Creekside Community Center

1. Why now?

A: Why not now? We have the land, we have significant resources, and Elk Grove has the need – for Jesus, for classrooms, for sports programs, court space, belonging.
Parable of the Talents: "But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money." – Matt 25:18.
We are called to invest and be good stewards, to multiple God’s money for His Kingdom purposes, to not let our land be idle.

2. Why don’t we give the money away to other purposes?

A: We have given away tens of millions of dollars – mostly for other people to share their faith and reach people for Christ. We continue to invest around the world, and in addition to building 6 churches in Ecuador/Peru, we will continue to direct well over 10% of our annual budget towards outreach. This campaign is an investment not only for us to reach our community for Christ, but it is an appreciable asset like all our buildings on Campus. Every building on campus required a campaign and money up front that we have faithfully used to worship the Lord, study His Word, create community, and become equipped for ministry to and for all generations.

3. Won’t we lose parking spots?

A: Yes, we will lose some parking and yes, the construction will be an inconvenience. However, we believe it is worth it. We may have to walk a little longer from our parked car, but that inconvenience is small. We are gaining significant storage space in the Community Center so we will be able to remove the three large storage containers currently in the back lot to make room for parking and provide access to the field area behind the current containers for additional parking. We anticipate only losing a net ~40 spaces (out of ~900). During the build, we will work with the City for access to the nearby Park’n Ride as well as with East Lawn for access to their property for Sunday Mornings.

4. Will the Community Center be open on Sunday mornings?

A: Not for any community activity/sports. It will only be used by Creekside Sunday morning ministries.

5. Who is the Center for?

A: Whatever the use, the Center will be used, scheduled, and reevaluated every year for maximum impact for the Kingdom. As a general guideline, we see three equally proportioned uses of the facility that can coincide simultaneously in the Center: 1/3 Creekside ministries and youth; 1/3 for intentional Sports leagues coached and run by Creeksiders or ministry partners like Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), YoungLife, or Upward.org; 1/3 Community use for school or club sports. The first 2/3’s will take priority, but the plan is to be a resource and place for the community to utilize as well.

6. Will Creekside actually run sports leagues and have priority access for our youth?

A: Yes, Creekside ministries have first priority, which would include our youth activities and our own sports leagues taught and led by Christian coaches. All uses will be scheduled as we do with all our current facilities. As previously mentioned, we are engaged with Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and YoungLife for establishing our own leagues and/or partnering with Upward, an Christian organization that helps facilitate Christian sport leagues in around 400 churches nationwide.

7. Can multiple activities/groups be utilizing the Center at the same time?

A: Absolutely, and when it is, we will ensure it is an age-appropriate mix of uses. The court floor is designed in such a way that it can be divided by drop down nets to allow 3-6 games to be played simultaneously.

8. Does the whole Center have to be open to use it?

A: Five of the classrooms are designed with sole access from the outside, so they can be used and scheduled without having the main entrance/court open and monitored.

9. How will the Church manage the scheduling?

A: We have a computer application/system that aids our scheduling supervisor in managing facility requests and will use a similar process for scheduling and approving activities for the Center. We will also have a priority list based on ministry intentionality. Major commitments/activities will be reviewed and approved by the Church’s leadership team and/or Elder Board.

10. Will security personnel be present?

A: Members of our safety team will be assigned and present like they are for other events we have on campus.

11. Does this mean the church will be open later/more often?

A: Yes, as we expand ministry offerings, we will expand the times they are used in order to meet the needs of the ministries. No, it will not regularly be open past our current night-time closing of 9pm, but it may be for special occasions. We will adjust our facilities team hours as needed, to support ministry programs. Sometimes, like on Saturday afternoons for example, the Community Center may be open and the rest of the campus is closed/locked.

12. Will we hire/assign a pastor or other employee to manage the Center and ensure it is properly utilized for ministry purposes? What other costs do we anticipate?

A: Yes we will have someone assigned to oversee this ministry facility. We also anticipate an increase in the costs of utilities (water, sewer, electrical, heating/air conditioning, additional maintenance) – those estimated costs have already been added into our budget as a baseline for operations and will become active in the Fiscal 2027-2028 annual budget.

13. Will we charge for the use of the Center?

A: Our goal will be to provide access and use for free, like we do for most events and use of our current facilities. For use by an organization, it will depend and be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, just like it is currently. For use by individuals and groups, generally not. Sometimes we have a nominal fee (like Awana, VBS, or ministries like IronMen to cover the cost of materials), and this may be true for particular events held at the Center.

14. What is the build-out timeline?

A: Once we have the 3 year campaign commitment for the additional $7M, anticipated in December, it will take approximately 18 months to obtain the proper permits and complete construction in order to open the Center.

We don’t know EXACTLY how the Center will be utilized, but just like the rest of our campus, we will work and pray diligently throughout the years and decades that follow to keep inquiring of the Lord regularly to use HIS facility as best we can for His Kingdom.