply designate your gift on an offering envelope or give online at getinthegame.fbcc.org. We need everyone engaged to make this vision a reality. Now is the time for us all to “Get in the Game!”

The Work Continues

We are getting close to the time when we can actually begin “moving dirt” on our property. Before that can happen, though, all of the paperwork has to get completed, documents have to be filed with the City, and permits have to be obtained. We are in that stage of construction right now. Hopefully, this stage of work will be completed soon so that actual work on the property can begin. Right now, the main things that are happening are:

Our architects have submitted their drawings to the City of Carrollton. We are waiting to see if the City will make comments on the drawings or will approve them and issue a grading permit. Once we receive the grading permit, we will be able to begin moving dirt on the property.
Our engineers are receiving bids on the utilities and earthwork.
The Building Committee selected New Havens Homes as the contractor for construction of the Sports Ministry Building.
The Building Committee also selected Sports Design Group and Fields as the designers and contractors for the ball fields.
The interview process continues for the Sports Minister position. We hope to be able to bring a candidate to the church in view of a call within the next 60-90 days.

Your prayers for the Building Committee are needed and appreciated at this critical time. Keep on praying for God’s wisdom and guidance for them throughout this whole process.

A Fast Ball Down the Middle

On May 31, First Baptist Carrollton reconfirmed its support for the Sports Ministry vision with a large “Opening Pitch” offering: $116,832.42 – one of the largest single-day offerings in the church's history. With that initial offering, our Get in the Game emphasis has officially begun.

Our pastor challenged every member of the church to give – above and beyond his or her regular tithe and gifts – to the Get in the Game emphasis over the next 27 months. The goal is to raise $6 million in 27 months, which will pay for the construction costs of the Sports Ministry Complex and the first two years of its operations.

It is a tremendous challenge – hopefully, a God-sized challenge. No doubt, it would be more money than we have ever raised in such a short time period, and the accountants are scratching their heads trying to figure out how it can be done. (Head-scratching is a good sign! Read Judges 7. Gideon probably did some head-scratching of his own.) So, we will trust God to take care of the challenge, be faithful to do our own part by giving generously, and prepare our hearts to be ready to respond to the opportunities God puts in front of us.

Meanwhile, the work on the Sports Ministry Complex advances. Here’s what’s happening:

Our architects have almost finished all of their drawings for submittal to the city of Carrollton. We hope to submit everything to the city within the next week or so and anticipate that we will receive the permits necessary to begin actual construction sometime in the next 8-9 weeks. We could begin actual construction on the land in August.
The city has approved the engineer’s plats.
The Building Committee will begin reviewing bids for the construction of the Sports Ministry building at its next meeting.
We are currently receiving resumes of potential candidates for a Sports and Recreation Minister. Interviews for that position will also start this month.

Keep on praying for our Building Committee, for the architects and engineers, and for the whole process. Your support is so important, and your prayers are vital.

Work is underway

It will be a few weeks before we actually start “moving dirt,” but all of the preliminary work is happening right now:

Our engineers are working with the city of Carrollton to get approval of our plats so that the City will issue the permits we need in order to begin construction.
The engineers are also working on the grading and utility packages for our property.
Our architect has transitioned from the design development phase of his work and is now in the early phases of developing construction documents.
The architect and the Building Committee are identifying and contacting prospective builders for the various parts of the construction project.

There is a lot of activity going on in preparation for the actual construction to begin. What can you do during this time? Pray for the Building Committee as it oversees all of this work. Pray that the plat approval process with the city will go smoothly and quickly. Pray for God’s direction and guidance throughout this entire project. And pray for God’s guidance to show you what you can do to Get in the Game.