Rebuild Lakeshore

If you made a donation to Lakeshore Baptist Church last year, you should have received a year-end contribution receipt by now. If you have not, please let us know and we will get one to you asap.

In the mail out, I took the opportunity to include a 2009 update letter, recapping the progress of the year and looking forward to the future. I know many of you contributed to the efforts here through your local church and those finances were forwarded to us. In that case, you did not receive a letter from us, so let me include the update here for everyone.

Dear friend and partner of Rebuild Lakeshore,

Almost four and a half years ago Hurricane Katrina slammed into the gulf coast and devastated the small community of Lakeshore MS. Early optimistic estimates predicted 5-10 years of rebuilding and recovery. As Lakeshore Baptist Church approaches that 5 year mark, we see that we still have a long long road ahead. We could not have made it this far without financial partners, like you, who have stood along side of us as we minister help and hope in the name of Jesus Christ to our storm ravaged community. We praise God for your long term commitment to the cause and we continue to pray for God’s sustaining grace to press on.

Last year, 2009, rebuilding ministry in the community moved forward as we hosted 172 churches or groups and approximately 2,300 volunteers. With your help, several families finally moved back into their homes. We also began building permanent structures on the Lakeshore Baptist Church property to facilitate ministry for years to come. This time last year God gave us the vision for the first two buildings, a housing facility for volunteers and a building to accommodate our long-term mercy ministry.

The Bunk House nears completion. Sleeping 38 people the building is equipped with restrooms and showers. The raised 1,500 square foot structure sits approximately 10′ above grade. The screened in lower level provides a spacious multi-functional area. Your church can help fund this project by sponsoring one of the 33 pilings for $1,500. Each piling will carry a plaque with the name of the sponsoring church, giving a wonderful testimony to God’s people from across the country helping in this great hour of need. Please talk to your church leadership about this possibility. I would love for your church name to grace one of the wood columns supporting the building.

The second building we began this past year, The Mercy House, will serve our ongoing mercy ministry. The lower level will provide storage for goods, such as food, clothing, and household items, distributed to those in need. A large multi-purpose area on the second level will allow for a variety of gatherings, such as Bible studies, financial management classes, small groups, seminars, and various activities associated with the growing mercy ministry. You can contribute and help see this project to completion by putting “The Mercy House” in the memo line and making checks payable to:

Lakeshore Baptist Church
6028 Lakeshore Road
Bay St. Louis MS 39520

We also depend on un designated gifts to cover the regular costs of electricity, propane, sewer, garbage pick-up, phone, intenret access, gasoline, vehicle insurance, maintenance, staff support, office supplies, etc. Please consider making a one time gift to kick-start 2010, and/or a monthly financial commitment toward the ministry here.
Keep us in your prayers and check up on the progress online at http://rebuildlakeshore.com. Thank you so much for being a part of the work God continues to accomplish on the gulf coast to the praise of his name.

By grace alone,

Pastor Don A. Elbourne Jr.

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Although our new “Base Flood Elevation” required us to raise the Mercy House almost 10′ off grade, my design envisioned a two-story structure instead of a building set up on beach front piers. Last week we hid the 12X12 pilings with an enclosure which achieved the desired look. Recommended FEMA Hydrostatic flood vents on the lower level, NFIP code compliant building techniques, and a little visual consistency, brought the building together. I’m looking forward to siding the building with Stucco and hanging the shutters to complete the buildings exterior.

God forbid we see another catastrophic weather event in my life-time, but if we do, this building should resist a 9′ surge without compromising structural integrity. We plan to use the lower level for storage needs in conjunction with our Mercy Ministry; food, clothing, and household item distribution. The exposed beams of the interior reveal the buildings strength with architectural honesty. Lord willing, we will move into the facility very soon.

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The Lakeshore Bunk House now has power and looks great lit up at night. I’m really looking forward to finishing up a few more details, which includes screening in the lower level to create a bug-free common area that will enhance the functionality of the facility.

I am pleased with the success of our fund raising for this project so far. As a testimony to the scope of involvement by God’s people, we have received contributions from Michigan, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, Maryland, Florida, Mississippi, Illinois, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Maine, and Texas - 14 different states represented.

To date, 21 of the 38 beds have sponsors. For a donation of $200 or more you can sponsor one of the beds. When complete, a plaque with all the donors names will hang in the finished bunk house. Only 12 more beds remain available for sponsorship. A big thank-you goes out to:

1. Andrea Deeb – Ann Arbor, MI
2. Jayme Deeb – Ann Arbor, MI
3. Nancy Deeb – Ann Arbor, MI
4. Jamie Dunbar – Platteville, WI
5. Eagle Brook Church – Minocqua, WI
6. Don & Myra Elbourne – Baton Rouge, LA
7. First Baptist Church Tullahoma – Tullahoma, TN
8. John Allen Fritchey
9. Grace Immanuel Reformed Baptist Church – Grand Rapids, MI
10. Barry & Paula Hamilton – Edgewood, MD
11. Jerry & Ruth Hoogerheide – Merritt Island, FL
12. Mary Lou Johnson & Melody Guy – Choctaw, MS
13. Beth Jordan & Kevin Kroll – Lake Zurich, IL
14. Boyd & Bonnie Manning – Tazewell, TN
15. Caroline Miller – Bucksport, ME
16. Jim Oaks – Huntsville, AL
17. RA’s of East Highland Baptist Church – Hartselle, AL
18. SonShiners of Concord Baptist Church – Cleremont, GA
19. Larry Springer – Carlisle, PA
20. John & Wendy Sternitzky – Universal City, TX
21. Dan Webster – Hartselle, AL

For a gift of $1,500 or more, you can have your church name placed on one of the 33 pilings. So far, we have seven:

1. East Highland Baptist Church – Hartselle, AL
2. First Baptist Church Batesville – Batesville, MS
3. First Baptist Church Tullahoma – Tullahoma, TN
4. Hopewell Reformed Church – Hopewell Junction, NY
5. Limestone Baptist Association – Athens, AL
6. Morgan County Baptist Association – Hartselle, AL
7. St. Luke Lutheran Church – Ann Arbor, MI

Download and print this Sponsorship Form (pdf) to send in your contribution or pledge.

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In just about 8 short weeks we will ring in the new year. Between now and then we have 8 mission trip teams schedule to be in Lakeshore. For those familiar with the relief, recovery, and rebuilding efforts here, you know that sometimes we have 8 teams in one week. This slow down during the holiday season allows us to project a bit into January where we will have hundreds of hands eager to continue the progress.

If you promise to realize that all plans remain tentative, I’ll post a run down of our hopes as to particular projects on the church property.

The Bunk House

Today the bunk house sits ready for Coast Electric to connect temporary power. Once we have juice we can test all systems, including the geothermal HV/AC and prepare for occupancy. I posted a long punch list a couple months or so ago. September and October teams completed most of that work. The remaining tasks include:

• Hang vinyl soffit
• Pour concrete slab for walkway
• Caulk porch ceiling
• Box in top of posts and inside of porch ceiling
• Stain wrap-around porch, railing, and exposed wood.
• Screen in lower level

The soffit, which hangs about 20′ above the ground will require some sort of scaffolding to install. We also need some folks not afraid of heights for this job.

We have a slab under the 30′ X 50′ main house, but now we need to build concrete forms and pour a slab under the 8′ wrap around porch and sidewalks out to the stairs.

Having this concrete work complete will open up the next project on the agenda - screening in the lower level. Actually, since the green plate for the screened in area will sit on the existing concrete, we may be able to tackle both these tasks simultaneously.

The Mercy House

I have been so pleased watching the Mercy House come together. I have great hopes for this facility as our church continues to grow in its mercy ministry to the glory of God.

In the next few weeks we hope to have the back porch built which will also serve as a platform for the air conditioning compressor. We also hope to have the slab poured, the electrical, plumbing, HV/AC, and insulation complete. Having these things in place will open the project up for a great amount of work in January including:

• Framing in the lower level
• Wiring the lower level
• Sheet rocking the upper level
• Siding the entire structure
• Laying the tongue and groove flooring on the front porch
• Boxing in the columns
• Installing the balcony railing

The Warehouse

Behind the Mercy House we plan to erect a 30 X 40 metal quonset hut, similar (but smaller) to the one we currently use for worship and other things. The materials for this building were donated a while back but we never had a place in the master plan for it. We do now. This structure will serve as storage for the Mercy House ministry. In January we will need to prepare the site and pour the slab.

The Pump House

The well for the Mercy House sits in the front yard. In order to present an esthetically pleasing front to the Lakeshore Road traffic, we have designed a small 10 X 10 pump house that will match the look and feel of the Mercy House.

Parking Lots

We plan to have crushed limestone parking for the mercy house off of third street, parking for the church property along second street, and parking in front of the bunk house. We will need this property graded for proper drainage and the limestone spread. Having this done will greatly enhance our property for everyone.

The Fellowship Hall

We do not plan to begin the Fellowship Hall until the completion of the Mercy House. Once the distribution center relocates to the new facility, site prep for the new fellowship hall can begin in that space. Please join us in prayer as we continue making plans for this building.

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I want to thank all of our friends from across the country for praying for us as we hammer out a master plan for the buildings on the Lakeshore Baptist Church property. As you probably know, when Hurricane Katrina leveled our old church buildings we did not immediately begin rebuilding our permanent facilities. Instead, we quickly erected temporary structures as we moved forward. We had a few reasons for taking this strategy. The one that has received the most publicity has been our strong desire to minister to the needs of our community before focusing on our own needs. At the same time we realized that God’s church buildings deserved more thought, vision casting, and planning than we were capable of while undertaking a massive disaster relief and recovery effort.

Any church facility consultant will tell you that a church needs a clear vision of its future ministry before moving forward with brick and mortar plans. That kind of clarity proved impossible in the immediate aftermath of the storm while we literally dug out from under the rubble and stood in need of temporary shelter. Everything in our community had changed. For weeks and weeks we did not even know whether most of our families, friends, and church members were alive or dead. In the past four years of intense recovery God has begun giving us a long term vision for the ministry of Lakeshore Baptist Church. We have now sketched out the building needs that will serve the ministry for years to come.

The master plan of the Lakeshore Baptist Church property rebuild includes 6 buildings: the church office, a bunk house, the mercy house, a storage building, a fellowship hall and the main sanctuary. The first building, the office is complete. The second building, the bunk house, is nearing completion. The third building, the Mercy House, is in progress. The fourth building, for storage, will begin after the Mercy House is complete. The fith and and 6th buildings, the fellowship hall and sanctuary are on the drawing board. Site plans for the entire church property have already been approved by the Hancock County Planning and Zoning Commission.

1. The Church Office.

The current church office, already completed, houses two main offices (one for the pastor and one for his administrative assistant), a multi-purpose conference room, a closet, a wide hallway, a bathroom, a spacious front porch, and a screened in back porch. The cozy 670 sq’ building serves as a hub for all the church ministries.

2. The Bunk House

A 1,500 square foot bunk house will sleep up to 38 people in two large bunk rooms. The two accompanying bathrooms have three sinks, commodes, and showers each. A large wrap-around porch surrounds the building that sits 11′ above grade. This structure will allow us to expand our housing capacity as we continue hosting volunteers in our mercy ministry. Long term, the facility will open the door to numerous ministry possibilities, such as camps, retreats, seminars, conferences, and of course visiting friends we have made in the last four years from across the country. The bunk house nears completions and we should have folks sleeping their very soon.

3. The Mercy House

Lakeshore Baptist Church has a strong desire to continue and expand our mercy ministry of providing food, clothing, and household items to those in need. The 2000 square foot building will also sit about 11′ feet off grade. We will enclose the bottom half of the building, in compliance with the county’s flood mitigation policy, and use this area to store the items distributed through our mercy ministry. The upper level will house a bathroom and one large multi-purpose room for various types of community outreach and educational activities.

As of today, we have framed up the building, shingled the roof, and run the plumbing. Next, we need to install the windows in the upper level, pour the slab underneath and frame the lower level walls. When we complete this building and move the current distribution center ministry to this location, construction on the fellowship hall can begin.

4. A Storage Building

While not as glamorous as the other five buildings, we see the need for a good sized storage facility to serve the ongoing needs of the ministry. This bare-bones 1200 square foot building will sit behind the mercy house. Smaller out buildings may accompany this building to meet our storage needs.

5. The Fellowship Hall

The fellowship hall building will house a great room, kitchen, restroom facilities, and classrooms. This structure will connect to the proposed sanctuary on the upper level via a wide hallway. This configuration will allow the two buildings to share an elevator and restroom facilities. The basic footprint will span approximately 100′ X 70′ with a jut out the back of one side for the kitchen area and the hallway connecting to the sanctuary to the north. For those familiar with our church property, the fellowship hall will sit adjacent to the metal building and in front of the two quonset huts used as our current distribution center.

6. The Sanctuary

After we complete the fellowship hall, construction on the new sanctuary can begin. This building will sit in place of the existing camp kitchen, along Second Street. We envision a place to accommodate growth and special events as we continue to reach Hancock County for Christ. The inviting entryway will open into a spacious lobby with a welcome center. A wide hallway to the right will give easy access to the restrooms and the fellowship hall. The public worship space will replace the metal building currently being used for this purpose. Ongoing discussions, planning, and prayer on the exact floor plan and configuration of this building continues as work on the other buildings progress.

We will need help to complete all these construction projects, so feel free to contact us to schedule your next mission trip or to contribute to our building fund. We believe God has great plans to continue working through Lakeshore Baptist Church to the praise of his glory and grace. Please continue to remember us in prayer as we seek to follow the Lord’s leadership for the spread of his fame in Hancock County and around the world.

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Last Saturday local guys spent the day erecting the walls on the Mercy House. I can’t thank these men enough for their hard work and dedicated service to their community. All of them lost their homes in the storm. In the past few years they have rebuilt their own homes while putting in long hours holding down their jobs and providing for their families and also pitching in to help their neighbors and friends.

While we owe an unspeakable debt of gratitude to volunteers from across the country for contributing to the progress of the relief, recovery, and rebuilding efforts - we would be nowhere without the grit and determination of local men like these. Even a monster like Katrina could not scare them off their land or make them shrink from their responsibilities to their families and community. They epitomize the resolve and resilience of the gulf coast. They are my heroes.

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The bunk house construction continues to move forward. this week volunteers painted the two main rooms and hung sheet rock in the bathrooms. They are laying the concrete board for the floors now, in preparation for the tile.

We plan to print a name, city, and state on each piling for churches donating at least $1,500 toward this project. So far we have 7 sponsoring churches. We have 13 unnamed pilings, so if you would like to have your church included, let us know.

Also, individuals or families donating $200, or more, can sponsor one of the 38 beds. So far we have 18 beds accounted for. The remaining 20 beds need sponsors in order for us to complete the project.

Having your church name on one of the pilings or your name on one of the beds will serve as a wonderful testimony to God’s people from across the country flooding to the gulf coast to minister help and hope in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank you so much for your help with this.

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Four weeks ago I announced that the Hancock County Planning and Zoning Board approved the site plan for the “Mercy House.” Day before yesterday I posted pictures of the beginning of the new construction. Lord willing, the building will take shape next week. The above drawing renders our idea of what the finished facility might look like. We still need to decide on the color, but Mrs. Bea and I both like the color shown. What do you think?

The Lakeshore Mercy House will host our expanding mercy ministry which includes all the efforts currently taking place out of the “Distribution Center” quonset hut on our church property. If you have been following us since the storm, you know that thousands of folks have received assistance through our benevolence efforts. Food, clothing, household items, and other things donated to the church get distributed out to the community from here. This important ministry will continue through the permanent facility.

The location has also morphed into a sort of “third place” where locals congregate in a casual environment to gain support and encouragement from our volunteer staff and each other. While many come in looking for hard tangible assistance, like food for the night, others will often stop by just to say hi and continue relationships forged in the immediate crisis aftermath of Katrina. Daily fare often includes impromptu counseling sessions, prayer meetings, words of encouragement, evangelistic encounters, etc. We pray that this this ministry that God has graciously established will continue, flourish, and expand in the new facility as we point people to the mercy of Christ through the gospel of grace.

The Lakeshore Mercy House will also enable us to add new components to our mercy ministry. Please join Lakeshore Baptist Church in prayer as we seek God’s will in future direction and opportunity. Possibilities on our heart include financial management seminars, drug and alcohol addiction intervention and mitigation, biblical counseling, various food assistance programs, tutoring, and other things.

If you would like to contribute financially to this project, you can send donations to Lakeshore Baptist Church PO Box 293 Lakeshore MS 39558 designated for “The Lakeshore Mercy House.” Don’t forget, the ministry continues to depend on donations of food, clothing, and household items for distribution. Please see our “needs page” for a list of suggested items if you can help in this way. Thank you so much for standing along side of us as we continue to minister help and hope in the name of Jesus Christ to our community.

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We have begun work on the Mercy House. Our friends from Crossroads Community Church of Naperville, IL funded the foundation. Volunteers from East Hartselle Baptist Church, Hartselle, AL and Central Baptist Church, Decatur, AL along with college students from Georgia set the pilings and concreted them in. Lord willing, the lumber and trusses from St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, Ann Arbor MI, will arrive on Saturday and volunteers next week from Alabama and Ohio will frame it up.

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