Frequently Asked Questions
4-6-25 Town Hall Meeting 

 Existing structure questions: 
What will it take to update/maintain our existing buildings (up front and ongoing maintenance costs)?

• This question is a very important consideration.  
• Our current average maintenance and upkeep for our buildings over the past three years is $80K a year for our church campus and $146K for our school campus.  This includes janitorial, which obviously is much higher at the school campus where we have a full-time janitor.  
• The plans that have been presented do not include costs for updating existing systems (boilers, electrical, new roofs, etc) and we have aging buildings that will require updates.  The original part of both our church and school were built about 70 years ago.  Our youth center is probably a similar age.  
• The church addition plans also do not include any updates to the existing structure except for the restrooms and fire suppression.  There are a number of known issues that we have, such as minimal insulation in our church building, electrical systems that will have to be updates, and other needs.  
• The Council should be commended for recommending that we take a good hard look at our existing facilities as part of this process.  This is a piece of information that we need.
  • A structural engineer from Krivonen Engineering looked at our facilities in January and has put some of his observations in writing.
  • A mechanical engineer from Con’eer Engineering will be looking at all of our facilities on April 17 and will be assessing needs/costs/timeline.  We will share the reports and recommendations from these assessments once they are all completed.

Why do we want to expand our sanctuary space when it isn’t needed?

• On the church addition option, there is no plan to grow our sanctuary space.  The added space is for other needs, such as fellowship and education.
• On the unified campus option, the concept plan includes a sanctuary space for 400 people, which is a bit more capacity than our current sanctuary, which seats around 300.   
• Sanctuary capacity has not discussed at length and is something that we discuss more if we decide to combine campuses.  The brief discussion we had with the architects was that we want it big enough to allow for a bit of growth, but not so cavernous that it will make it feel empty if we are worshipping 125.  Having flexible seating allows for the space to be arranged for various size groups.  
  • Currently we often have 350 people in chapel at the school on Wednesdays, so if the sanctuary will be used for that gathering then we would want to take that into consideration.
  • Having a larger space would also allow us to do a combined worship service there occasionally.

What happens to ministry and space use during facility modifications?

• ​ Our church is built with materials that will require abatement, including asbestos and lead paint.  Because of this we likely will need to vacate the building for a season while those materials are impacted.  If we do any modifications to the church then it will require some adjustments.  What kind of adjustments and how significant will depend on the project.  With almost any project that impacts our existing church structure we will have likely need to move our office functions.  We also need to be prepared to move our worship to another location for a time, whether that be the school gym, or something else.  

Trinity Lutheran School Ministry:
What is our enrollment & waiting list situation at Trinity School?

• We wish we could pull up a nice chart that shows exactly how many students we could not serve due to capacity limitations in the past 5 years.  Unfortunately, this isn’t really possible.   Once we are full, students go onto a wait list.  However, there are many families who choose not to pay the enrollment fee and go on a wait list.  Imagine looking for an apartment and you are told that you can apply, but there are 8 people in front of you on the wait list.  You likely won’t apply.  That is how it works at our school often as well.
• There are also many families who hear “Trinity is a great school, but if you don’t start preschool there then you will never get in.”   So, they never even bother.  This is partially true, but we always want to have families apply so we can try to get their children in.
• One area that we always have more demand than we can meet is our early childhood.  If we expand only that part of the school then it creates a really big problem for us when we have to tell our EXISTING families that we don’t have a spot for them.  This already happens a little bit, and would only worsen.
•  For the past 5 years the school has demand that outpaces our capacity, particularly in our Early Childhood Program and up through our 4th grade.  
  • As an example, for this coming year we could have likely filled another kindergarten class as we had a dozen or more on our waitlist.   The year after Covid we had at least 70 students who we could not fit in.  It has definitely tapered off a bit, but there is still more demand than we can serve.
  • However, we currently have openings in our upper grades for this fall!

What is the cost to attend Trinity Lutheran School?

• The charts below show the tuition rates for Trinity and a comparison for how Trinity tuition compares with other schools:​​

• ​It is a huge commitment for families to send their children to Trinity.  If we are to consider a tuition increase to help fund a capital project, then we will need to develop a specific plan for families that may not be able to afford the increase.

Has anyone explored moving the school closer to Trinity Church, including looking at potential existing structures closer to the church?

• No, not specifically.  The school site currently sits on 4+ acres of land, and this would be difficult to find closer to church.  The cost of rebuilding the school would be extremely high.  Based on square footage and current construction costs it would likely be around $25-40 million to purchase land and reconstruct our school.

What are the needs we are not now meeting for our school?

•  Parking is a big one.  We currently have a total of 45 parking spaces in our two lots at the school.  To provide some context, we have over 100 spots here at the church, and the school is a much higher use than here.  
• Meeting and 1-on-1 space is another huge need.  When a staff member or group of volunteers needs to meet during the school day, there is literally nowhere to go. 
• Another flex-use classroom would be extremely helpful.  Right now the school schedule is dictated by space availability, not by what would make sense for overall education.  It’s a great problem to have!
• Also, a huge one is sporadic availability of staff who serve the school, including our Youth Director, Director of Music, Director of Operations, and our pastors.  It isn’t just being available to our students that would be helpful, but also to our other staff members.

What are population growth and birth rate trends in our community?

• Our community continues to grow at a moderate rate.  Births in our county have stayed very flat over the past decade, if not dropped slightly.  The big difference is in how people view public education.  There was definitely a shift toward private education and homeschooling post-covid.

Costs, financing and timing:
We have not talked much about money, financing and the like.  While this is an extremely important thing for us to discuss, we have been very intentional to not let it be the primary thing that drives our decision making.  What ministry God is calling us to carry out is the first consideration, and how the ministry gets funded is a necessary discussion that follows.

What funds do we currently have available for facility expansion?

• Funds for capital improvements are currently going into our Expansion/Debt fund here at the church.  Some of our members have continued to give regularly to this since the Phase 1 school expansion was paid for in 2021.  These funds are set aside and designated for capital projects.  Once there is a sizeable balance in our internal fund, those funds are transferred to the LCMS Foundation, where we have a Capital Expansion account set up.  Those funds are invested in a moderate growth fund, so the balance does fluctuate a bit with the market.  Foundation funds were used for the purchase of the property at 2817 Lewis Avenue, which we took ownership of this past week.  The current balance in this account after the purchase of that property is just over $1.1M. 

How will we fund facility modifications?

• As in the past, most likely the financing of the project will be a combination of options. For example:
  • Our current foundation investments
  • Upfront capital contributions and pledges for major gifts prior to completion of construction 
  • Proceeds from estates that are directed toward capital projects
  • Proceeds from the sale of property (if the church builds at the school)
  • Proceeds from any grants that may be applicable
  • Offers from contractors and suppliers who wish to donate or reduce the costs
  • Labor from volunteers for different aspects of construction
  • Pledges for monthly loan payments for any balances remaining
• The bottom line is that we, the members of Trinity, are the owners of any financial obligations that come with a decision to build.  The survey demonstrates that this is on the minds of many of our people, and it should be.  Jesus says in Luke 14 that we must count the cost before we begin the build.
• Exactly how we fund the expansion can take on various forms.  With facility projects in the past we did all sorts of interesting things including bonds, life insurance policies, and the like.  For the Phase 1 project we raised most of the money through donations, 
  •  About 15-20% of the funds for that project came from donations from school families, but that was a school project.  
  • We also had a modest “school expansion fee” that we charged school families until the project was paid in full.  This was received well, but I don’t see us being able to do that if we are not adding space to our school facility.
  • Other possibilities include increasing tuition, which we would really have to think through.   As previously stated, our school families already make tremendous financial commitments to have their children at our school, so we would really need to have a plan for this.
• Another possible option if we combine campuses is a grant through the Gianforte Foundation.

How much debt are we willing to take on?

• That’s a great question that our congregation will have to answer, and need to answer this question as part of the process.  If we agree to move forward with a facility plan, we MUST also (and separately) determine WHEN this happens.
•  With our Phase 1 project we committed to having 75% of the funds raised before construction began, and that we would finance (borrow) 25% of the funds needed.  It was a $2.8M project to add on to the school, add our big parking lot, AND absorb about $500k in debt for properties we had purchased.  Essentially, we went from having $500k in debt to about $700k in debt.  We are blessed that with this project we currently don’t have any debt.  

What are financing options and payments?

• This is not something we have pursued, but we certainly can.  How much we want to finance and when are key pieces of information that we will need in order to take a good look at all of the options.  

When will facility modifications take place?

• No project will be started until and unless we have a plan for meeting our financial obligations for building, for operations, and for any debt remaining.   We might decide to do a major addition to our church, but we will need to also decide how much money we need to raise before we actually build.  So, let’s say, as a hypothetical, that later this year we have a facility plan that our voters approve (with a super majority).  Let’s say that it ends up being a 5 million dollar project.  It doesn’t mean that we begin construction the next week.  As stated, we will have to decide how much we need to raise before construction begins.
• A larger project will likely take more time to raise the necessary funds and determine financing.  A project of $10M or more may take some years to raise the funds.
• We could always consider a smaller project if we do not want to wait for the time it may take to raise funds for a major project. However, such a decision must take into consideration whether a smaller project would spend money that won’t adequately address our current needs or make improvements on a site that we do not plan to retain long term. Thus, it is important to have a long-range vision before making a decision on what size or how soon we should move forward.

What is the plan/timeline for a capital campaign?

• It can be difficult to raise money when people don’t have a clear plan of how the funds will be used.   There might be people in our church whose level of support (or even their decision to support) would differ based on which project we do.
• If you are a member who will support whatever direction our congregation goes and are not already contributing to the Capital Campaign, then please start!  Every month in your envelope packet (if you use them) is a Lift High the Cross Expansion envelope.  Put your gift in there and it will be set aside for expanding ministry at Trinity through capital improvements.
• Also, our potential donor base could be different based on which route we go.  If we do a project on the school campus that benefits the school, then there will likely be school families who would consider a gift or pledge toward the project.
• If the congregation would like to start a capital campaign now, knowing that we will need to raise funds for whatever capital project we decide on, that is fine. However, this assumes that we will be doing a large project, and that is not something that the congregation has decided.

What is the value of the church building/campus?

• We have not attempted to get a good feel for this.   Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF) offers a service to help us determine what the marketable value of our church property would be. In addition, we could seek a commercial appraisal. It would be wise for us to learn more about the value of our property.
• We have 1.7 acres of total property at our church campus.  The architects believe that conservatively it would be valued at $1-2M.   However, we really should seek professional help in assessing the marketable value of our property before making a major decision.

Are there historic restoration funds available from the government?

• Probably not, and even if there was we would really need to be cautious about pursuing it.  Is our goal to always keep our church looking the same as it has, or is it to position ourselves to reach as many people for Christ as possible?  In our limited experience with receiving federal funding it always comes with compromise, often on things we should not be compromising.  

Vision & future ministry:
What are the plans for a Lutheran High School?

• In 2017 the Montana District conducted a feasibility study about bringing a Lutheran High School to Billings.  The bottom line is that if it will ever happen it will need to be Billings Lutheran High, not Trinity Lutheran High.  It would almost certainly require its own campus.  It would need the backing and support of all of our LCMS churches, and likely need multiple Lutheran elementary schools feeding into it.  If Trinity School ever increased capacity that would put us a step closer to a Lutheran High School, but starting a high school is not a part of our long-range plan at this time.

How will the proposed facility plans address future growth?

• The plans that were developed and presented focused on addressing church needs, because this is what the congregation requested.   We believe we have a need for more education and fellowship space, so that is reflected in the proposed plans.  If the congregation would like us to look at school capacity and potential growth as part of this process, then that is something that can be considered.  Responses in our recent survey showed that many believe it is beneficial for us to consider future growth of church and school. This is reasonable since whatever option we choose, we will likely make a significant investment. We should consider our longer-term vision, even knowing that change is inevitable, so that we do not make a large investment that we later realize should have considered the bigger picture.

What about the original Phase 2 plans to build a fellowship hall in the existing main parking lot at the church?

• The original Phase 2 plan was one of the options that we brought to the congregation in 2024 before concept design plans were developed.  Our members indicated that they preferred an option that would wrap around the south side of the church instead of building out into the parking lot. This allows our fellowship spaces to be closer to our sanctuary, makes use of existing space, and allows us to retain our parking lot.

Do we have any concepts of a new campus that combines a new church and school that could be built from the ground up?

• We have not asked the architects to work on this, so no concept drawings have been developed.  At our Town Hall meeting last spring the strongest support was to look at options for modifying the church and combining campuses at the school location, so those are the options we have developed.  We can certainly look at options for a completely new site.  It does require time and money to have these built.  There would be so many advantages to building new and having everything designed to work together, but the current price tag would likely be in the $50-70M range. Until we are confident that we could raise that amount of money, that option seems the most unlikely at this point.

 What are the church’s short-term priorities?

• When it comes to facilities, the biggest things we are hearing is a need for better access, both into the building and within the building.  We have not specifically tried to prioritize/rank the needs in developing plans, but rather to address all of them.  If there is a desire to refine the plans in order to make them more cost effective or address specific needs more directly, then we can certainly seek the congregation’s input regarding how to prioritize them.​   Whatever the most pressing needs are, we should consider the long-term effects of a smaller or less expensive option in light of our longer term goals.

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