NEHEMIAH PROJECT UPDATE #1
January 2, 2007

WE HAVE PERMISSION TO BUILD!

Please excuse our emotional response, but this news come after FIFTEEN YEARS of waiting, THIRTEEN YEARS OF COURT BATTLES. So, this is big news and a really big praise item. We want to shout “Glory to God!” to the ends of the earth. THANK YOU FOR YOUR FAITHFUL PRAYERS AND SUPPORT FOR ALL THESE YEARS!

Some of the “details” of this news are worth sharing with you...

The City has granted this building permit WITHOUT CHARGING THE CHURCH ADDITIONAL TAXES. We have prayed specifically for this matter for years! Praise God. That’s BIG news.

All the representatives from all the different political parties of the city government voted UNANIMOUSLY to approve the permission for our church to build. Frankly, that is simply incredible. When is the last time you heard that of all the politicians at any level of government were completely in agreement about any issue?! Wow. Praise God. That’s BIGGER news.

In a three-page certified letter, the Secretary of the Administration of the City of Galapagar details the history of our church’s battle to build, with this conclusion: the church has been right all along, and the City was wrong. WE HAVE THE PERMISSION TO BUILD! And that, my friends, is the BIGGEST NEWS! Join with us in simple and pure PRAISE —PRAISE THE LORD!

What’s next? The God who has worked in this manner to give us the building permit will surely provide the funds for this dream to become a reality. It will not be cheap. We estimate the cost at close to $500,000 US dollars. We must also contract the right builders to do this in the most economical way, yet with a high level of quality. This will be a BIG news item here locally, and people from all walks of life will want to see this building with their own eyes. Our church was the very first Evangelical church in the history of the world on this side of Madrid, ever. This building will be the first and only free-standing Protestant church building on the Western side of the Province of Madrid, period —an area with over five million souls. We want the entire process and the final product to give honor and glory to the One who has made it all possible. Both for now and in years to come, our prayer is that both believers and non-believers will hear the story of this building and say, “There must be a God in heaven who hears and answers prayers. That building is nothing less than a miracle.”

NOTE: The building permit also includes what is standard procedure for this type of construction: We must begin the construction within one year, and we must complete it within three years. Let’s build!