Built to Endure

Rejoice with Us!

God has provided us a wonderful opportunity to invest in the future of our church, our ministry, and our family. After praying for several years and hunting intently for the past couple, God has opened the door for us to purchase a property where we hope to enhance the connection between the Pastor School and the local church, make our program more cost-effective, and optimize the efficiency of our training program. In this email, I hope to take you on a brief journey down the path the Lord has brought us, share with you our vision, and let you know how you can help. 

The Need

Our local church has been praying for the opportunity to have our own property for several years now. Since the year 2016, we have met in the outdoor courtyard of a private Christian school that is directed by one of our deacons and his wife. It has been a huge blessing over the years, but there has been common agreement in the church that it is time to have our own place. However, since Santo Domingo is such a fast-growing city, prices for property big enough for a church inside the city are astronomical—I’m talking hundreds of thousands to even over a million. More recently the need has become more urgent, and so we have been searching diligently and praying as a church for the right property. We have been looking for something on the outskirts of town that would be big enough for our church as well as the Pastor School and would be in a safe area and easily accessible for church members and visitors who arrive by bus.

Also, in the Pastor School we have seen the need for a centralized location. The plan is to have a single property where we can house the students and have our classes in order to better cultivate intimate fellowship among the students and with the pastors of the church

So, first, the pastor school needs a centralized location because the program is designed to be a life lived together in the body of Christ. We have classes four days out of the week and regular ministry and fellowship opportunities. The class time is only a portion of the education students receive because an essential part of the program is the personal discipleship and time spent together in our families that help to shape students’ character as husbands, fathers, and church members. However, if students are living in various parts of the city, we lose over an hour a day in travel time. And, with students not having their own transportation, it limits us on the times we can all be together and exposes the students to danger from an ever-increasing crime rate in the city (this is a manageable problem for those who live here, but since our students come from other cities it is important to consider). In this way, a centralized location will optimize the efficiency of our program. Students will spend less time commuting for classes and ministry opportunities, and we will have the maximum amount of time to spend together for personal discipleship and fellowship. It is difficult to quantify, but with the plans that we have, I don’t see how we could provide more time for study, fellowship, and service. 

Second, a central location will also reduce costs significantly longterm. When churches or individuals support our ministry, a majority of that support goes to helping students with resources and living expenses during their time in our program and their transition to full-time ministry. Due to the nature of our program as a pastoral intensive in the context of the local church, students need to be able to focus on their studies, ministry opportunities, and their families during the 2.5 year program. However, a major part of this monthly support  to students goes to paying rent in various parts of the city. This is an average of $300 per student per month. For this next class of the Pastor School that will be starting in the late Spring of 2023, we are expecting to receive between 6 and 7 families. If they are all renting houses for an average of $300/month, then that is around $2,000 that goes into the pockets of random house owners per month. Having our own property with housing for the students, we can invest this amount into our own property to provide a more effective pastor school program for future generations and long-term we can cut the costs of the Pastor School by 30-40%. 

So, we have come to see that it would be a wise decision from both a ministerial and financial perspective, if we could have a single location where we could house the students, where my family could live, and where we could build our church building. In December, God provided us with what we believe to be the perfect property! 

The Plan

The property is located on the outskirts of town. It is five minutes from where we currently live, and 20-25 minutes from the center of the city. It is easily accessible to brothers who travel by bus. But, we are also organizing with members of the church who have small buses that they use for their jobs who will be willing to help pick up all who need a ride to the church. It is 4,000 mt2, which is equivalent to an acre. In the picture above, the three marked orange lots will be the location for our church building and the Pastor School living quarters. The blue lot across the street will be where Ariel and I hope to build our house. We have made a contract and down payment on the property and we have until March 15, 2023 to finalize the payment of $59,500 (the total amount is $65,000). If you compare this to land in rural areas of Arkansas or Texas, you may be surprised at how expensive land is. But, it is important to remember that we are right on the outskirts of the fourth largest city in Ecuador, which is rapidly expanding and growing. 

Construction Phases

The construction will be done in two phases:

Phase 1—Pastor School
Phase 2 —Church Building

Phase 1 consists in (1) the preparation of the land for all phases [leveling, retaining walls, and enclosure], (2) the construction of eight apartments for student families, (3) a standalone building that will serve as a classroom, student study center, and library. (4) Finally, this first phase will include the construction of the pastoral house across the street. As mentioned above, we hope to have a centralized location where the students and our family can be close together to maximize fellowship and personal discipleship. Also, personally, we have been looking to get out of renting and we would like to put what we currently pay in rent into the ministry and helping with the second phase of construction. 

In the pictures below you can see the plans for the property, the student housing, and a digital model. Jorge’s uncle is an architect, so we have been able to get these plans at about 5% of the normal price he would charge. The top right of the plans is where you will see the rough-draft plans for the church building (phase 2) and on the left side you will see the location of the pastor school housing and finalized plans. The housing is organized in two buildings. Each building has two towers of two stories each that are connected by a common stairwell. Each building will house four student families.

Phase 2 consists of (1) completing the parking lot and (2) building the church building. The church building is designed with the needs of our church in mind, but also in light of the fact that our church often serves as a central location for conferences, seminary classes, and joint services with our sister churches. 

The goal of dividing the construction into 2 phases is based on two details. First, we are expecting a new class of students in April, 2023 and so having housing for them is the priority. Though we hope to build the church building soon, it will be ok if we have to wait towards closer to the end of the year or early 2024. Second, as mentioned above, the goal is to be able to reinvest the rent expense of the students and of my family into the ministry and future phases of the project to help with the cost. So, if we begin with the Pastor School phase, the money saved from having this phase complete can help contribute to the completion of phase 2. 

The Cost

Having seen the plan, let’s talk about the cost. First, the most important and pressing financial need is to finish the payment of the property—$59,500 remaining balance. Having this paid off before March 15th would give us the freedom to direct all of our attention and funds to the construction itself. In light of the plans to receive students in April, it is important to begin as soon as possible. And, if we are not able to finish them in time for the start of the program, we have other options for temporary housing as we await the completion of Phase 1. Thankfully, some churches have already stepped up to help with this need, but we have not yet met our goal (see below). 

Second, Phase 1 of construction will have a cost of about $350,000, as a conservative estimate. This is based on an estimate of $500 per mt2 (about $50/ft2). Though land is more expensive here, construction costs are significantly cheaper than in the U.S. We will be constructing 8 apartments of 70mt2 each (752ft2) which will have a cost of $35,000 per apartment. The classroom will be around 35mt2 (375ft2), and have a cost of about $15,750 ($450/mt2). Finally, our house will be around 115mt2 (1,236ft2; we don’t have finalized plans yet), and will have a cost around $50,000.
Phase 1 cost:
Land — $65,000
8 apartments—$35,000: total = $280,000
classroom — $15,000
pastoral house — $50,000
Total: $410,000 total

How You Can Help

To be honest, for me, seeing those prices is overwhelming. First of all, I ask myself if it is really worth it.

1. Then I think about how our first group of students that graduated in July of 2022 have been such a huge blessing to my life and to the life of our church, and that already one student is serving as a faithful pastor in his church and the other two are serving in church planting. Both Jose and Dennis will be active in church planting in 2023.
2. Then, I think about how we are receiving 6-7 students in the next class of students and from the very beginning we will be involved in church plants in Pedernales, Ecuador and Pasto, Colombia (1.5 hours over the northern border) where incoming students have been serving. And, we have great hopes for the other students as well. 
3. Then, I think about how much more effective our ministry will be with these changes. 
4. Then, I think of our local church growing and serving together in our own building, and the opportunity to receive our sister churches and other brothers and sisters for conferences and joint services. 
5. Then, I think about how we will be able to invest $2,500 per month into the future of the ministry instead of just giving it to the home owners from which I and the students will be renting.

When, I think from a ministry perspective, this is a decision that will have incredible benefits both short and long-term. When I think from the financial perspective, this is a decision that will have incredible benefits for the long-term of the ministry and our church. For example, if from the students we can save $2,000 from monthly housing expenses and then the $500 that my family pays currently, in one cycle of the Pastor School (2.5 years) we have already saved $75,000—nearly 20% of the overall cost. 

Second, I ask myself, how can I contribute to this if I don’t have a lot to offer. When I have $100 to give but I see a final goal of $410,000, it’s easy to think that it is insignificant. Of course, it is a huge blessing for those who could sponsor the construction of an entire apartment ($35,000) or for the whole classroom ($15,750). But, as we are beginning the construction process I am realizing that construction is really the sum of a lot of smaller projects. For example, in the middle of January we hope to level the land and construct the retaining walls for the construction on the whole property. This is a very significant step in the project but is a much more manageable price of $2,500-3,000. This same amount is the equivalent to a whole bedroom for a student’s house. An offering of $1,000 can provide for the bathroom installations of a student’s house. $500 can pay for the installation of an AC unit in one of the apartments. $250 may be the cost of the windows of an apartment. $100 can cover the cost of the doors for an apartment. Or, say I only have $50 to give; that can be a day’s pay for a couple of workers here in Ecuador. So, if you’d like to help but worry that what you have to offer may not be a big help, be assured that a little can go a long way. And, when I remember that the God we serve gave greater honor to the widow and her two mites and used a few fishes and loaves of bread to feed thousands, I am reminded that God can do incredible things above what we can ask or think. 

We believe that the Pastor School program is a ministry that is worth investing in, and we want to do it in the best way we possibly can. God has already used it, and we are confident that He will continue to use it to train up men who love God’s Word, preach it faithfully, and live it in every sphere of their lives. There are many needs in Latin America, but training men for ministry who have both head and heart full of God’s Word is one of the most consistent and crucial needs we have seen. Through supporting the Pastor School program and this project, we get to be a part of more laborers sent to the harvest; more “cities set on a hill” shining the light of truth and grace in the midst of a dark world; and more husbands, fathers, and pastors who love Christ and love like Him. It is our prayer that the fruit of what we are building here will endure the test of time and will continue to serve future generations of pastors and churches in Ecuador and beyond. 

If you’d like to help, you can send a tax deductible offering to Grace Bible Church (P.O. Box 1586, Conway, AR 72033)—our sponsoring church—with “Ecuador Construction Project” on the memo line. You can also give a one-time or recurring offering online by clicking this link and selecting “Missions – Latin America” from the drop down box. You can also click this link to give through PayPal.

Maybe you’d like to help, but you want more information before committing, you can check out our website for more information about us and the Pastor School. Also, you can contact me directly; I would love to set up a time to talk with you and/or your church to answer any questions that you may have.

To see the most recent updates about the project, please click this link.