The new 7th and 8th grade campus at First Southern Baptist Church’s Christian Life Center (CLC) sure came together fast (we actually expect to receive final approval from the church on April 30)! But it is an answer to our prayers and it has been humbling and inspiring to see how God connected the dots to make it happen in His time. We just needed to keep taking steps of faith as he opened doors.
Our enrollment is taking off for next year – we will be up significantly and were looking for ways to create space to add classes and add sections (to make smaller classes). We also were starting to talk about how to create a different environment for our 7th and 8th grade students as we work toward a high school.
As we were dealing with our issues, God was at work in the hearts of the people at FSBC. They were approached by another school about using their facility. The congregation voted in favor of housing the school and even vacated the offices in the CLC building. Then, the school changed their mind. However, this got the church thinking about what was possible and excited about the idea of using the CLC to impact youth through education.
Then, the Children’s Pastor at FSBC enrolled his child at ECS and learned about our need for space – he asked if we had ever considered their facility – a 26,000 square foot facility with a full-size gym, indoor track, multiple office, large classrooms, outdoor field, etc.!
After an initial analysis of the facility, we knew we would need to file for a variance from the State and were told it was a low probability to be approved. We hired a consultant who asked the State to put our request on the agenda after the filing deadline. The State agreed and on April 1 (yes, April Fool’s Day), the State approved the variance.
Multiple things have come together to make this a reality. There are lots of opportunities to be explored as we launch this campus specifically designed to meet the needs of our 7th and 8th grade students – stay tuned and please keep our efforts in your prayers!