|
Dear friend,
I'd like to share with you the exciting vision of what God may be doing in the future. We have been leasing the Chenango County Council of the Arts facility for years on Sundays only. While this has been a great place for us to worship and meet on Sundays, we hope that the opportunities for serving the community and making disciples of Christ will be greatly increased by the purchase of this building that could be used throughout the week. In amazing fashion and perfect timing, God provided the entire $170,000 to purchase the property on 58 Hale Street in the city of Norwich! Thank you to all of you who have been praying about this and have supported this cause! Being unencumbered with a mortgage loan allows us great freedom and resources for furthering God's work and His kingdom in the future. It is my hope that you would continue to pray that God would move mightily through Sovereign Grace in furthering the Gospel of Jesus Christ and impacting many lives for eternity. We would love to have you be a part of what God is doing. Please consider joining us on a Sunday. We will continue meeting at the Chenango County Council of the Arts until we are ready to make the move to 58 Hale Street. Click on the "Services" tab for further info. I hope to see you there! In His Grace, Mark Fazio The Vision
Evangelism/Community Outreach Opportunities • Biblical Counseling Center There is a real need for biblical counseling in the Norwich area. We plan to start a biblical counseling center where people could find solutions to life's struggles. We have seen how God can powerfully change lives through biblical counseling. My good friend Rich had some marital problems as well as some struggles with drugs and alcohol, and did not know Christ. It was through biblical counseling that God powerfully delivered Rich from his struggles and saved him. There are many in our community, just like Rich, that need biblical counseling and to be brought into a relationship with Jesus Christ. Sovereign Grace Community Church has been training it's people to give biblical counsel in areas such as depression, anxiety, marriage and parental struggles etc. • Teen outreach ministry There are 687 students in Norwich High School in grades 9-12, and 475 students in Norwich Middle School grades 6-8. The property we are trying to purchase is within a stone's throw of the High School and Middle school. We see unique ministry opportunities with this location by providing an after school program, where kids could hang out and have fun, play foosball or ping pong, get some free tutoring, and be shown Christ's love. By reaching these students for Christ, we will also be able to make inroads into their families. • Youth group activities With our close proximity to the schools and the relationships that we want to build with these students, we would be in an excellent location to have a thriving youth group where many lives would be changed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. • Holistic approach to helping the materially poor In the city of Norwich there is 8.5% unemployment and 21.8 % of individuals are below the poverty level according to the US Census Bureau (2010). There is a real need in this area to help the materially poor. Having a food pantry is a good first step in building relationships with materially poor people. Showing love and concern to people often opens up opportunities to share the Gospel. At Sovereign Grace we are interested in helping people in a holistic way that goes beyond their immediate needs, and through God's enabling, help bring people into a relationship with Jesus Christ. We believe that a holistic approach to helping the materially poor will include coming along side them and helping them to develop skills, find work, and reach their goals and dreams, in order to fulfill their calling of glorifying God by working and supporting themselves and their families with the fruits of that work. A young man I'll call "Bob" came to our church a while ago. There were some immediate needs for him and his family. Our family at Sovereign Grace helped him monetarily and also provided furniture, dishes, etc. But we did not stop there. One of our college students got involved in helping "Bob" get his GED. Also, one of the men in our church was also able to provide work for "Bob". There are many "Bobs" in our community in need of this type of holistic approach With the purchase of this building more people would be able to receive help, encouragement, instruction, and counsel throughout the week as we availed ourselves to the community. • Crisis pregnancy ministry According to the NYS Department of Health, in 2010, there were an estimated 108 abortions and 468 live births in Chenango County. That means that almost 19% of babies were aborted in 2010. Some of the women in our church have a heart for helping women in crisis pregnancies. Giving these women love and encouragement could give them the hope they need to carry their babies to birth. • Ladies Community Bible Study These Bible studies would be open to women of all faiths, denominations and backgrounds. Day studies would be geared towards mothers of preschoolers and stay at home mothers. Loving childcare in a comfortable and clean nursery would be provided. This would give great opportunity to build relationships and to reach this demographic with the truths of God's Word. |
58 Hale St., Norwich, NY
7,540 sq. ft. living "ministry" space situated on 1.16 acres. The original asking price was $279,900. We purchased the property for $170,000, with additional land in back! 
This large open space would provide a very inviting community room and teen ministry room for our guests and people we hope to build relationships with.
There are also other large rooms that could be used for a clean and comfortable nursery, a Sunday School, conference, and counseling rooms The layout of the building is already well suited for various ministries to people throughout the week! 
This large, open, spacious room will serve as the main sanctuary/auditorium.
___________________________________________________________________ • All ministries would be more accessible to the community
The location of this building gives great accessibility to the ministries of Sovereign Grace. It also gives us greater opportunity to form relationships with people throughout the week. We would also like to be able to offer people free coffee and Wi-Fi during the day, and would like to be known as the Christian "Starbucks" of Norwich! • Community events We plan to host film nights, seminars, and other creative events for our community. Ministry/Equipping While our greatest ministry opportunities with a new building would be for outreach and evangelism, we would also be able to further strengthen and mature believers with various ministry and equipping times such as these listed below. • Men's discipleship with morning Bible studies and coffee! • Women's discipleship times • Youth Group events & activities • Studies during the week on various topics • Special meals/events like mother/daughter lunches or father/son breakfasts • Sunday fellowship meals on Communion Sundays • Host conferences and seminars • Prayer times during the week |
Floor Plan
