Here is a message from Ben Stevens, pastor of New River Church in Forney, TX. New River began as a church plant in 2007 and has been introducing people to our merciful Jehovah God and His son Jesus ever since.
“One of the most challenging parts of church planting has been finding a place to meet together as a body. We started in homes, moved to a meeting room at a local gym, and then to a local elementary school. We have been renting a facility for about 8 years but it’s not really big enough to have classes and other activities for our kids.
Since our inception, we have been giving once a month to a Future Fund to help us someday have our own place. This place would be a tool for ministry, not the means to an end. We purchased and paid for 4 1/2 acres about 6 years ago. We have saved around $300k through the years but every time we begin thinking about building, the cost was well over 1 million dollars.
New River just added 3 elders for the first time in its history. Our elders believed paying for architectural drawings should be our first priority so we could get a hard cost for the project. The bid for the drawings was $70k. Just the drawings. We were about to sign the contract to have the drawings completed when I received a phone call from a gentleman I hadn’t talked to in over 2 years. He told me he had gone through 2 years of his cell phone bills trying to find my number.
Two years ago, I had read about his company 3-D printing buildings, and I reached out to him to ask if anyone in the U.S. had one of his construction printers. His company was 3-D printing 1200 sq ft homes for around $5,000. The savings were just what I was looking for! But there were no printers in the USA….until I recently got a call. A lady in Houston has purchased 3 of these printers and has a vision to provide affordable housing to the world as well as help churches and others build affordable facilities.
Our church left services early one Sunday and drove to our land to pray for God’s guidance and for our future. After a lot of prayer, research, and deliberations, New River signed a contract with this company, and we expect to be the first 3-D-printed church in America. It’s exciting! Our new mission statement, launched by our elders and ministry team, is, “We exist to help everyone belong to Christ by being like Christ.”
The new facility, which should be open around Christmas of 2024, will be a hub where belonging and becoming like Christ will be the foundation of everything we do.
