Dear Artisan family,

Over the past few years at Artisan, we’ve grown a lot—slowly but surely. We’ve grown in our attendance, our families have grown, and our kids are growing up all around us. And we’ve grown in our understanding of the fullness of the gospel: how God’s welcome is deeper and wider then we could ever fully comprehend.

Now it’s time to take the next step on our journey and address some of the limitations of our church building. We want to continue to grow—not just in numbers, but in faith. I hope you will join us in this work. Let’s grow in faith together.

Pastor Scott Austin

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

– Ancient proverb

The need

Children & families (see video)

We believe our unique approach to ministry offers a rare gift to children and their families in Rochester. As our kids engage the ancient teaching-series of the Bible in an interactive, multi-sensory way, we help them to explore our foundational values of awe, beauty, roots, community, and justice. Most importantly, we help them encounter God by knowing Jesus.

But right now, cramped quarters in our children’s wing make it challenging to pass on this understanding of faith. We not only need to double the size of some classrooms, but we also need to add two new rooms.

Accessibility & inclusion (see video)

Over the past several years, Artisan has undergone a transformation in our understanding of just how deep and wide God’s welcome is. We are working for racial reconciliation, for better access for people with disabilities, and for the full inclusion of LGBTQ people in our community. We believe that the hard work of accessibility and inclusion is nothing short of the command of the gospel.

As we continue to grow in this understanding, we have realized that our physical space plays a huge role in our efforts to welcome and include all people. This campaign will allow us to make major improvements in this regard, so that our building can be a tangible way for us to extend Christian hospitality to our neighbors and friends.

The teaching series

Generations

“One generation commends your works to another.”

(Ps. 145:4)
Listen to the message

As our children grow up, we pass on our faith from one generation to the next. We give thanks for the generations who have come before us, and we delight in seeing our children begin to experience God in their own lives. Living in the Way of Jesus across the generations means that all of us receive the blessing of growing in faith together.

Acorns

“God’s kingdom is made up of people like these children.”

(Matt. 19:4, MSG)
Listen to the message

Very small things that seem inconsequential have the capacity to grow into something incredible and powerful. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.” At Artisan, we value our children not just for who we hope they will become, but because they are already showing us the way.

Invitations

“Truly understand that God shows no partiality … Jesus is Lord of all.”

(Acts 10:34)
Listen to the message | Read the transcript

The movement of the Holy Spirit in the early church threw open the doors to God’s great banquet hall, inviting in those who had previously been excluded. And the Spirit’s work continues today, teaching us in every new generation that the dividing walls between us have been broken down by the radical love of Christ.

A Movement

“I will show you what someone is like who hears my words and acts on them.”

(Jesus, Luke 6:47)
Listen to the message | Read the transcript

Every one of these ideas can be advanced by our plans to expand and renovate Artisan’s building. But it’s important to remember that this project is not ultimately about a building; it’s an extension of our values. We are doing so much more than a big construction project; we’re growing a movement—a faith movement. Will you be part of it?

Addressing the challenge

This proposed design includes both expansion of the building footprint and renovation of the current structure. By increasing the size and number of our children’s ministry rooms, we can accommodate more children in an active setting, and we dramatically increase the amount of flexible use space available to our community. We will also relocate the entrance, install motorized entry doors, and completely redesign our restrooms to be fully accessible and inclusive, converting to six large single-fixture restrooms.

Diagram of a plan for expanding and renovating the Artisan Church building, showing the addition of three new classrooms (two on the left side of the building and one in what is currently the courtyard) and reconfiguration of existing space to create a total of 5 appropraitely-sized classrooms, a new office space for our children's pastor, and more accessible and inclusive restrooms.

Help us grow together

This is a big project. It won’t be easy, but remember: we can go far if we go together. We have come this far by God’s grace and by building a community of dedicated believers who call Artisan their home. Now we want to make it easier for others to join in community with us!

Your one-time gift and three-year pledges will help us grow in the ways that are most important—not numerically, but in our faith: in our capacity to minister well to children and families, and in our ability to extend God's welcome to all people in our community. Will you join us in this work? Let’s grow in faith together!

Your gifts are always kept in complete confidence. Your pledge to the Growing in Faith Together campaign is not a legally binding contract, but it is a commitment we will rely on in order to plan for the future. If your financial situation changes, you may increase or decrease your giving level at artisanchurch.com/giving.

Remember St. Paul’s words:

“Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

(2 Corinthians 9:7)
Here’s an example of how we can reach our goal together
Monthly gift 3-year total No. givers Group total
$10 $360 20 $7,200
$20 $720 15 $10,800
$50 $1,800 30 $54,000
$100 $3,600 40 $144,000
$200 $7,200 10 $72,000
$500 $18,000 5 $90,000
Additional one-time gifts $47,000
Campaign total $425,000