Continuing our series about the projects worked on by our Advanced Financial Academy students, below is the story of an ambitious project in central Pennsylvania.
As part of the Mid-Atlantic Foundation’s Advanced Financial Academy, Quakertown United Methodist Church and I are pursuing development of sporting fields on our property to both bless our community and continue our mission for God. With a generous amount of land surrounding the church building, we sought new ways to develop the grounds for rental. Sports are a favored thing in Quakertown, with many recreational and competitive leagues reserving field spaces throughout the year. In an effort to use the space for mission and community purposes, QUMC will work to develop at least one (1) field in the coming year. QUMC and its members have a long history of involvement with sports in the area. Several long-standing members served as players and later coaches in their respective sports. There is great excitement among the Core Team that was brought together. The Team includes two former coaches to provide sporting insights, two missional members to help keep the project rooted in service to the Lord, and one financial member. Collectively, this well rounded team will work with me to bring this vision to life.
Early connections have landed us a budding friendship with one of the largest baseball tournament organizers who has provided invaluable insight into what our future renters would look for in a field. Furthermore, through this friendship, we have been introduced to a contractor who developed a similar field in a neighboring township for another non-profit. The Quakertown Area Ministerium, of which QUMC is a part, has also had recent joint building ventures that I and the Core Team will lean on, as to avoid early pitfalls and snares in land development.
The goal of this field is provide both a practice and gaming baseball field that groups and leagues can rent at a competitive rate. Such rental income will provide additional funds for the church as well as seed money for further development. Even now, we are seeing the value in two (2) fields, on catty corner ends of the field, to be more attractive for tournaments, which require more than one field for timely progression. We may soon have to update the name to “Faith Fields (plural) at QUMC.” The Core Team and I are excited to pursue this vision to its completion and look forward to breaking ground in this coming year: 2023.
Rev. Richard “Ricky” Brown II
Quakertown United Methodist Church
