Below you will find answers to questions brought up during our facility discernment process prior to our purchase of 2215 Mangum Road.

Building Decision & Vision

Q: How does purchasing this building align with our church’s long-term vision and mission?

A: Even prior to leaving Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Church Leadership Team began the search to find a long-term facility from which we could launch future church plants in Houston and the nations, whether via house churches (Lifegroups), campuses or, cross-cultural teams. The sense all along is that we need a launch pad to serve as a worship, prayer and training center to equip the church for works of service. 

The strength of our church is Lifegroups. These are our discipleship and front line church plants in our city. However, there are some specific objectives that a central facility can help us accomplish as we prepare to be a sending and training base. We are currently limited to only a 5 pm worship service on Sundays and have to schedule with the other tenants and the Vineyard to plan for other events. The Vineyard has been a huge blessing in our journey. However, as we talked about in our family meeting back when we made the move to the Vineyard, we knew that meeting there was a temporary solution to our Sunday and mid-week gatherings due to the challenges of only 1 evening service and its impact on families with young kids in particular. While the evening works great for some, many of our families who have a longer drive to the Heights find Sunday evenings challenging as they navigate late dinner and bedtimes to begin the school week. Continued expansion of our young families necessitates a shift that can best serve the needs of our community. The CLT senses that the time is now to find a place where we can add a Sunday morning service, a prayer room available after hours, more options for mid-week training or Sunday night equipping, and space for youth gatherings outside service times.

Q: What confirmations from the Lord have we heard regarding the timing of this purchase? 

A: A central prophetic word has been the Antioch Movement word for 2025, Prepare(d) for Harvest. We believe that finding a facility to facilitate our vision and serve as a launch pad for our church is an important part of preparing for harvest. Jimmy Seibert, founder of Antioch, shared in a pastor’s Zoom call that he sensed this 2025 Movement word would be worked out over the next 5 years. Harvest is coming, and we are to prepare for it.  

We feel that the Lord has called our church to live Kingdom culture at the crossroads of our city and to intentionally place ourselves where people gather. Our first response to that call is to place Lifegroups at the crossroads and where people gather. In addition, our facility needs to be centrally located where the different Lifegroup regions can all have good access to gather on Sundays. The location of this building is certainly at a crossroads, will put our church’s Sunday meetings where people gather, and will be centrally located within our Lifegroup regions. A prophetic encouragement for this specific area is that when the Board of Advisors was in town in February of 2024, Joe Ewen submitted that while we were praying about building options and areas of town we were considering at the time, he saw the NW corner of the Loop highlighted as an area to explore. 

Britt heard the following concerning the building and submitted it to the CLT: “Establish a worship and training center, 24-7 worship, training and sending into other parts of Houston and the nations. Plant churches out of this space. Don’t just plant one church. This space is a church planting incubator. It will birth multiple church plants. Worship together, build teams and launch them to plant churches. Teach them how to lead together.”

What has resonated with the CLT is that purchasing this building helps put a stake in the ground for our future home. Any building move would take a considerable amount of time and cost and we feel a calling to be prepared and build on what God is already doing in our midst.

Q: What demographic or community study has been conducted to ensure this location is the best fit for the next 15+ years?

A: One demographic study showed that over 23,000 cars pass through the intersection of Dacoma and Mangum Rd. every day. There are few other churches in this part of the city, and we can be a light to the neighborhood. Below please find a link to a more detailed demographic study the CLT has looked at regarding this address.  It only shows estimates for the next 5 years; however, the market is trending that this will continue to be a growing edge of the city, allowing for outreach both to existing communities in the area as well as new arrivals.

2215 Mangum Rd Houston Demographic Comprehensive Report.pdf

Q: What feedback has the Board of Advisors given about the building and financing process?

A: The Board of Advisors were able to walk and pray through the building in our annual meeting February 13, 2025. They were excited about the possibility of the space. They asked questions related to city location as well as auditorium size. During the prayer time, Clark had a sense that the Lord was opening a doorway for our church in this process corresponding to Revelation 3:8–“I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.”

Financial Considerations

Q: How will purchasing this building impact the church’s financial stability and our ability to fund ministry, missions, and outreach?

A: The impact of the purchase on this year’s budget would adds an additional $2,600 monthly for 2025 (see below for cost breakdown). In 2026, we will need to increase our facility budget to $22,830 to cover a full year’s cost of the building and our existing Vineyard rental.  

In terms of funding missions and outreach, every year, we budget at least 10% of our operating budget to be applied to missions and outreach. We have blessed local ministries in Houston as well as supported overseas church planting and local sent ones from Houston. We will retain this principle when we create the yearly budget. While we’re in the transition from the Vineyard to the building, ministry funding will require wise stewardship of our resources. However, we plan to maintain the current level of ministries and activity within the church body. Once we settle into a new facility that will allow for more people to join on Sunday mornings, then we could have the opportunity to grow the church budget to match incoming growth.

Monthly Building Costs

Original vs. Estimated with Purchase

Original 2025 Monthly Budgeted Amounts

Vineyard Monthly Rental: $3,500

Building Savings: $5,000

Total $8,500.00 budgeted monthly

Estimated Monthly Amounts with Building Purchase

Vineyard Monthly Rental: $3,500

Mortgage: $6,228

Insurance & Utilities: $1,888

Total $11,616 needed monthly ($3,116 more monthly than budgeted)

Building Down Payment & Mortgage

Building Down Payment: $378,000

Amount Financed: $882,000

Monthly Payment: $6,228

Q: Why are we using a large portion of our savings for this purchase instead of exploring other options?

A: We had $432,037.86 in our Feb 2025 Building Fund Balance. This money has been set aside and accrued for this very purpose. With the newly negotiated purchase price, we put $378,000 down and obtained a loan in the amount of $882,000. The CLT has allocated up to $600,000 to be used for purchase and initial renovations needed for the building (ex. roof). As of February 28, 2025, we had a balance of $964,990.18. If we used the entire $600,000, then we would retain $364,990.18 of savings for the church. This is a little over 6 months of operational expenses.

Owning a building puts the church on more solid footing versus the uncertainty of escalating Sunday morning rents, additional NNN expenses on a property, and the fact that most long-term rental situations would necessitate a similar cost of renovation for a space we are leasing vs a space that we own. It’s an issue of stewardship to put in $1.5 - 2 million into a space we aren’t guaranteed to keep past a lease term agreement. 

We have explored many different rental options, including renting from schools in HISD. Back in 2021 prior to coming to the Vineyard, our quote from HISD was $10,000 per month for just four Sundays. This did not include office and mid-week rental for ATS and worship practice at the Vineyard (additional $1500 per month for just office/ATS/worship). 

Q: What is the expected cost of renovations, and how will they be funded?

The ballpark amount for renovations that we received from two general contractors was around $2MM dollars. Final numbers would come after detailed plans and hard bids would be provided, but the architects think that they can bring that price tag down some. However, we want to view this as a realistic bid to work from. Our plan is to cover the mortgage with our normal operating budget and pay for the renovations via a capital campaign that seeks donors from within and outside the church. This will take a combined and creative effort from all of us as we partner with the Lord in His provision. What we would ask each person in our church to do is the same thing they’d do in any decision: ask the Lord what to do (give), listen to what He says, and do what He commands. We also plan to seek outside funding via generous donors, church and foundation grants, corporate matching of gifts, etc.  Other options for reducing this cost are to plan the build out in phases that we could more easily afford as we build and to involve our own man hours as the church is able and skilled to volunteer/contribute. 

Q: Do Antioch churches have a policy against debt for building purchases?

No. As we met with our Board of Advisors, Fred and Joe shared that every Antioch church outside of Waco, who didn’t receive their building as a gift, has had to acquire their buildings via mortgage. When we first started looking for places to meet, Drew Steadman, Director of the Movement Support Office at the time, said that it was up to the local church leadership to determine if they would assume debt for ownership of a facility. Antioch Waco purchased and renovated on a cash basis, but the Movement leadership recognizes that real estate needs in larger cities across the U.S. do not allow for that principle to be broadly applied to all of the churches.

The reason that the CLT was open to the purchase of this building is that the mortgage does not overwhelm the budget. In fact, the cost basis is similar to or even cheaper than what it would cost to rent a building. Our last rental estimate of a similar sized space (as of spring of 2024) was $18,000 per month for a 5 year lease and at least $1.2 MM renovation cost. Any long-term lease is, in essence, debt, whether it’s a mortgage to a bank or a monthly contracted payment to a landlord. In the case of ownership, we’re sowing into the equity of the building as we make the payments. 

Facility & Logistics

Q: What were the results of the mold and asbestos report? How will health and safety concerns related to asbestos be addressed?

A: We ordered a Phase I environmental study of the property through Partner ESI as well as an asbestos inspection and laboratory testing with Loflin ESI. 

Notes from Partner ESI Phase I inspection related to mold and asbestos:

• Due to the age of the subject property building, there is a potential that asbestos-containing material (ACM) are present.

• The inspector noted some water-stained and water-damaged ceiling tiles, water damage to walls, and some water damage to the carpet.

Asbestos Inspection Results from Loflin ESI: 

• The laboratory analysis revealed some floor tiles and their mastic contained asbestos. This amounted to 1,970 square feet of the 12,600 square foot space. There was no asbestos in the ceilings or walls.

• We were quoted a price of $5,000 for asbestos abatement.

The water damage will be addressed in the renovation process. The asbestos would be abated prior to any demolition and renovation. For reference, the Vineyard has had asbestos identified and abated in the past 3 years while we have been leasing their building from them. It is not uncommon in older buildings. 

Q: What is the estimated timeline for renovations, and when could we begin holding services in the new building?

Currently, a commercial renovation timeline consists of: 

2.5 months for architectural design and drawings (we are already 1.5 months into this process)

6 months for submission to the city for permitting, etc. 

Construction would take about 6-9 months to complete

Total time: 18 months - 2 years

We would time our plans with the general contractor to keep the ball moving while we’re raising the funds. We are also exploring phases of construction to get into the building more quickly and possibly generate more funds for completion. 

Q: How can ACH members contribute to the renovation process (demolition, cleanup, painting, etc.)?

A: We will need all the help we can get. Please fill out a facility feedback form listing your skills and availability. We will work with the general contractor to find ways to help/reduce cost in the process.

Q: Will we stay at the Vineyard until renovations are complete? 

A: Yes, that is the current plan. The low rent cost ($3500/mo.) enables us to add the mortgage to our operating budget. 

Q: How many people will the renovated sanctuary and kids’ area accommodate?

A: The current floor plan has 250 in the sanctuary. For kids’ areas, there are 3-4 classrooms for preschool, a cry room by the sanctuary, a divisible elementary space, and a youth space. 

Q: Do we have a plan if church growth exceeds expectations within the first few years?

A: That is the plan! In preparing for harvest, we are planning to go to two services in the mornings and possibly keep a Sunday night service as well. We are, however, specifically limiting the size of the sanctuary to afford the authenticity and intimacy of the corporate worship experience we enjoy together now. We are not trying to build a mega church. We want to plant churches. We plan to launch new campuses out of this space in addition to having multiple services on site.

Q: Can the building be designed to accommodate an "upper room" or multipurpose space?

A: We plan to have a 24/7 prayer room available by secure code entry. In addition, we are looking at creative remote work space and to have a flex space for ATS and other equipping/community trainings available.

Q: Is there a possibility of adding green space to the property for a more inviting environment?

A: Great question. The property is mostly impervious cover as you will see upon visiting. We definitely want to make the approach inviting; however we may be limited in how much we can do. We are considering adding a secure and enclosed play area for the kids to be able to use.

Community & Outreach

Q: How does this building support our ministry to the local community?

A: As the Lord plants us in this neighborhood, we will reach out to the community as well as in the regions where our Lifegroups gather. There is plenty of need in this neighborhood. One of our church members runs a non-profit 3 miles away from this location. We will look for opportunities to serve their families. The appeal of this location is that there are very few churches on this side of 290, so we will be uniquely positioned to serve the community. There are many homes and businesses in the area that need the good news of the gospel. Over breakfast, the church staff asked the owner of Jackie’s Kitchen across the street if there was a need for a church in the area. Jackie, a friend of Etna Neighbour, responded by saying that there’s no church that she knows of in the area and she would love to have one across the street. With HISD headquarters nearby, we also have the opportunity to serve the school district or do outreaches during band and sports competitions at Delmar Fieldhouse and sports complex.

Closing 

Thank you for taking time to ask questions. We hope this has been a helpful resource for you. Please reach out to any of the CLT with further questions or comments. We ask you to continue to pray for us as we move towards the renovation stage.

For we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. As a church, we will continue to spread a passion for Jesus, His people, and His purposes in Houston and the nations.