CG Family and Friends,
The following is the formal announcement that was presented during the worship gathering on 4.13.25.
1. The Transition Team consists of ministry leaders and staff. They have met weekly for the past 3 weeks.
2. Common Ground is moving to Westside Church of Christ. The address is 5525 SW Menlo Dr., Beaverton, OR 97005.
3. Westside's building is available for CG to use on Sundays from 1:00-9:00 pm. Our new worship time is 3:00 pm. We are working with their team to schedule other days for ministries and events. We recognize that this time change comes with schedule challenges for all of you. Please begin to pray about this schedule change and how you and your family can join us in this new season for Common Ground.
4. The Transition Team has scheduled Friday evening, April 25, and Saturday morning, April 26, as workdays to move our physical items to Westside. Ministry leaders are compiling a list of projects to move physical items to Westside, do minor building maintenance and repairs, install tech equipment, etc. They will calculate how many people are needed to complete each project. We will share the signup list via the Church App and weekly email.
5. We invite you to an open house at Westside on Sunday, April 27. Our worship service will end at 12:30 p.m. This will give us half an hour to drive to Westside and begin the open house at 1:00 pm. The event will feature a devotional, a campus tour, and a welcome reception hosted by Westside.
6. Continue to pray for this process—for spiritual and logistical wisdom and discernment.
Sunday Announcement on 3.23.25 | We Found A New Location
The following was announced during Sunday worship on March 23, 2025.
1. Common Ground (CG) has secured a new location, and we commend our Relocation Team for their excellent work.
2. We explored six potential sites, but none were available on Sunday mornings. Our team interviewed five churches and toured four of them. To help in our decision-making process, the Relocation Team created a spreadsheet comparing the strengths and weaknesses of the four locations we visited, which we are pleased to share with anyone interested. After careful consideration and prayer, the Relocation Team recommended Westside Church of Christ, located on Menlo Drive, just one street away from our current site. This recommendation has been approved by the Common Ground elders.
3. Our move necessitates a new Sunday schedule, and we invite you to prayerfully consider how to join us as we navigate this new season. We will be the sole group using the majority of Westside's 22,000-square-foot building on Sundays from 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Our first Sunday date is tentative, depending on the logistics of our campus exit and move. Additionally, this new location provides greater access to facilities for our weeknight ministries and offers a rental cost that matches our 2024 budget. The administrative team at Westside has been gracious and welcoming.
4. As we conclude the search phase of our relocation, we enter the Transition Phase. A Transition Team will include ministry leaders, staff, and elders who will develop a transition plan. Our first planning meeting will be this afternoon at 2:00 PM. Once we have a plan in place, we will share it with the congregation and provide opportunities for you to help with our move. With Spring Break approaching and several families planning vacations, it may take a few weeks to develop the transition plan. Additionally, we will schedule an open house before our move-in date (which is still to be determined). This event will allow you to meet Westside’s administrative team and get a first-hand look at the new location.
5. We have communicated this decision with Pastor Doug from Calvary Parkside. We intend to exit Parkside's campus by the end of April. The response between Pastor Doug and Pastor Avery is summed up this way: "Our two congregations want to end well. We are asking God how can our congregations bless each other as we transition from being shared tenants to neighbors in Central Beaverton."
6. We are excited! It is challenging to convey this excitement in just one announcement. We look forward to sharing stories about how God has guided and positioned us for this next season. Please pray for Westside Church of Christ, for Pastor Doug and Calvary Parkside, and for all leaders at Common Ground. Pray for spiritual protection and discernment for our congregation. Let’s begin a season of prayerful consideration as we shift our worship time to the afternoon. Change can be challenging, so we ask that you cover all of us in prayer. Most importantly, let us give thanks to God for His abundant provision.
We Are Searching for a New Location
Common Ground Family and Friends,
We have much to celebrate in our congregation. God's abundant blessings have provided extraordinary resources for leadership, ministries, finances, community, and spiritual guidance throughout the past four challenging years. There were moments when we wondered how we would endure the difficulties and obstacles. The elders and staff recognized that our collective wisdom was insufficient to make all the right decisions, so we leaned into our prayerful dependence on God and our love for the people of this beautiful church. To our amazement, Common Ground Church grew during a global pandemic. We not only survived; God enabled us to thrive. Lord willing, our congregation will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year. Let us enthusiastically honor what God has done, is doing, and will do in Common Ground.
As our capacity has increased over the past two years, so has our need for facility space. For example, ministries currently utilizing the Calvary Parkside campus during the week include Sunday morning worship and Children's Ministry, Sunday afternoon Men's Book Group, Monday Staff Huddles, Tuesday Life Community Groups, and Friday Worship and Tech rehearsals. We also regularly schedule Community Meals, Bible Huddles, Women's Ministry events, and Youth events. Other ministries, like the Hospitality Ministry, are planning events that bless our neighbors and friends, and having adequate facilities is essential for these events to happen.
While we celebrate our growing capacity, we also rejoice with Calvary Parkside, as their congregation is also expanding. Pastor Doug, Pastor James, and their leadership team recognize, as we do, that increased congregational capacity brings additional challenges in managing shared facility space. The costs associated with maintenance, utilities, janitorial services, and so on have risen significantly. Requests for facility usage from all five congregations have also increased. These concerns were addressed with campus pastors during a meeting several months ago.
As a result, Parkside has made two changes to each congregation's annual lease contract:
1. The monthly leasing fee will increase by a minimum of 15%.
2. Facility usage will be limited to Sunday worship and one additional weekday or weeknight.
While these changes make fiscal sense for Parkside, here is the reality for Common Ground:
1. Our congregation has operated at a deficit over the last two years. Though vision blessed us with an unexpected financial gift that filled the gap between our income and expenses, our financial deficit remains.
2. Our congregation's capacity for ministry and outreach is growing!
3. From a stewardship perspective, the elders believe it is unwise for Common Ground to increase our monthly lease payment and simultaneously reduce our access to facilities.
After prayerful consideration of these changes, we have reached a decision. Our 7-year tenure on the Calvary Parkside campus is coming to an end. We will begin searching for a new meeting location that will nurture the incredible work God is doing and will do in our congregation. At this point, we have more questions than answers, but here are three things we can share today:
1. We have a wonderful relationship with Pastor Doug and Calvary Parkside. We have communicated our decision to them. They have generously altered our annual lease to a month-to-month with a 30-day exit notice. We have expressed our gratitude to Pastor Doug for this gesture.
2. The elders and staff will commission a Relocation Team to search for available facilities. We will provide parameters for the search, including our "must-haves," our "wants," and our "wish list." If you are interested in serving on this team, let us know. We want to start the search immediately.
3. While we do not have a specific timeline, we do not wish to prolong our relocation unnecessarily. In principle, six months should be ample time to honor Parkside's expectations and their generous month-to-month lease.
We conclude this announcement in the same spirit we began. God has been faithful. He has provided and sustained us. He is up to something very special at Common Ground, and we praise Him for His abundant resources. Join us as we anticipate God's continued work of gospel presence in Beaverton, Hillsboro, and beyond.
Elder Team
Juan Garcia - juan.garcia.cgc@gmail.com
Joe Lee - josephjlee82@gmail.com
Avery Stafford - cgleadservant@gmail.com