Building for the Future
Our mission at Common Ground Midtown is to call people of all ages to be formed in the image of Jesus, so we can love our neighbors in Indianapolis and around the world. As we approach the 25th anniversary of our founding, we look back on our history with deep gratitude. Common Ground’s story is rooted in generosity: Every space we’ve occupied has been a gift from God, including our home at 46th and Illinois. This building gave our young church a stable place to settle in and grow, and cultivated a responsibility in us to steward our building as a blessing to others.
Through Heritage Place, seniors come to learn Spanish and play bridge during the week. Through Young Lives, teenage moms form critical bonds with mentors while their kids play in the children’s ministry rooms. Opening our doors to others creates doorways to new relationships and opportunities to tangibly live into our mission of loving our neighbors.
Common Ground is a church that encourages wondering, wrestling with difficult questions, and taking risks in faith. We believe faithful risk-taking grows out of a welcoming community and supportive environment.
Therefore, fulfilling our mission requires intentional care and stewardship for our physical space,not only in the mechanicals that keep it running, but in the embodied hospitality we extend through it. How we invest in the physical development of our church is an expression of our calling.
To maximize space as our church continues to grow, we converted offices to build another children’s ministry room and downsized our storage needs to create a neurodivergent-friendly “Buddy Burrow.” Those are just two recent examples of improvements we’ve made over the years. There are larger projects we are dreaming of, projects too big to accomplish in our annual operations budget, and many of our systems are reaching the natural end of their lifespan. Looking forward to the coming years of ministry at Common Ground Midtown, we must now make a significant financial investment in our space.
This is why, in 2026, we will launch our first capital fundraising campaign to make needed improvements and renovations to our building and grounds.
As a church family, we want to discern together which investments are most critical for us to continue to call people of all ages to Christ for the next 25 years and beyond, while also allowing us to deepen our roots in the Butler-Tarkington neighborhood.
What We Are Discerning
We already started this work with you over the past year through staff and elder discussions, neighborhood partner conversations, a congregational survey, and the “Building for the Future” listening sessions we conducted last fall. Through this dreaming phase, we began to imagine the future of our church together.
The following priorities emerged to help guide our choices about how we might invest in our space while in alignment with our vision, mission, and calling:
Generational Impact
Ensuring our children’s and youth spaces are safe, inviting, and age-appropriate places where young people are formed to embody the Gospel in word and deed. Projects might include:a dedicated youth space
reimagining children’s, youth, and early learning spaces, including co-locating all our children’s ministry rooms for family convenience and children’s safety
expanding our children’s ministry check-in and welcome spaces
Hospitality
Enhancing a warm, welcoming home for congregants and neighbors alike that communicates that you are welcome here and we want you here. These projects might include:improving wayfinding and restroom accessibility
increasing the size of our community room and kitchen to allow for more participation in hospitality and fellowship
making thoughtful changes to our sanctuary that allow for more accessibility, welcome, and reverence
improving our outdoor community spaces, including the playground
Mission
Thoughtfully adapting our existing spaces to expand opportunities for community engagement, partnership, and outreach at CG Midtown. These projects might include:an early learning center to meet the community’s needs for affordable, accessible child care; school readiness; and good jobs
additional technology-enabled meeting spaces that allow seniors to gather for a technology class while our staff conducts a hybrid staff meeting
Stability
Preserving and strengthening the core infrastructure of our historic building to reduce operating costs so that more of our time, energy, and financial resources can be directed toward ministry rather than maintenance. The projects might include:some HVAC system replacements
sanctuary A/V/L system replacements
structural improvements to the foundation
solar panels to reduce ongoing utility expenses
Our initial estimates for everything on our wish list is around $2.5 - $3 million dollars. Now it’s time for us to discern together what are the most important projects and their timing.
Discerning Together
To more fully explore these priorities and potential areas for investment in our building, we are engaging the following groups to help in our discernment process:
Common Ground Midtown Teams: Congregant volunteers serving on teams such as the core team, planning team, and fundraising team are helping to guide our process.
DKGR & SB Construction: These partners provided assessments, cost estimates, timelines, and parameters for potential scope of improvements and they will help us execute any later-stage ideas.
Greg Gibbs: A pastor and ministry advisor who will conduct an anonymous and confidential congregational survey in early 2026, helping us assess our readiness for a capital fundraising campaign and how much our congregation might contribute, which will result in a projected fundraising goal to guide our budget and scope of work.
Next Steps for the Congregation
Participate honestly in the upcoming congregational survey, sharing your hopes, questions, and concerns.
Remain open to what God may ask of us in the future, including financial generosity, as clarity emerges.
Pray regularly for our church, our leaders, and this season of discernment.
It’s Our Turn
As we look to the future, we wonder together how God might be asking us to faithfully steward the gift of this building. We wonder how He might be calling us to use this building for the advancement of His kingdom in Indianapolis and in the decades to come. And, as recipients of great generosity, we wonder how we might pass on the generosity we received so that future generations may also encounter God in this space. Thank you for wondering and dreaming with us.
With faith and gratitude,
Common Ground Midtown Elders and Staff
