Ministry is growing to meet an area need

Immanuel Lutheran Church in Medford announces plans to expand childcare facility with new building

Members of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Medford have their eyes on the future as they prepare to undertake a $1.2 million project to build a new home for Little Lambs Academy of Medford (LLAM).

LLAM’s current building was purchased in 2009 and moved to the Immanuel Lutheran property. It measures 1,438 square feet. LLAM is the preschool and childcare program run by Immanuel Lutheran Church.

“We have outgrown that facility and although it has served us well, it is time to upgrade,” said Scott Mildbrand, chairman of the church’s building committee.

The new facilities will be about 6,000 square feet in size and will be connected to the existing Immanuel Lutheran School building creating a new shared common entrance for those accessing the school and the daycare. The new space will allow LLAM to house up to 53 children from newborns through age 3.5. Older children including after school care and after 3K and 4K programs will be housed where they are now, which is in a classroom in the school building.

According to Mildbrand, when parents drop off their children at the new entrance they will either turn left to go to the school or right to go to LLAM. Mildbrand said the new entrance has been designed with security in mind and it will be monitored with a receptionist there to greet people during the day.

According to Mildbrand, what sets LLAM apart from other area childcare options is the Christ-centered focus of the facility and its staff. LLAM is a Christian based childcare facility, although Mildbrand is quick to note that all are welcome to attend. He said one of their hopes is that people who are currently without a church will find a home there after being involved with their children in the daycare and school settings.

While the director at LLAM is a called Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) worker, Mildbrand said the staff members working in each of the areas are a mix of people who belong to Immanuel as well as those who belong to other churches in the area.

Mildbrand said the intention of building a new building at this time was to be able to serve more families in the community. LLAM has been hampered, due to space, in the past for advancing in the state’s star rating system which impacts assistance reimbursement levels. The additional space will open more opportunities fostering an environment of growth and development.

According to Mildbrand, the building committee has been working on the project for some time and presented a proposal to the congregation for their review and approval. With that approval, they moved forward with hiring Boson Company to be the construction manager with Nick Anderson serving as project manager. Mildbrand said Boson will handle putting the project out for bids and managing the construction work. He emphasized the desire to use local contractors for work whenever possible.

Excel Engineering designed the building and is working with the city and state to ensure that all building codes are followed.

In addition to the contractors, Mildbrand said the wood-framed building will involve the use of volunteer labor from both within the congregation and through the WELS Kingdom Workers program. This is a volunteer group that helps WELS congregations with construction projects. Mildbrand said the Kingdom Workers will be doing most of the construction except for the foundation, HVAC, plumbing and electrical. Congregations have to apply to receive assistance from the Kingdom Workers program. According to Mildbrand, 11 projects applied to get construction help and the LLAM and one other project were selected nationwide.

Kingdom Workers (also known as Builders for Christ) are made up of volunteers many of whom have trade backgrounds who spend their summer working on projects. They will be camping in RVs behind Immanuel School and will be working Tuesday through Saturday so more of the local congregation members can help under their guidance on Saturdays. They spend their time off touring the area and the state they are working in.

Mildbrand said donated labor of the Kingdom Workers will help with the estimated cost of $1.2 million for the entire project. Primary funding is coming from congregation members who are pledging and continuing to make pledges to support the program. The project also received a $25,000 boost from a grant from the Antioch Foundation.

Mildbrand said that businesses and tradesmen in the community have come forward with offers to provide their services to make the new structure a reality. Mildbrand said they are very grateful for this outpouring of support.

The congregation is working with a local financial institution on financing for the remainder of the project costs.

Depending on weather and when road weight limits come off, construction is expected to begin by mid-June with the goal of having it completed by October or November of this year. Mildbrand said he was excited to hear that the director recently took the first reservation for a child due in the fall who will be in the newborn room.

Childcare is a major need in the Medford area. Mildbrand said a group of professionals from WELS toured the Medford area in January to assess the community’s childcare needs. They toured and evaluated Immanuel Ministries along with the Medford community for several days and concluded there was a definite need.

Mildbrand said he was pleased with being able to serve in helping to expand the Christian-based childcare opportunities LLAM offers to the Medford community and looked forward to the start of the construction process.