Hey New Eden family, friends, and partners! This last week we purchased a building in the heart of downtown Decatur. Buying a building at this point in our church planting journey wasn't necessarily in the plans, but God made it clear that this was the plans He had in store for us. The facility we purchased is a beautiful 120-yr old building located on the up-and-coming Bank Street, part of Decatur's historic Old Town District. We believe this will be a strategic location for the discipleship hub that we hope this building becomes.

We're super excited about this space, but as we say all the time, we believe that a building is just that, a building. It's brick and mortar. And the people are what makes up the church, not a building. To reflect that, we're going to name the building "The Garden." The Garden will be where we gather on Sundays as New Eden, but our plan is for it to be so much more. We hope to create a space where people can belong, feel welcome, and ultimately, where they can experience the freedom found in Jesus.

Our vision as a church is the flourishing of Decatur for the good of the world and the glory of God. And we see this building as simply a gift from the Father, a tool to be used in our efforts of disciple-making and cultivating a flourishing community. We hope The Garden becomes known for a place where cultivation of life and rest can be found every day of the week.

We have both short-term and long-term goals for the building to make this possible. To start, we need to renovate the first floor, which will be Phase 1, and later, we'll tackle the renovation of the second floor, which will be Phase 2.

Phase 1 renovations will include a small common area with comfortable seating, a multi-purpose 115-seat venue, and a few other small classrooms. Once we finish Phase 1 renovations, New Eden will gather here on Sundays, but we also plan to use the space to host smaller community events throughout the week.

Eventually, we'll get to the upstairs, which will be Phase 2, and that's where we hope to create even more avenues for regular and ongoing community. Our long-term plans include a 165-seat venue, a locally owned coffee shop called "Garden Coffee," and "The Garden Collective," which would provide private, semi-private, and co-working space for small businesses and artists to use.

All of these plans might not come to fruition, and we're okay with that. We're holding them with an open hand. But we want you and the city of Decatur to know that we're committed to being here in the city long-term. And we are committed to seeing people experience Jesus in the everyday stuff of life, not just on Sunday mornings. We believe that The Garden will be a big piece of those efforts.

There's no way we would be where we are without the partnership we have with many of you, who have given and prayed for us faithfully. And this project we're taking on is no different. We need help.

We want to invite each of you to consider praying specifically for The Garden and consider giving toward the renovations. We anticipate Phase 1 will cost approximately $50,000. This phase will get the first floor where we need it to be, so we can begin using it regularly and start looking toward future plans for the second floor. Our goal is to raise the $50,000 over the next couple of months so we don't have to pull from any money in savings. As a church plant, we don't have a significant membership or budget, so we're relying on churches and individuals inside and outside of our body to come alongside us and support our efforts. We wanted to make that clear ask to each of you.

If you want to give, the best way to do so is to visit www.newedenchurch.org/garden, or you can send a check to 1629 4th Ave SE, Decatur, AL 35601. Just write "The Garden" in the memo line, and it will go directly toward the renovation of the building.

And if you're able to commit to pray for us, please pray specifically for wisdom for us as we plan and prepare to use this space to cultivate flourishing in our city. We also ask that you pray for God's provision as we step out in obedience.

If you have any questions, or you want to hear more details about how God has provided this building or about our long-term plans, please reach out to me. I'd love to get together and share the vision.

We're grateful for you all. Thank you for reading and considering supporting our efforts!

In Christ,
Joel McCarty
Pastor for Preaching & Oversight