Bathroom upgrades

Hello from the Nehemiah Ministry. This last winter has been filled with some major improvement projects. First off, we started digging into the Street Level house guest bathroom to perform a full renovation. The original 1990’s model bathtub/shower, sink basin, toilet and linoleum floor all went away. We took the subfloor out right down to the studs and reinforced it with 2×6’s. Next we laid down some new subfloor, cement board, and finally topped it all off with floor tiles. We installed a new shower pan, all new drain lines, a new toilet, and pedestal style sink too. We also replaced the baseboard heater, and light fixture as well. There was drywall installed on the walls, which of course includes mudding, taping and painting. We also installed new cement board on the walls for the shower, then surrounded it with new tiles, and finally a nice chrome shower curtain rod. Boy it’s styling’!

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Cement Work

While all of that happened, we prepped the church lawn for a new cement pad for the coffee trailer to rest on. We used a work night to dig it up and set the forms, and on the following Saturday the cement truck arrived to pour the new cement. Voila, a nice new cement pad for our coffeehouse and customers to enjoy. A much cleaner and tidier look for our church too. We also capped off the coal room roof behind the church with a layer of cement to keep the water from leaking into that area. That way we will have more, much needed dry storage space.

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Church and Campground

We have also been working on making the gathering room divider doors easier to use. They are aged and tend to bind up while moving them. After some bracket modifications and adjustments, we’ve got them sliding very well. Nehemiah also replaced all of the old sanctuary chandelier CFL light bulbs with brighter more energy efficient LED bulbs. Truly a bright idea! We have been working on some new “weatherproof” galvanized steel sliding doors for our campground outhouse. They can be slid open when people are camping, then slid closed to keep out the weather when people are away.

There are many more projects to come for the Nehemiah ministry. Thank you for allowing this ministry to serve our church body in this capacity. Thank you for your prayers and to Jesus all the glory!

Church Campground

Seasonal transitions, doesn’t that sound “festive”? That’s a fancy way of saying that there are always things to do here in the good old Midwest. It is now officially winter and in my opinion it can be one of the best seasons of the year. The air is crisp, clean, and the stars and moon shine brightly on a clear night.  Lately Nehemiah has been getting the church campground ready for the upcoming winter months. We have been busy adding new tarps to the pavilion walls. Then we sealed up all the gaps to help hold in the heat and cut down on those pesky drafts. We installed a new wood stove and two ceiling fans to circulate the heat. We are building a shelter for the generator in order to operate and store it in one place. It’s really starting to take shape and is quickly turning into a blessing we can utilize year-round.

Other recent projects

Nehemiah has also been working on tuck pointing around the church building. It is a job that seems to easily keep us occupied because there is so much of it to do. We have focused on some key areas up on the top of the bell tower. We have also tuck pointed on the ground level by the back steps. Oh yea, some areas up on a ladder around the radio room have seen some attention too. Then there was weatherizing the church which involves swapping out windows, air conditioner units, insulating, and draining our sprinkler system. Exciting tasks all necessary to keep the building in working order. We also installed solar lights on a new JFB billboard just outside of Connorsville. It really catches the eye!

Next year’s plans

This upcoming year has plenty-o-projects in store for Nehemiah to tackle as well. Cement pads, more campground work, and retaining wall repairs, just to mention a few. We are thankful that God has not only provided us with projects to accomplish but a group of brothers who meet each week to see these these through. Thank you for giving Nehemiah the privileges’ to serve our church body in this way. We always appreciate your prayers. It’s by God’s goodness alone that we are able to not only “be” but “do” the specific handyman-type work He has for us.

In Closing

Do you recognize the building on the title picture? It’s what the current Street Level house looked like roughly 100 years ago when it was a church. Check out that sweet horse and buggy, and boy that steeple was magnificent wasn’t it? But we all know, it’s not about the steeple, it’s about the people!

Tuck pointing

Hello all from the Nehemiah ministry! We have been up to some outdoor work as of late. The big focus has been tuck pointing around our church. A wall by the radio room and the back step’s west wall have been getting some much-needed attention. One of the major feats has been completing the “missing” capstone project. Two years ago, the northwest capstone and several feet of the bricks below it were taken clean off the building by sliding snow. Last summer we were able to slowly rebuild the wall and just recently, with the help of a lift, we were able to set the 80 plus pound capstone back in place. We have been learning much about tuck pointing in the meantime too. It’s been a real team building experience.

Campground improvements

Another big project has been preparing the church campground for the annual church camp-out. In early July Nehemiah invited several covenant church members to help us start clearing more camping space in the woods. We seeded the new area down for grass, cut and split more firewood, cleared the hiking trails around the woods, and built a few bridges for the hiking trails as well. The campground is looking very nice these days. Thank you for those who helped us out with that project.

Closing thoughts

Looking forward Nehemiah is going to be upgrading light bulbs in the sanctuary to an LED dimming style. There will be the usual winterizing of the building which means out with the window air conditioners and screens in order to install the solid glass. Lastly, we will continue tuck pointing when we can. There are other things on the docket as well. We have been blessed with having plenty to do. Thank you for allowing us to serve our church body in this way. We are grateful as a ministry to do so.

Several upgrades

Hello and greetings from the Nehemiah ministry. What do back doors, bookshelves, and bathroom windows have in common? Other than they all start with the letter “B” the true answer is Nehemiah’s latest projects. Last Autumn Nehemiah installed a new northwest exterior door just off the stage area. We have now recently completed the installation of a new northeast exterior door. The new doors are definitely more aesthetically pleasing. On top of that they are much more secure and weatherproof too. Nehemiah has also created two new sets of wall-mounted bookshelves in the church entryway. Boy don’t they look sharp! We also added a lexan barrier to the exterior side of both bathroom windows. This barrier will protect the windows from the elements, keep the bathrooms warmer in the winter, and add more security to our church as well. I’ll just say the lexan material we used is a really strong grade of plastic. Lastly, we installed a new electric heater in the dungeon, and we ran some electricity into the back shed for lights and outlets.

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Future projects

In the coming months Nehemiah will be getting the church ready for summer. That means reviving our sprinkler system, installing the window air conditioner units, and window screens, etc. We are also going to be doing some landscaping, tuck pointing, Street Level house bathroom renovations, and carpeting just to name a few projects. There is always much to do around our church and our desire is to accomplish as much as possible. The truth is that we can plan our steps but God will direct our paths. Through that process we each have learned so much along the way.

Closing thoughts

Thank you for allowing us to work on our buildings and grounds. The Nehemiah ministry is grateful for the privilege of working on God’s house. To Him be all the glory!

It’s cold out there

Winter is now back. Nehemiah has been busy keeping our church warm during these cold days. We utilized a Saturday and several work nights by removing and replacing window screens and storm windows. Other projects included working with all four of the window air conditioner units by removing and storing them away until next summer. Next we added some plastic here and there and even did some work to keep our gutters from freezing up. There has also been an upgrade with one of the furnaces because the old one simply wore out. Perhaps the biggest improvement was modifying and installing a new stage door on the west side of the church. It replaced the old original door which was looking quite weathered. Hopefully, that will help cut down on those nasty cold winter drafts we get in the sanctuary.

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More various tasks

Other projects that we have finished this last summer/fall would be installing showers and drains in our new church campground shower house. We performed some servicing to one of the washing machines in the Street Level house.  There was a little component added to the coffeehouse trailer that helps assist how smoothly the water flows out of the tap. Gotta have good water pressure in there right? The cleaning closet next to the ladies’ room was reorganized, painted, and upgraded with new shelving and a door header. Nehemiah installed a new air conditioner in the third level of the church to help keep it cool up there on those hot summer days. Lastly, the coffeehouse kitchen exhaust fan motor was also replaced. That’s one of Nehemiah’s fortes in our fellowship. Replace, maintain, and improve the materials God has blessed us with.

Some final thoughts

Over the next several months Nehemiah is planning to renovate another bathroom in the Street Level house. One bathroom has already been renovated this last winter. We are currently working on finishing up some bookshelves for the front entrance of the church. There is some landscaping, tuck pointing, and other plans for this upcoming spring as well. Nehemiah is thankful to serve our church flock as well as our Lord and savior Jesus. He’s the reason all of this even takes place. Have a Merry Christmas and enjoy celebrating the birth of Jesus.

Let’s Raise the Roof!

The Nehemiah ministry recently undertook a large roof project that involved some major repairs on the leaky rooftop above the radio room. The Nehemiah crew started Thursday evening by removing all of the old steel that was causing some of the leakage. The old steel was re-purposed at the JFB campground to build a new woodshed. There were some small repairs and prep work completed that evening as well. We also needed a hydraulic lift for the job. Thank you Brian H. for not only helping us out with the entire project but also in providing us with the much-needed hydraulic lift. So then the end of the first evening arrived.

The next day we welcomed Adam M. and Bryan V. from JFB Duluth in order to both oversee and help us with the application of the new roof materials. We left no stone ‘uncovered” with this project. We applied several layers of material including rolls of tar-type material and new steel panels. Lastly, Brian used a chainsaw looking tool with a large circular blade that cut notches into the stone walls to tuck flashing into. The entire project took us one evening and two days to complete. Adam and Brian did a fine job in both helping and directing us through the large roof project we undertook. The Nehemiah ministry at JFB Menomonie are very grateful and thankful for their assistance.

Other Projects

You may have also noticed the new patio awning we finished installing a few weeks ago over our front patio. It really gives the patio a nice clean look. Despite the fact that it’s cranky, it’s very easy to set up. Did you catch the joke? It’s a “crank” out style awning. Well maybe that’s not so funny. The Nehemiah ministry also has some brick repair to do on one of the corners of the church. There are new bookshelves in the works for the church entryway as well.

Final Thoughts

Thank you again for giving us the privilege of working on and around our church. God is so good in letting us be a part of this ministry. We not only grow closer as brothers in this ministry but we grow stronger in our construction skills as well. Some of us have no background in construction at all and yet God gives us the desire and ability to get the projects finished well. Praise God that He is so Good!