New building refresh

Preparing a Home

Nov. 23, 2021 Update: Thanks be to God, we have reached our fundraising goal! Head to the bottom of this page for more details.

The Story

Thanks to the incredible generosity of a local congregation, Restoration was recently able to purchase a building for just $1. This congregation served faithfully in this building for 71 years. We are honored to make this building our new home, and continue the legacy of ministry in South Minneapolis.

The building is in good physical condition, but requires some remodeling and redesigning to best fit our church family and best equip us to serve our community.

May this be a home base for mission to the Twin Cities in the name of Jesus. Will you partner with us?

Primary Areas of Need

Sacred Beauty

For seventy years, this has been a beautiful space for people to encounter God in Word and Sacrament. We will continue this legacy by commissioning our many artists, builders, and designers to beautify the sanctuary. When you enter, may you encounter the transcendent God.

Children’s Spaces

A third of Restoration attenders are children! We are thrilled to have so many children’s classrooms in our new building. May this space foster holy imagination and biblical faith among even the smallest of our members.

A Welcoming Home

In our complex world, we long for places of peace and radical hospitality. May all generations and peoples find the warmth of Christ during our times of worship and fellowship.

Our Neighborhood

“It takes a community to reach a community.”

— John Hayes, founder of InnerChange.

Our building sits on Chicago Ave, a busy street in Minneapolis connecting the south neighborhoods with downtown.

Stepping outside the front door, you see a huge park, a neighborhood grocery store, local shops, the best Cuban food in town, and public bus transit.

Zooming out, you’ll notice we are close to the Twin Cities highway system, making us easily accessible from both downtown and the metropolitan region.

We believe this location can prepare us to be a more diverse congregation that can become a home base for future church plants across the Twin Cities.

Ascension Kites at Todd Park

Drivethrough on Front Lawn

Christmas Movie Party

Epic Easter Egg Hunt

Home Base for Mission

When Restoration launched nearly four years ago, the Lord placed the following five values upon our heart. These values are shared at monthly Newcomer Dinners, encouraged in our sermons, and embodied in our outreach. Now, we are excited to see how our new, permanent home will allow us to grow more fully into each of these values.

Reconciliation

The entire biblical story of salvation is one of reconcilation. One of the most clear ways we see God reconciling the world to himself is through the local church. Therefore, we dream of becoming a Planting Church and to cover our cities with Word and Sacrament churches for the sake of the lost. Having a building is essential for launching new churches. As our movement continues to grow, we will increase our ability to disciple new believers, develop leaders, and raise up the next generation.

Hospitality

One way in which we express the value of hospitality is in our ministry to children. We hope to create a safe, godly space for the children of our neighborhoods. With so many classrooms, we will exercise more authentic and warm hospitality towards towards all, but especially children. Kids from the surrounding neighborhoods will point to this building and say, “That’s my church!”

Contemplation

Whether it is admitted or not, our society needs beautiful, sacred spaces to contemplate the goodness of God. Our congregation has attracted many talented musicians and artists who are eager to sharpen and share their gifts with the broader community.

Wholeness

A building will allow us to minister more fully to every stage of life. We look forward to having a base for weddings, funerals, ordinations, and additional worship services. We desire a community home, where members can gather throughout the week for Bible study, fellowship, and other church events.

Mission

We will always do outreach “out there.” But, having a building gives us a home base to recruit, strategize, train, prepare, and debrief our innovative outreach events. We are eager to support hospitality ministries like Together for Good, Meals on Wheels, Loaves & Fishes, Alcoholics Anonymous, and many more.

Will you partner with us?

Preparing a Home

“When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.”

— Psalm 126:1

Challenge Gift

Inspired by this vision for a home, God has prompted a few anonymous donors to provide a dollar-for-dollar challenge match (up to $100,000) —matching all gifts now through Dec 31, 2021.

Let’s talk!

We are open about every dollar we spend. We hope below’s summary helps, but if you have questions or ideas, we’d love to hear them. Contact Us →

Project Areas

What is needed to make this happen?

Sacred Space: $59,000

Chancel beautification, new sanctuary lanterns, and carpet for the side aisle.

Kid’s space: $75,000

Updating four classrooms: nursery, preschool, lower-elementary, and older kids. Each room is receiving new carpet, paint, lighting, and furniture.

Signage: $12,000

New signage both inside and outside that reflects the character of our neighborhood and invites people to discover Christ and his church.

Hospitality: $102,000

Creating welcoming environments for newcomers and members so that all feel at home.

Other: $112,000

Demolition costs, contractor fees, and lots of odds and ends. We are happy to share where every dollar goes.

All giving will be spread across these areas of need.

Project Total: $360,000

Our Goal

Total project costs to prepare our home are $360,000, however, we only need to raise $130,000. This is largely due to our challenge gift of $100,000. As you can see in our Gift Needed section below, every person’s contribution will be crucial to the success of our project, no matter the amount.

Within just a few years, God raised up a vibrant congregation, he sustained us through a pandemic, and now he has given us a home. Will you join us in preparing this home to be a place of worship and mission?

Funding Sources


Fundraising Goal	$130,000
Challenge Gift	$100,000
Reserves/Loan	$130,000

Project Total:	$360,000

Gifts Needed

Gift Amounts	No. of Givers	Totals
$20,000	1	$20,000
$15,000	1	$15,000
$10,000	1	$10,000
$5,000	5	$25,000
$3,000	3	$9,000
$2,000	10	$20,000
$1,000	12	$12,000
$500	22	$11,000
$250	20	$5,000
$100	30	$3,000

	GOAL	$130,000

Give Online

Online giving is processed securely via Tithely. You may give through Bank Transfer or Credit Card, both of which take a small transaction fee.

Give via Check

Please make checks out to “Restoration” with “Building” in the memo line. Checks do not charge a transaction fee.

Restoration Anglican
5645 Chicago Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55417

Give via Text

Simply text your amount and the word “building” to (612) 255–1414, and follow the prompts. If you do not include the word “building”, your gift will not go towards the building fund.

Nov. 23 Update

We did it!

We did it!

In just a few short months, our church family achieved something incredible. Thanks to the generosity of people like you, we have reached our $130,000 fundraising goal! Combined with the generosity of our matching gift donor, that’s a total of $230,000.

“Coming Home” Photos

Thanks be to God, we were able to launch ministry within the miraculous building that he provided for us. We were joined by Bishop Julian Dobbs for this special moment. In the Anglican tradition, a bishop is the protector of doctrine, shepherd of pastors, and stanchion of the church.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long are we fundraising?

We hope to reach our fundraising goal by the end of the year, but would be even more delighted to reach this goal by Restoration's fourth birthday on All Saints Sunday, Nov. 7th.

How big is this building?

The building is about 23,000 square feet. Its sanctuary seats comfortably 180 people. The education wing includes six classrooms, three upstairs and three in the lower level. Also in the basement is a large fellowship hall, kitchen, and several smaller classrooms.

Yes! We're happy to share the space with a Latino congregation, a quilting group from the original congregation, and some other community organizations.

Why is this Building Refresh less than what I've seen other churches do?

A massive reason why we're not spending millions of dollars is because the congregation from whom we're purchasing this building have taken such remarkable care of it. After seeing this space, several of our inspectors, contractors, and even several from our own congregation have commented on how great of shape it is already in.
Furthermore, before closing on the deal, the selling congregation went above and beyond by making some basic repairs. They wanted to ensure their gift was in fantastic condition.

The "Other" area of Project Spending is kinda big. What's in there?

This entails a lot of costs associated with architecture fees, contractor fees, demolition, waste desposal, and other parts of the project that don't fit neatly in the other categories. And to be clear, this money is not going towards Restoration's annual budget or cost of ministry. All these funds are going towards the one-time refresh of this building.

Your funding sources includes "Reserve/Loan." What is that?

Over the past few years, our budgetted income has come in at a surplus. This is in addition to a "Building Savings Fund" that we started several years ago. Therefore, we have some in reserves to help with this project. Also, in order to be free to creatively use our reserves later, we are open to opening a line of credit. The Parish Council is still discerning which of these sources of funding would be most effective for the longterm of Restoration. If we exceed our fundraising goal, then less money will be needed from Reserve/Loan.

Will any of the original members be joining you?

Ever since conversations began with the selling congregation, we have enthusiastically invited them to join Restoration. Several of the members plan to find a new church within their denomination, attend church with their adult children, or join us. Any of those options sounds wonderful to us!

I have more questions. Can we talk?

Absolutely! Here are some of the individuals you might want to reach out to.
- Bill Blanski, Council President. In addition to being our church's Council President (aka. Sr. Warden), Bill is an architect and has been incredibly instrumental throughout this process.
- Jordan Fitch, Project Manager. Jordan is the liaison between our church leadership and hired contractors. He understands in detail all the work being done and how money is being spent on this project.
- Pastor Rick is happy to answer any questions, too, but might need to defer to the above individuals on occasion.