To give Hillcrest a visible, main entrance and create an expanded area for congregational fellowship, we will reconfigure the west entrances and expand the foyer. This new area could have multiple uses and promotes greater accessibility thanks to a new circle drive at the Bacon Street entrance. A focal point in this area will be a new baptistry. View larger image.

The baptistry was originally built on 55-gallon drums filled with concrete, and that support structure has deteriorated significantly. The baptistry needs to be torn down and replaced. Relocating it to a more visible location prominently displays its importance in our faith journey. View larger image.

One frequent request from the membership is for upgraded lighting in the auditorium. New lighting technology will allow us to better light our auditorium and do so in a much more cost-effective way.

We need to enhance the security and access to the children’s wing, provide facility updates and upgrades that align with our children’s Bible curriculum promoting a 21st Century learning environment, and create larger classrooms.

Playgrounds help attract and retain families with children by providing a safe play area for children. Having a playground on our campus conveys a subjective message that families with children are welcome at Hillcrest.

A covered patio would provide an outdoor area for church events. This could include events for university students, high school and middle school students, or Bible classes and life groups. Having the patio near the playground would provide an area for families to bring their children and meet with friends. View larger image.

By creating a more functional and flexible gathering space, our youth ministry will have better opportunity for fellowship, mentoring and growth. It will include two large classrooms and a large common room to accommodate middle school and high school students’ needs.

We need to replace and redirect duct work in the high school and middle school classrooms. The classrooms are always hot, and the HVAC needs to be updated to maintain proper temperature for our youth.

We need to update and renovate the Hillcrest building doors and entrances with added security measures and modernize building entrance accessibility. This will allow us to know who came into our building after hours and also secure our facility at a stronger level before, during and after worship service times.

We need to provide a safe area for our fleet of church vehicles. A secured and covered area to park our church van and buses will help protect the vehicles from weather, maintenance issues and vandalism.

A long-needed renovation and update to the four bathrooms in the education wing would make the bathrooms more aesthetically pleasing. This update will occur in the four bathrooms in the east wing, both upstairs and downstairs.

The sewer line is in an abandoned alley that runs across the HCC property. In 1987, the city abandoned the alley, and HCC built a new addition over it. In taking the alley, we inherited the sewer line that runs under it, and it is our responsibility to maintain the sewer line. These lines need to be replaced for our bathrooms to operate efficiently.