August 18th, 2017
As many of you are aware, St. John Lutheran Church and School has undergone some BIG changes in the past couple of months! We'd like to take this opportunity to tell you a bit about what's happening, as well as to address some frequently asked questions.
Several years ago, God paved the way for us to purchase a second campus in Eagle Point, located at 585 Nick Young Rd. Several of the ministries of St. John Lutheran Church (including St. John Lutheran School) operated at that campus from 2015--2017, and it was a great blessing for our ministry. Meanwhile, during the 2016-2017 school year, our leaders began the process of prayerfully developing a 5 year Strategic Ministry plan for both the church and the school as one joint ministry. Our goals for year 5 of our ministry plan were the following:
- Eliminate all debt for church and school, including the mortgage on the Nick Young Property.
- Create a sustainable model for our school.
- Add a Child Development Center to provide wrap around services for children and families ages 2+
- Grow the ministries of St. John to the point where a remodel and/or expansion is necessary.
- Church leaders will be actively involved in mentoring, discipleship, and training of new leaders in all areas of ministry.
In the spring of 2017, several parties contacted us about the possibility of purchasing the Nick Young property. After lots of prayer, the leadership and congregation of St. John Lutheran Church came to realize that selling the property would allow us to accomplish several of our long-term ministry goals, which in turn allow us to be the best stewards of all that God has given us. The congregation of St. John Lutheran Church subsequently voted to accept an offer from Crater Lake Charter Academy to purchase that property. We are currently under contract for the sale of that property, and expect to close on August 21st, 2017. God has clearly gone before and beside us throughout this entire process from beginning to end, and we thank Him for his perfect provision, even when it doesn't look the way that we originally thought it might.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Will St. John Lutheran School still be open for the 2017-2018 school year?
YES! St. John Lutheran School will be moving back up to our original campus at 42 Alta Vista Rd, and is continuing to enroll children in preschool-5th grade for the 2017-2018 school year. St. John Lutheran Church and St. John Lutheran School have been located on two campuses for the past several years, but they have always been a part of the same ministry. We are excited to continue growing together in Christ at our Alta Vista Rd campus, and we invite you to call and schedule an appointment to come see our plans for the 2017-2018 school year!
2. What about tuition? Will there still be a tuition increase?
We have been so blessed by the sale of the Nick Young property that the leadership of St. John Lutheran Church & School felt it was only right to share some of that blessing with our school families. Consequently, there will NOT be a tuition increase for the 2017-2018 school year, and we will continue with the 2016-2017 tuition rates for all grades.
3. Why did St. John Lutheran Church & School decide to sell the Nick Young Property?
Can we speak frankly? For a small congregation like ours, maintaining two 5 acre properties has been quite a difficult task. We've spent so much of our meeting times over the past year discussing everything from who is going to mow the lawn at each property, paying the mortgage, and managing outstanding debts related to maintaining two campuses. It felt like we were spending more time putting out small fires than actually doing the ministry that God has called us to do.
In the Lutheran Church, we believe that God's stewards are managers, not owners. God's stewards have been entrusted by God with life and life's resources and given the privilege of responsibly and joyfully managing them for Him (Biblical Stewardship Principles). In this instance, we felt that God had been going before and beside us, and had entrusted the Nick Young property to us for a time, but that it simply wasn't supposed to be ours forever. After prayerful consideration, we believe that the sale of the Nick Young property is the best stewardship decision that we can make at this time, in that it allowed us to accomplish several of our long term ministry goals, and allows us to spend more of our time and energy in the service of God and our community. Simply put, we felt that selling the property was being obedient to God's call for our ministry. We are excited to see how God continues to direct our ministry in the coming years!
4. Who is purchasing the Nick Young property?
We are currently under contract with an offer from Crater Lake Charter Academy. We understand that Crater Lake Charter Academy has been looking to purchase a property for their school for some time, and we believe that this will be an extremely positive arrangement for both parties. We wish Crater Lake Charter Academy the best as they transition into the Nick Young property!
5. I still have questions about all of this. Who can I talk to?
You're always welcome to contact St. John Lutheran Church & School at 541-826-4334 or 541-879-0020. You can also email us at stjohnep@gmail.com