Ground Is Moving at North Campus: Our Student Building Takes Shape

Published September 20, 2026
A large, leveled dirt lot at a construction site with a building in the background under a blue sky. Two wooden stakes with pink ribbons are in the foreground.

If you've driven past the North Campus lately, you've probably noticed something: the ground is moving. After a lot of prayer, planning, and generosity from this church family, our new student building is officially underway — and over the last four weeks it's gone from a flat, quiet lot to an active job site with the shape of the building already taking form.

We want to keep you in the loop. This is your building — a place being built so the next generation of students has room to gather, worship, and grow — so we'll be sharing progress updates as the work moves along. Here's how the first month came together.

Weeks 1 & 2: Clearing the way and shaping the pad

The first stretch was all about preparing the ground. Crews wrapped up demolition and moved into rough grading — reshaping and leveling the site so it's ready to build on. It's not the flashiest phase, but it's the foundation for everything that follows. By the second week, the site had been graded, the building's perimeter was staked out (the first time you could actually stand there and see the footprint of the building-to-be), and the construction job trailer was delivered — a sure sign the team is settling in for the long haul.

A muddy construction site with several large yellow earthmoving machines, including a scraper and a loader, grading the land in front of a large building.

Rough grading begins on the student building site.

A wide, empty dirt lot with construction survey stakes marked with pink tape. In the background is a one-story building under a partly cloudy blue sky.

The building's perimeter, staked and marked out.

A white Willscot portable office trailer parked on a lot with grass and a concrete slab. A fenced area and open field are visible in the background.

The job trailer arrives on site.

A large, leveled dirt lot at a construction site with a building in the background under a blue sky. Two wooden stakes with pink ribbons are in the foreground.

A wide look at the graded site.

Week 3: Digging in

With the pad ready and the footprint marked, crews set the perimeter form boards and began digging footings — the trenches that will hold the concrete foundation the entire building rests on. This is the moment a project starts to feel real: you can trace the outline of the building in the ground and begin to picture the rooms taking shape.

A yellow trenching machine works on a dirt lot behind a chain-link fence, with buildings and a clear blue sky in the background.

Digging the perimeter footings.

A wide, sunny construction site with a long, straight trench dug in the dirt. In the background, a worker in a safety vest stands near a Bobcat loader.

Footing excavation progress.

An excavated construction site with dirt trenches and white markings for a new foundation. School buildings with green roofs are in the background.

Perimeter form boards set, with underground plumbing layout on the north side.

Week 4: Utilities go underground

Most recently, the team began the underground plumbing and electrical — the pipes and conduit that get buried before the slab is poured, running to the future student lounge, restrooms, classrooms, and electrical room. It's the kind of work that will be completely hidden once the concrete goes down, but it's essential to everything that happens inside the building for decades to come.

A construction site with foundation forms and plumbing pipes set in the dirt. In the background, workers operate machinery near a playground.

Underground plumbing at the future student lounge restrooms.

A construction site with trenches dug for the installation of underground PVC plumbing before a foundation is poured. Workers can be seen in the background.

Underground plumbing at the classroom restrooms.

A sunny construction site with deep trenches dug in the dirt. Bundles of grey electrical conduit are laid inside the trenches for underground installation.

Underground electrical, with the electrical room in the foreground.

A construction site on a sunny day with trenches dug in the dirt. Several gray electrical conduits are laid in the trenches in front of a large building.

Underground electrical running toward the student lounge area.

On track, and built to last

We're grateful to report that the project is moving along on schedule with no outstanding issues — no open questions holding up the crew and no delays on materials. That's a real answer to prayer and a testament to careful planning. Every gift given toward this project is being put to work in the ground you see in these photos, laying the groundwork — quite literally — for a space that will serve students for years to come.

What's next

In the weeks ahead, the team will continue the underground electrical and begin backfilling the trenches — the next step toward getting the site ready to pour the foundation. We'll keep sharing updates as the walls, roof, and rooms start to rise.

Thank you for praying, for giving, and for believing in what God is doing in the next generation. We can't wait to walk through these doors together.

Want to follow along or be part of what's ahead? Subscribe to our project updates email list.

GIVE TO OUR BUILDING FUND



C