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Partner Vote October 28/29/30, 2023

If you are an LCBC partner, please join us in-person or online the weekend of October 28/29/30 to participate in the partner vote to affirm LCBC's Leadership and our Board of Elders' unanimous recommendation to purchase these two properties and update our Articles of Incorporation.

As you know, we are on a mission to reach our state and introduce more people to Jesus. One of the phrases we’ve been using a lot this year is that we want to have a bias towards action in bringing our mission to life.

We have two opportunities in front of us to advance the mission. The first is to purchase a permanent location for our Wyomissing campus and the other is a strategic opportunity to purchase property in the Pottstown area. We believe these investments position us in these new communities to see more lives changed by Christ.

Through our For The One initiative, we received commitments of $24 million to invest in expansion opportunities like these. A portion of these funds will be used to purchase these two properties.

In addition to these two properties, we also have an opportunity to update to our Articles of Incorporation including a legal name change from “Lancaster County Bible Church” to "LCBC Church."

LCBC Wyomissing

On November 12, we are launching our Wyomissing campus in a set-up and take-down capacity at Wilson West Middle School in Sinking Spring. The great news is that we have already found a permanent home for this location which will better enable us to reach this community.

  • The property is an existing 53,000-square-foot building on approximately 5.75 acres in a prime location on Shillington Road between Routes 422 and 222.
  • Our plan is to renovate this building to serve as the permanent home for the LCBC Wyomissing campus.
  • We anticipate investing a total of $14.5 million which includes purchasing the property, building renovations, and the necessary furniture and equipment.
  • The location will have 550 auditorium seats as well as engaging environments for kids and students.

Strategic Investment in Pottstown

We have a strategic opportunity to invest in a prime development project in Pottstown. Currently 128 people in the area call LCBC home and we believe Pottstown has the opportunity for a strong LCBC presence in the future. Pottstown has similar demographics to our Ephrata and West Shore locations and a similar population size to the one that surrounds our Manheim campus. We have an opportunity to secure a premiere location that will be developed in the next 3-5 years as we grow relationships and a core group of LCBC attendees in this area.

  • This property is in a new mixed-use development at a premiere location across the street from Upland Square, an established regional retail development.
  • The future LCBC Pottstown campus would be part of a center that also includes a grocery store, car wash, restaurants, and various retail stores.
  • The purchase price of the property is $3.9 million. A future investment will be made in development and construction to prepare this site to be a LCBC campus.
  • The location will have 480 auditorium seats as well as engaging environments for kids and students.

Articles of Incorporation Update & Legal Name Change

LCBC's Leadership and our Board of Elders are recommending, upon advice of our legal counsel, an update to our Articles of Incorporation including changing our legal name from “Lancaster County Bible Church” to “LCBC Church”. This would also necessitate a simple update to our Constitution and By-Laws to reflect this legal name change. These updated Articles of Incorporation include language that is consistent with current legal requirements of the Internal Revenue Service for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations. These updated Articles will allow us to apply for formal recognition of our tax-exempt status. These updates will not change how we operate and our mission is unchanged.

Although formal recognition of our tax-exempt status is not required, it is a commonly used verification relied on by certain donors including employers providing matching gifts, some foundations and donor-advised funds. Further, this verification may also be used by LCBC to obtain nonprofit pricing from certain vendors and business partners. Likewise, although an update to our legal name is not required, having our legal name reflect how we are known simplifies things for us, our donors and our business partners.

Wyomissing Property FAQs

The property is currently home to the Colonial Fitness and Sports Center. The parking lot of the property is shared with Berks Lanes bowling alley and provides access through three entrances off Shillington Road (Route 724).
  • This property is conveniently located between Route 422 (Penn Ave) and Route 222, with direct access onto Route 724 (Shillington Road).
  • There are more than 273,000 people and 102,000 households within a 20-minute drive of this location.
  • Because this is an existing building, there is no land development process which shortens the construction timeframe and helps to reduce expenses.
  • Zoning allows church use and Sinking Spring Borough has already approved the Zoning Permit for the property.
  • Development in the area is booming with 182 apartments recently constructed at Reserve of Iroquois across the street from this property and 275 apartments under construction at The Ponds at Village Greens which is part of a mixed-use project less than ½ mile away.
  • Sinking Spring and the greater Wyomissing area are growing and LCBC is excited to be a part of that growth!
The existing building is approximately 53,000 square feet. Our initial buildout would include approximately 40,000 square feet on the ground floor. Additional space upstairs would be held for future expansion or possibly rented to another entity. When complete, the auditorium will hold 550 seats. The exterior of the building would also be updated to be consistent with our other LCBC locations.
While we certainly understand that this is a substantial investment, it is consistent with what we have spent for new campuses in the past while considering the inflation impact that we have seen on construction and related costs. We also fully believe in the potential of this market and our ability to reach a significant number of people through our ministry from this prime location.
Our current timeline would include settlement on the property in late 2023. The building will require a complete interior and exterior renovation, so our estimated launch at the new facility would be late 2024/early 2025.
We’ve been looking for property for many years in the Wyomissing area. Last year, we decided that we would have a bias towards action and figure out what it would take to get into the Wyomissing area regardless of having a piece of property or land. In light of that, we have decided to launch on November 12 at Wilson West Middle School in Sinking Spring. In the meantime, as we’ve continued to pray, we have found a property that we believe will make an excellent permanent home for LCBC Wyomissing. Launching in a set up and take down for the next 12-18 months will allow us to get in the community sooner to further our relationships and impact in the community while we wait for the renovations of the permanent building to be completed.
Yes! During For The One we identified LCBC Wyomissing as a targeted campus launch. The team is in place and we are excited to launch at our temporary location in nearby Wilson West Middle School on November 12th. This property would serve as a long-term location for LCBC Wyomissing once renovations are complete. Through funds available to LCBC from giving to For The One, LCBC does not anticipate needing to borrow any funds to complete this project.
Contact Jeff Kahler, Director of Expansion and Advancement at 717-928-8811 or via email at JeffKahler@LCBCchurch.com.

Pottstown Property FAQs

As part of our mission to introduce people to Jesus and together fully follow him, we have started evaluating future growth markets for LCBC. Pottstown was identified as a strategic location along the Route 422 corridor. This area is a connecting point between LCBC Harleysville which is roughly 30 minutes to the east and LCBC Wyomissing which is roughly 30 minutes to the west. Pottstown can also serve as a future gateway into the Allentown/Lehigh Valley area via Route 100.

Pottstown serves as a regional trade center drawing from Montgomery, Chester, and Berks Counties. This location in Pottstown would allow us to reach over 186,000 people and 71,000 households within a 20-minute drive of the property. We currently have 128 LCBC attendees who live within this 20-minute drive time. This community has similar demographics to our Ephrata and West Shore locations and a similar population size to the one that surrounds our Manheim campus, all which have been very successful LCBC locations. Pottstown is a growing market and we expect these numbers to be even higher by the time the Westgate Plaza development is completed.

Since Pottstown was identified as a future growth area, our team started researching opportunities in the region. The developer for Westgate Plaza was contacted and they were open to a potential LCBC campus as part of their mixed-use development. This is an exciting location as it is visible from Route 100 and approximately 4 miles from Route 422. Over 34,000 cars pass by this site each day on Route 100!

The potential LCBC site is located directly across from Upland Square, an existing shopping center with a variety of tenants including Target, Giant, Starbucks, TJ Maxx, Burlington, Petco, Staples, Ross, and AMC theaters. Pottstown Center, which includes a Walmart Super Center, Aldi, and Dollar Tree is less than one mile away. Many additional retailers are located nearby. This area serves as a destination for shopping, restaurants and entertainment which makes this opportunity extremely attractive for LCBC.

The property is currently raw land and we are working with the shopping center developer to provide an approximate 4.3-acre lot that will ultimately hold a roughly 28,000 square foot building which will provide seating in the auditorium for 480 people plus ample parking. LCBC currently has the property under contract and the closing would occur once the developer completes the site work and infrastructure for the shopping center. Closing is also contingent on local government approval. The expected timeline for closing would be late 2025/early 2026.

This property will involve a lengthy development process, but we feel it is possible LCBC could have a facility constructed for a new campus within the next five years.

We want to secure the location now as this is an opportunity to purchase land that is extremely well located in a future growth market for LCBC. We believe the Pottstown area will be fully able to support a campus in the future. As we continue to cultivate relationships in this market, Pottstown may be ready for a campus by the time our land is ready for construction, however, there is no time limit for LCBC to build on the site.
The property is being developed by Gambone Group (gambone.com), an established real estate developer with a 50-year history in the greater Philadelphia area. They have developed numerous shopping centers including the Upper Providence shopping center in Royersford and the Suburbia shopping center in Pottstown.
Yes! One of the initiatives of For The One is to launch new campuses throughout the state of Pennsylvania. While this is a longer-term strategic move, it does help us secure a future campus property. It is important to note that the $3.9 million purchase price will not be required until the property is fully approved and ready for development (estimated 2025/2026). At settlement, LCBC would put $1.3 million for land development into an escrow account for the developer to use as they prep the land for a building and parking lot. This work would happen within two years of the closing date. The additional funding for construction, furniture and equipment would not be needed until LCBC starts work on the facility. While LCBC currently has sufficient funding (on hand and reasonably projected to be collected through For The One giving in the next year or two) to cover this campus expansion, it is possible some funds may need to be borrowed based on our extended timeline for this project and other potential expansion opportunities that may arise in the meantime.
Yes! Go to LCBCchurch.com/Pottstown to connect with the team who is leading the efforts in that area!
Contact Jeff Kahler, Director of Expansion and Advancement at 717-928-8811 or via email at JeffKahler@LCBCchurch.com.

Articles of Incorporation FAQs

We are incorporating current legal language for nonprofit organizations. As a nonprofit organization these legal provisions apply to us today even though they are not specified in our original Articles of Incorporation. Our mission is not changing, and this will not impact how we operate.

For your reference you can find a copy of our original Articles of Incorporation here.

Yes, we are automatically granted tax-exempt status as a church, however, many vendors and donors will routinely look for this formal recognition.
Contact Dwight Kreiser, Director of Finance and Stewardship at 717-928-8811 or via email at DwightKreiser@LCBCchurch.com.

Partner FAQs

An LCBC Partner is an attendee who completes a process and application to commit to partner with LCBC in our mission to introduce people to Jesus and together fully follow him.
The process to become an LCBC Partner includes attending our First Steps environment, participating in our Partnership Course—a short, on-demand environment that walks through the heartbeat of what it means to join us in our mission and then completing a partnership application. If you'd like to become a partner at LCBC get more info here or contact us if you have any questions!
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