the grove

2022 is off to a crazy start!  

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  The Grove is the culmination of a WI Heights Area congregation’s vision to do more together. Over 15 years, New Heights Lutheran Church has dreamed about the opportunities that could come with a larger space to serve–not only those a part of the church, but the entire WI Heights region.
  

• The Grove is a community center and venue where people will gather, connect, and thrive.
  
  With a home in the previous Mazomanie Elementary School, New Heights is excited to see what this 61,700 SF building will become and grow into. We are passionate about creating a resource center and local hub where people of all ages, backgrounds, and religious affiliations can work together to serve the communities in which they live. We hope this facility will not only serve the New Heights faith community, but additional organizations, programs, and endeavors that need a place and space to call home.
  

• After brainstorming sessions this Spring, we are in the process of developing teams for the potential program additions to the existing New Heights ministries. These programs include: 
  
  Potential Programs Upon Move-in:
  
  ~ Heights Unlimited Clothing Closet & Food Pantry
  ~ JFF (Joining Forces for Families) Regional Resource Office
  ~ Recreation / Wellness Activities & Equipment
  ~ Life Skills Courses
  ~ Creative Spaces & Programs
  ~ Senior / Intergenerational Programs
  ~ Current New Heights Ministries (youth programming, community meals, care ministries)
  
  Potential Programs for Further Research: ‍
  ~ Crisis-Resource Offices
  ~ Senior Housing
  ~ After School / Summer Child Care
  ~ Campus Environmental Restoration
  
  "And Jesus said to him, 'If you can? All things are possible to him who believes.'" | Mark 9:23 |
  

Guiding Principles for our Building Project

Keeping us aligned with God’s Mission and Vision

The above images are first renderings and preliminary designs from the 2022 remodel design process. We anticipate neutral, welcoming, flexible spaces for all to feel welcome at The Grove!
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Ownership: This is not our building but God’s building.   It will be designed to serve the communities in which we live along with the needs of New Heights.
 
Community Resource: Our new space will be a community space where we worship.  It will be available for community gatherings, events and functions!

Flexibility: All spaces will be designed for flexibility with multiple potential uses in mind.
 
Sacred Space: As a church, our campus will facilitate sacred uses while also valuing a hospitality of "Welcome," creating space for new faces and uses every day of the week.
 
Adaptability: The design needed today may not be relevant in 10 years. The building design will be adaptable for future needs, additions, and community growth.

Sustainability: We will pursue income streams that help support the ministries and mission of the church.

Ministry Focus: During the building process, our primary focus will continue to be the ministry and mission of New Heights.

How did we get here?

In 2009 two churches, St Johns and Our Saviours, merged to form New Heights Lutheran Church. Our focus was on renewal and revitalization. To become a healthy, vital and sustainable church that would be here for generations to come!

While our predecessor churches faithfully served Black Earth and Mazomanie for over 100 years, New Heights Church was born in 2009 out of a vision to do more together. From the beginning, this Faith community has been about CONNECTING People with each other and with God. In 2010 we purchased the 10 acres of our future building site, dreaming of the opportunities we’d have to bring people together and serve our communities with a unified voice of love and welcome for all.

In 2014, New Heights began the process of designing what they hoped would become our future home. Bringing on our architects (Building God’s Way) and contractors (NCI Roberts), we also began fundraising through the SHINE Campaign, and hosting events at the future building site on Hwy 14 & 78.

We continue to experience the increasing need for a new building and a new site.   

We are a mission minded people, always asking, “Who’s not here yet?”. We continue to welcome and invite people - to Sunday worship, to Family Faith Night, to fellowship and community. But in many ways, our current building inhibits that welcoming presence. Even the full parking lot gives a perception that there is not enough room.   

In 2021, we finished the 100% construction drawings and were hypothetically ready to go out to bid. The year included not only lots of planning, but also starting an additional SHINE Appeal, and the discovery of “The Grove”--what we hoped to call this future community center and venue. However, after a 100-year flood in 2018, COVID in 2019, and an almost 40% inflation increase in 2020 and 2021, the feasibility of the development of this future campus seemed to be getting farther away. While we trimmed away at what the building could host and facilitate, costs continued to increase.

As the Vision Team and staff prepared to share the news with the congregation, an incredible opportunity arose in the local community: the sale of the Mazomanie Elementary School. After tours and late-into-the-evening conversations, the New Heights leadership felt called to switch directions on the location of our future community space and 2 weeks later, the congregation voted to purchase the property with 98% approval.

There’s a lot of reasons we needed a new building. Most importantly, a new building can be a tool for ministry and would allow us to be more effective in fulfilling God’s mission to truly invite and welcome all.  

Now… we’re here! We’re actively dreaming about all the possibilities and opportunities to serve the WI Heights Area through this historical, community-loved facility and campus. We can’t wait to see how this space grows and develops with the dedication and commitment of not only our faith community, but all those who Gather, Connect, and Thrive at The Grove.