For over 130 years, Constance Free Church has been a cornerstone of faith and community in Andover, Minnesota. From humble beginnings as a Sunday school in the late 1800s, we've grown into a vibrant, multigenerational congregation known for strong biblical teaching, thriving kids and student ministries, determined focus on evangelism, and deep commitment to serving our community and world. God has been faithful to this day. Constance continues its mission to connect people with Jesus and is focused on a bright future ahead.
Though we started in a little one-room chapel, Constance has seen multiple iterations of our church home. The foundation of our current building was laid in 1995, and growth quickly outpaced the size of our building. In 1999, we added an education wing, and by 2004 added an auditorium. Through each facility expansion, the driving vision has been to widen our doors and expand our reach to our community with the hope of the gospel.
Challenges and Opportunities
While we celebrate our rich history and continued growth, we also recognize the limitations of our current facilities.
Even as we celebrate our history and growth, we face limitations with our current facilities. In 2023, we completed Phase 1 & 2 of our master plan—updating the Community Room and exterior requirements with money from savings. Phase 3 requires a more significant financial commitment to address key challenges:
Lobby Congestion
Our Lobby, the first impression for guests and a vital place of connection, often feels cramped and congested, hindering the flow of wayfinding and connection, especially during peak times. Originally designed for much smaller attendance, it's time to reimagine this area for our larger, growing community. We aim to open up our Lobby and create more open gathering space. This will likely require us to move our kitchen to a different location.
Accessible & Secure Kids Spaces
Having Kids classrooms spaced apart on multiple levels intermixed with adult meeting spaces and offices presents security and logistical challenges. It's our vision to bring Kids classrooms into one area with a more prominent Kids Check-In experience visible to families when they first walk in the door. Relocating Kids rooms to one area closer to the main entrance will improve flow, enhance safety, and create a more streamlined experience for families.
Removing Barriers
Ministry needs have significantly changed and a facility with multiple levels has presented real and ongoing challenges. We have a growing need for accessibility, both for maximizing the capacity of ministry on our main level to moving our disability-friendly family restroom and changing area out of the basement to the main level as well.
Room to Grow
A number of adult small groups meet at the church on Tuesday evenings so parents can deepen their own discipleship while their children are engaged and growing, too. We look to expand the capacity for groups during mid-week children's programming to maximize spiritual growth while minimizing the impact on families' busy schedules.
Reaching the Next Generation
On Wednesday evenings, almost 300 middle and high school students gather at the church, many coming from families outside of Constance. It remains a value to keep middle school and high school students meeting concurrently to reduce the impact on parent schedules, as many families have kids in both programs. On a Wednesday night, small groups fill every corner of our facility, 2 outbuildings, even utilize staff offices to accommodate current space constrictions.
Staff Spaces
Our team of 15 full-time staff have long expanded past our office capacity with some now occupying former storage rooms, creating continual challenges for storage solutions throughout our building. Quite a few of our part-time staff are overcrowded in our main office or without a proper workstation. More room for our team in a dedicated office area will help improve efficiency and collaboration as they serve and equip the church for ministry.
Phase 3 – A Visionary Solution
We aim to address these key needs and lay the foundation for future growth by renovating our main level and adding more square footage for an expanded lobby, new Kids space, staff offices, and kitchen. We aim to create a more welcoming, functional, and secure environment, while adding necessary amenities, such as an accessible bathroom for larger children and adults, to ensure physical ability does not prevent participation in life-changing ministry.
Picture expanded light-filled spaces where guests and participants are effortlessly guided from the entrance to engagement and secure, strategically located children's areas. Imagine inviting gathering areas, allowing space for deeper connections to be made in spaces that welcome you to linger with friends.
As we plan for this expansion, we know it is not just about renovation. It's about transformation—adapting our church home so it can continue to be a place where people can come to know, grow, and go in their faith journey for years to come.
Additional Opportunity:
If our vision is not held back by funding, we have also explored future options of adding an indoor play area and outdoor patio adjacent to the west of the Community Room, as well as improved areas to better accommodate Care Ministries and the growing need for Christian counseling.
Our Next Steps Together
Initial vision and discussions for this project began a few years ago, and momentum for this project has been building as we’ve partnered with professionals to help us navigate the realities of capital improvements. The due diligence is underway.
Auxano – This is an experienced church consulting group that has worked with hundreds of churches on large-scale capital fundraising efforts. Greg Gibbs from Auxano is guiding us through a faith-driven approach specific to our church as we look to raise the dollars needed to fund the vision.
Kinghorn Construction and KOMA Architects – This design-build team has begun the work of assessing the scope of our needs and the best, most effective way to meet them as we look toward our future. They will help translate the vision of expanding our facility into reality.
Campaign Readiness Assessment – In February, we will do a listening exercise with you, our Constance family, through a congregational survey to get feedback before proceeding with any plans or raising funds. This process aims to understand our Church's readiness to raise funds for the initiatives; everyone will have the opportunity to fill out an anonymous questionnaire.
Capital Fundraising Initiative – After the assessment, Constance Elders and Executive Team will carefully determine next steps toward Phase 3, and if moving ahead, they will guide the church through a prayerful time of discernment in a generosity initiative and ask you, our church family, to give over and beyond your regular giving.
Our Hope and Prayer
We are blessed by those who have paved the way in our 130 years, and we desire Constance to be a beacon of hope on this corner for the next 130 and beyond.
Regardless of what we do in the future, we need to pray. As we prayerfully consider what Jesus has in store for the future of Constance, we are incredibly excited to see what will take place in the years to come. We ask you to pray for wisdom, clarity, reliance, and courage as we seek to make plans to impact more lives across Anoka County and the world as we "help people connect with Jesus."
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." - Ephesians 3:20-21