Imagine a portable church, with 16 years of community impact, taking a step closer to becoming a permanent community catalyst. The Birmingham Campus is transitioning from portable to permanent, fostering a diverse, mission-driven community.
Permanence brings dormant dreams to life, offers unique spaces for youth, ignites community partnerships, and extends opportunities beyond Sundays for ministry, serving and supporting the mission of Jesus moving forward.
Join us as we take one step closer to this dream.
https://youtu.be/MWF_dfTTm5g
What is the history of the Birmingham Campus moving from portable to a permanent building?
As a part of the Every[one] Capital Campaign from 2016-2019, we put aside $2M in a holding account, allowing us to have cash and “strike when the iron’s hot” if a potential piece of land or building became available.
Since the Every[one] Campaign, we’ve looked at a few dozen pieces of property and potential buildings, each time getting excited and sharing broadly that we had some potential. And each time for one reason or another, they didn’t work. We looked in Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Beverly Hills, Berkley, Royal Oak, West Bloomfield, south Troy, Clawson, Southfield. We’ve looked what feels like everywhere. Early this spring we became aware of this property and after months of prayer and due diligence, we purchased the building that we plan to make the permanent home of our Birmingham Community.
How does a 24/7 building help in our mission to the community?
We have been working with many thought leaders on how to shape our buildings and use them beyond the Sunday mornings or student ministry experiences. What we have learned with our CT and Orion buildings is that by creating a flat floor auditorium along with a smaller footprint, we can be more of a resource to the community. We will have the opportunity to host Galas for non-profits, community business leader lunches, gatherings that create community for families and so much more. These opportunities offer a different vision of the church in terms of how we engage the community. For example, our Clinton Township building has become a hub for the non-profit Forgotten Harvest, and we dream of ways we can do that in South Oakland County as well.
Where did the 2m come from to purchase the building?
During our “Every[one] capital campaign in 2016, we raised and earmarked 2m for the sole purpose of purchasing a property that would be the permanent home for our Birmingham family. We would be able to reallocate current money being spent on rentals at Groves for future ministry, programming, and staff.
Didn’t Kensington just reduce their budget and if so, is this the right time for such a project?
Yes! While it was difficult to reduce our budget and effect some of our programs and staff, we knew we would need to continue dreaming of what is next for all our Kensington locations.
How will we fund the renovations to the building?
We are exploring all the funding options to maximize timing of funds and building timelines.
How would this project add momentum to the Kensington Movement?
This would add to a few key areas of momentum.
Why Southfield?
The City of Southfield has been an incredible partner in the process so far. They are very excited to have Kensington calling Southfield “home” for one of our locations.
What makes this such a great location?
It is on 12 Mile Rd in Southfield, between Greenfield & Southfield Roads, It is less than 2 miles from Groves and less than 3 miles from downtown Birmingham. It is half a mile west of Berkley and one mile south of Beverly Hills. Bonus! It is just east of the busiest intersection in Oakland County.
Where do most of the current Birmingham attenders live?
Current Birmingham attender live in Berkley, Royal Oak and Ferndale to the southeast of Groves, and Birmingham, Beverly Hills, and Bloomfield to the northwest.
If it is a smaller space, how will we accommodate growth?
Learning from some of the fastest growing churches in the US, the larger auditoriums often sit dormant and seem too large. So there has been a movement towards smaller auditoriums to create stronger connections and when necessary, create additional services times to reach more people.
What will the size of the auditorium be?
Approximately 500 seats
What are some of the renovations that need to be done to the building?
When will we likely be in the newly renovated space?
We currently do not have plans to start on any renovations for the next 10-12 months. Once construction and renovations plans are finalized and the work begins, we anticipate a 12–14-month build/reno timeline.
What is the cost comparison of other properties looked at and why?
Compared to previous properties we looked at, this building opportunity is unique as it significantly reduces our financial requirement by approximately $5-6M Due to the current structure of the building, the fact that it is empty, has all the necessary items such as sewer, power and parking lot already built make it a much better option than some of the other properties that did not have those facilities.
– 3 miles from downtown Birmingham
– Less than 5 mins from current location
– Available immediately
– Needs improvement but structure is strong
– Ample Parking
– Provides auditorium, lobby, and other great spaces
– Shorter timeline for building construction and updates.
Is this the only property that has been looked at?
No. We have looked at and bid on a few of properties. This is, by far, the best property we have seen in the past 10 years, which is how long we have been looking for a permanent home for our Birmingham family
Why not keep renting?
Though we have a long-standing presence in the community, for quite some time, the Leadership Team at Kensington has felt it is time to secure a permanent location. While Renting has been an incredible gift and Groves has been a great partner, Ownership provides the opportunities to utilize our own space to be utilized 24/7/365. While our set up teams have been amazing over the past 16 years, creating a pop up church every week is not only exhausting, it is limiting and not the best use of so many talented staff and volunteers who can and want to be utilized in new and innovative ways.
We’d love to give you the gift of a memorable and meaningful service while you’re celebrating the birth of Jesus at home. Candles for the family, the world’s best hot cocoa, a star craft ornament and more are included in our free Christmas-at-Home kits.
RSVP to pick up a kit at the campus nearest you. (Quantities are limited).
We look forward to connecting with you!
(248) 786-0600 Central: 1825 E Square Lake Rd, Troy, MI 48085 TermsPrivacy Policy
We are grateful for you and your decision to be a part of the Hope Water Project community! Together, we can change lives!
We are here to support you and encourage you through the process; whether you are a walker, a runner, a cyclist, a volunteer or “outside the box” fundraiser – you are moving out and we appreciate
you!
YOU are changing lives! As a team, we come together to train, to volunteer and to support and encourage one another. We participate in events through the year and we raise awareness of the need for clean water. Your fundraising helps to build wells that impact the lives of the Pokot.
So your next step depends on what you want to do and how you want to step out!
A great first step is to join our mailing list to stay up to date on all our events and opportunities to jump in!
Next, visit our events page for upcoming opportunities to jump in. Sign up’s will be made available as we get closer to event dates and will be posted on the event page and emailed to our community.
And most important, setup your fundraising page! Whether you walk, run, cycle or volunteer – everyone can participate in fundraising.
And last, connect with us. Follow us on social media and join us on our mission to provide clean water!
We use email as a main communication tool and encourage you to sign up for our emails if you haven’t already. If you’re not receiving emails from Hope Water Project, complete the online form here.
We are always here to answer questions, please email [email protected] at any time!
We view social media as a great way to stay connected and reach out! We will post to the main Hope Water Project pages with updates and event information throughout the year so be sure to follow us!
• Facebook: Hope Water Project
• Instagram: Hope Water Project
• Website: Hope Water Project
Training plans are used to provide structure to your training and guide you through the process. The training plans we follow are available here and are created based on our annual event timelines.
House of Joy is Kensington’s newest Global Partner located in Black Mesa, Arizona near Kayenta on the Navajo Nation Reservation. Pastor JR founded the House of Joy and serves the Diné people (pronounced Di-Nay in the Navajo language and means “the people”) both locally on Black Mesa and throughout the reservation. Pastor JR is leading a movement and seeing lives transformed through his church, the food bank, and service projects completed in partnership with visiting mission teams.