What have we already done?

Some of these things were opportunities we took to make things better with the funds we already had on hand.

• City fitout (walls, painting, cafe, etc.) $250k

• City Audio/Visual system $60k

• City Auditorium Acoustic panels $25k

• Garden Suburb playground $3k

• Garden Suburb Hall (outside orig. scope) $30k

• City Awning (over doors) $30k

All these things have been achievable because of the amazing generosity of our church and some wonderful Christian grants.

God’s allowed us to do more than we could imagine.

What would we love to do?

• Garden Suburb Kitchen upgrade $85k

• City Foyer acoustic treatment $10k

• Garden Suburb Mezzanine group meeting space $50k

• Unichurch A/V & Meal prep upgrades $25k

• Garden Suburb Foyer acoustic treatment $30k

• Garden Suburb Lounge upgrades (new carpet, glass doors, lights) $30k

• Garden Suburb and City other works $30k

• Accommodation & Office works $25k

Total: $285k of opportunities

See further information about these below.

City Foyer acoustic treatment $10k

The city foyer is a wonderful space, warm, inviting and full of light. However, as soon as there’s a few people talking, it get’s very loud making it hard to run events like AllNations, Life, and team training events. A good covering of acoustic panels will make a huge difference and make that room a great place for ministry.

Garden Suburb kitchen upgrade $85k

We always knew the kitchen would have to get done after we moved in, because we had to keep to budget. But the more we’re in Garden Suburb, the more we can see the benefit of a proper kitchen for church events, youth events, conferences, weddings and more.

And we’re not thinking a residential kitchen. We’re thinking a decked out kitchen that will make it a joy to use and serve others.

Garden Suburb mezzanine space $50k

There’s a tantalising space above the kitchen in Garden Suburb, big enough for a large group sitting on lounges and surrounded by books. We always hoped we’d have the money to put in a flight of stairs beside the cafe and make this space available for Youth, Life during church, and a place to gather, pray and chat.

Accommodation & Office works $25k

We want to modify the entrance area of the Garden Cottage accommodation; make it safer and a nice place to walk into. This also means we need to create a second entrance into the storage area from the office. Once these things are done, we’ll have a place to offer people in need.

Unichurch A/V & Meal prep upgrades $25k

Unichurch often gets the equipment hand-me-downs, but we need to spend a bit on them now. Plus, as they’re doing meals every week, we’d love to get a warming oven to make sure their dinners are fresh and warm on the night!

Garden Suburb Foyer acoustic treatment $30k

Similar to the City, the Garden Suburb foyer is a lovely place to be, but can be a difficult place to hear people well. And all the more when there’s several groups using it at once.

We always thought this would be a “move in and see what happens” issue, and so we’d love to get this installed to make the space work well for everyone.

Garden Suburb Lounge upgrades $30k

The Lounge is about the only room in Garden Suburb that hasn’t had significant work done (and it kinda shows). We’d love to make this room feel warm and welcoming so we can use it for events like Life, NextPhase, Lil’Buds, Youth and more!

There’s quite a lot involved in this; replacing the solid doors with glass to let in lots of natural light. New carpet. New lights. New furniture. But after this is done, it will be one of the most used rooms in the place.

Other works $30k

There’s a list of other “nice-to-haves”; New stage screen in the City and Garden Suburb. Foyer screens and cafe improvements. Equipment for kids rooms and some improvements to the landscaping. All things that do more than make the place nice… they help us love people as we encourage them in their walk with Jesus.