Together We Build
CAUSE FOR SUPPORT
Sedge Fen Baptist Church Building Project
A 2,400’ Educational Building, located at
Sedge Fen,Lakenheath, Brandon
England – IP27 9LG
Tel – 01353-675268
Dear Friends of the Gospel:
We are in critical days here.
Sedge Fen Baptist had been without a pastor for nearly four months before I came here on December 28, 2008. The congregation had drifted down to about 30 and they were spiritually exhausted. Essentially, all of the ministry and the financial burden had fallen on the shoulders of 6-8 families and they were finding things very difficult. However, in just 2 months, we are now over 90 people and growing with new families visiting every week. Our finances are improving but we still have a way to go. We are here indefinitely (without a salary) until they call a full time pastor.
Our Beginnings: SFBC, a church located in rural SE England near Cambridge, was started by two airmen who saw a need for a Bible study for military members not associated with the base chapel. From its inception in 1968 as Suffolk Baptist Church, they have been affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Some of the chapel programs and the chaplains are very good and some can be very doctrinally challenging (liberal). The church, located in a very rural setting, surrounded by farms, is 5 miles from RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall where 8,000 USA men, women and their families are stationed. The farming area surrounding it continually reminds us it is a great harvest field to work in.
Our Makeup: Ninety-nine percent of the church population is composed of military families from the three US Air Force bases located near the church. Also, ninety-nine per cent of the families are in the 20-30 years old category with a few in their 40s. In the past, we have had several British families but now are down to only two widows. The church is very transient. Most families are stationed here for 3-4 years. A few will stay longer depending on the need in their career field. On average, we lose 20-30% of those attending each year.
Although our roots go deep into the SBC, we remain an autonomous, evangelical ‘patchwork’ church family with around 35% of our members coming from other Christian backgrounds. They are evangelical, Bible believing Protestants looking for a place to worship that is not located on the base.
In addition, we are fraternally linked to the International Baptist Convention which gives oversight and direction to churches in Britain and Europe who are located to serve the military community, as well as our English speaking friends in the various countries who want to come and worship with us. The majority of these churches have pastors trained by the SBC.
Our Financial Strength: Sedge Fen is debt free. A normal annual budget could vary between $75-120K depending on the size of the membership. We meet our annual budget of income and expenses. Sedge Fen owns the land (1.5 acres) outright. The facility is comprised of a full kitchen, fellowship hall; a three (3) bedroom, one bath manse (parsonage); a sanctuary which can seat 150 people; and a 2,400’ educational building.
Our Immediate Need: The above mentioned 2,400’ educational building which was built in 1984-85 has been vacated. When it was constructed, it was done on a very minimal budget and has grown very tired through the years. It is now unusable.
Progressively, over the last five years, the building has getting worse due to damp, rot and asbestos issues. The final straw that accelerated the demise was the breaking of a water pipe going to one of the radiators just before Christmas. It is now uninhabitable. (See the following pictures)
This building when rebuilt will provide six large 20’ x 20’ rooms; four (4) for teaching and two (2) individual rooms for the nursery and toddler children. Presently, we have had to shift everything into the fellowship hall where we made a toddler area out of a former storage room and made a nursery room out of a small recording keeping room. We have to heat them with space heaters which are not very safe. Two Sunday school classes now meet in the kitchen and family room in the parsonage. We are in dire straits and have no more room to have any more class rooms for future growth.
We will soon have bids coming in from several builders. One of them gave us a rough estimate of £120–150,000 or $175–218,000 (at the current exchange rate of $1.45 = £1). Because we are rebuilding on an existing foundation, we are able to save £30,000. The planning authorities consider it a “rebuild” and not a new build, so we escape the customary 15% VAT on the total amount because of the “rebuild” exception. So we are saving a total of £50,000 or $75,000.
As we make this appeal, we are not asking for the total cost of the construction project.
Currently we have nearly £60,000 or $87,000 on hand but are unable to borrow money in the UK because of the transient nature of the church. We are therefore, trusting the mercy and grace of our Lord to provide for this need.
The balance that we need in US$ could be from $88,000 (low end) to 131,000 (high end) depending on the lowest quote and the exchange rate at the time we would sign a contract with a builder. At the present time, it would take 3-4 months to get drawings, planning permission, removal of the asbestos and demolishing the existing building before we could start the construction, so the timing is very critical.
I continue to challenge the existing membership to give sacrificially over and above their normal giving but with the congregation being so young and not having the resources to draw from they are stretched to provide beyond just meeting the month to month budget of the church; hence, the urgent appeal for help.
So to summarize – if we don’t have adequate facilities, to teach, train and care for the needs of the children and their parents, we cannot expect them to join and worship with us.
We are growing. People are being saved and baptized.
Giving is on the increase. Our “Together We Build” account is growing a little each month.
We are calling a pastor from England who will be here in 30 days .
I will be here until he comes. We desire for this to be a seamless transition.
I firmly believe we will have 100 members within 60 more days.
This is a Macedonian call to those who have been given much to help a church in a land where the evangelical population is between 3-5%. In England, the Muslim and Hindu population now far exceed the Christian population.
We want to reach the people around us but we must have a facility for them before they will come.
Can you help?
If the answer is yes; or even possibly then you can call, email or write me at the address below.
If you are led to respond now, you can make your check payable to Sedge Fen Baptist Church and mail it to the address below.
If it is neither of the two, you can join us in prayer – that God would find the right people to meet the need.
On the behalf of the body of Christ at Sedge Fen Baptist I remain,
Prayerfully yours,
Mack Kearney
Interim Pastor
Sedge Fen Baptist Church
Lakenheath, Brandon
Suffolk – IP27 9LG
Tel – 01353-675268
PS – You can go on the Internet to Google Earth and type in “IP27 9LG, UK” and see the property and the building