This Week's Progress

Just a quick update to you all from the building project. Here is some of the work that was accomplished this week or other items of note....

• Sheet rock in the auditorium is complete. 3/4 of the sheet rock on the ceiling was hung by volunteers. The only remaining sheet rock to be hung is behind stage.
• Stages, Booths and Ramps....there has been great progress with backstage ramps, elementary stage and sound booth. The youth auditorium backstage and drum stage is well underway.
• Evening Work Crews: We have had great response to our work nights. 60 people will have put an evening of work in on the building.
• Lights, Lights, Lights: The hallway and classrooms all have lights installed and on! It make a difference when you see the room lighting in place. That entire part of the building has been painted too. It is nearly ready for the next stage....waiting the arrival of the carpet!
• Baptistery has been set. It is really fun to see the baptistery set in place. Now it is idea time to see how to finish it out. We have some great ideas in the works.
• Front Tower: The top half of the tower is near completion. Hopefully tomorrow or early next week the tower will be finished.

Have a great and safe holiday weekend!

JW Volunteer Week

Wow, this week has turned into a big Jacob's Well work week. We've had volunteers from Jacob's Well every day and night this week. Over 70 volunteers have been on site. Several weekly work groups have formed in the evenings. If you want to join any of them, they will be working on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday next week. Call the office for details.

Also this week, we've made great progress with our telephone and data cabling. A team from Georgia had put in long, long days installing the cabling. These guys are saving us thousands of dollars with the work they are doing. The will be taking off tonight making the 17 hour journey back to GA. A big thanks to Kyle and his crew.

Lawrence Corley has been on site this week, inspecting the progess and giving us feedback on how we can finish the project in the most cost effective, timely way. Lawrence always provides great insight during his visits. We are grateful for his trip this week.

Last but not least, we had some great news on the giving for the project. Over $43,000 came in this week really narrowing our financial gap. Praise God for how He shows up!

From our high school youth pastor, John Eiselt

“They’re so excited that we’re here.”

I’ll never forget this remark from a high school student as we pulled into summer camp one year. The entire camp staff was lined up cheering for our kids as we pulled in. For the students arriving at camp, this moment set the stage for their entire week-long experience. They felt important, welcomed, appreciated, and loved just for being there. The very things we want for our students to feel as they hear about, come to know, and grow in their walk with Christ.

Sadly, many of our high school students spend most of each day struggling to feel important and trying to fit in, not only into their own social world, but into the world of adults as well.

Chap Clark, a renowned author, youth worker and vice provost at Fuller Theological Seminary wrote a book called ‘Hurt’ after months of research looking at the world of adolescents.

He states that the greatest struggles that teens face today have to do with a lack of adult involvement in their lives. Instead of a message like the students received at camp that summer, the subliminal yet ever present message they receive from adults is a message to, “Perform, conform, or have an image that is pleasing to me”. He goes onto to explain, “Therefore, they’re under multiple agendas throughout their life.”

So what does this mean?  How do we step into the lives of teenagers differently than we have before and differently than most of the adults in their lives?

This doesn’t mean that agendas or rules or expectations are wrong or harmful in and of themselves. It simply means that when we take out the relationship, it is replaced with rules, or agendas that serve the interests of the adult or institution rather than the interests and needs of the child.

What this means is that adolescents need relationships with adults. Deep, caring relationships full of acceptance, grace, and trust. The opportunity to guide and offer direction is second to these first critical components that build relationships that earn the right to be heard.

Bill Milliken, author and activist for communities and youth says it this way….

“It’s relationships, not programs that change children. A great program simply creates the environment for healthy relationships to form between adults and children. Young people thrive when adults care about them on a one to one level, and when they also have sense of belonging to a caring community."

As I think about, pray about, and dream about what this building-this space-means to our high school kids, I believe it will be the manifestation of this quote and a tangible example of the kingdom at work. I believe that they will find a caring community of adults here. I believe they will thrive in the relationships we’ll build with them. I hope for them that it is a picture of the kingdom. I hope for it to set the stage for an overwhelming feeling of importance, love, and acceptance every time they step in the door.  The building and the space create an atmosphere and a place like none other in the Chippewa Valley for this to happen. For many it will be a launch pad for a life changing relationship with an adult who knows them, it will be a launch pad for them to come to know Jesus and, it will redefine for them what involvement in a church and in a caring community looks like.

It looks like Jesus.

And I believe they will experience the same emotion upon encountering Him as they do when they step through the doors and say to one another, “They’re so excited that we’re here.” - “Yes, we are!”

Week Wrapping Up

Tuesday night was hopping around here. There were 15-20 people who were out on site for our work night...moving stuff, throwing stuff, putting up plastic for painting, tackling projects here and there. Thanks to all who could come out.

Here's what is happening on site this week:

• Back Half of the Building: Has been taped and mudded. Sanding and texturing in that part is currently being worked on; by the end of next week all classrooms, children's theater and hallway should be painted
• The tile floors in the bathrooms have all been laid
• Light fixtures are installed in the cafe and just starting in the back rooms
• About a third of the stonework on the tower has been completed. Next week that should be complete.
• Inside doors will all be delivered by early next week
• Carpet and chairs have been ordered

We're having work nights on Tuesday and Wednesday nights next week. Come on out from 4-9pm if you want to lend a hand.

Evening Work Crews

Tonight's Crew: We had our first post-BFC work crew tonight. It went very well. We scraped and swept the floors and put down paper to prep for the painting. We also cleaned up some around the site. Thanks to the volunteers who helped out tonight.

The following dates are the work nights on the schedule. Come anytime from 4-9pm.

Tuesday, Aug. 16 (tomorrow)
Tuesdsay, Aug. 23
Wednesday, Aug. 24

Week K Builders for Christ profiles

With our last week of Builders for Christ groups that came in, we have Bob and Sue Steen from Valley Baptist Church in Appleton, WI who shared with us a little about themselves.

There were 24 people in their group. Sue helped prepare meals, and Bob worked on ceiling tiles. They have 3 grown children. Bob works as a chemist and Sue is a homemaker. They have been members of Valley Baptist for 9 years. They're involved in adult discipleship and financial counseling. They have been working 9 years with their church's building team, many of those with Builders for Christ. They enjoyed getting to know the people on the other teams and members of Jacob's Well.

Thanks so much to all the teams from Week K. We'll miss having everyone around. It's been great to catch up with people we met in 2006 and getting to know some new brothers and sisters. God Bless you!

It's Cabinet Week!

 The cabinets that were made in Virginia by volunteers in the spring. They were delivered across country three weeks ago and this week they are being assembled and installed. These folks make high quality cabinets. Sawdust is flying, drills are going to town, and people are busy putting cabinets together in each of the rooms.

The Welcome Center and our new Oasis (cafe counter) are going to be attention drawing features in our new gathering area. We hope you can see them soon in person. For those who can't we'll get pictures of those cabinets.