As Five Oaks grows, we need to make space for more people and families to join our community. We know that healthy churches plant healthy churches. By starting a church rather than expanding our current space, we are participating in God’s work in Cottage Grove because new churches reach more people better, faster, and cheaper than existing churches. In the kingdom of God, multiplication is more powerful than addition. We also decided against expanding the worship space (including children’s and parking space to match) for several reasons, including (1) the enormous cost of expanding worship, kids’, and parking space (especially while we still have debt), (2) the challenges churches face filling and maintaining large buildings after a leadership transition (Pastor Henry is 66, so in a few years we will be experiencing a leadership transition), and (3) we place a high value on personal connections and functioning as a church family (we feel like a small church that has the advantages of a large church).

Yes, there are many Sundays and holidays when we do not have enough space for a family to sit together. This makes it challenging to continue to be a welcoming church and be able to invite friends, family, and neighbors to attend.

The quick answer is that they do not make more land. The 9.5 acres we own on the southern edge of our property have been useful and will continue to be useful for negotiations regarding the ingress and egress of our property in the future.

If and when we expand on the current building site, we will need that land to expand parking.

The first priority will be the slow plant, which will continue to make room for more people from the community. The first $1M will be for the slow plant, and the rest be used for debt reduction.

We want to be ready for the future. By paying off our $2.4 million in debt, we can invest the money we now pay toward our mortgage toward a future expansion of our Kids’ and Student Ministry space, keeping our building updated and welcoming, and meeting large deferred maintenance costs (e.g., we’ll soon need a new roof). Additionally, in May 2026, our mortgage of $2.4 million will re-amortize at a significantly higher interest rate. We also want to ensure that our emergency fund is always fully funded.

The debt was acquired over the four campaigns that covered the three phases of our building (1998, 2002, 2005) and the property acquisition to the south (2013).

The loan will re-amortize in May 2026. If rates stay where they are currently, the interest expense could increase from $232,000 per year to nearly $300,000 per year. If we don’t pay off the debt, a larger portion of our operating budget will be needed to service it.

Having debt is not necessarily bad, as there are benefits to using debt. An example is the debt that we originally took to expand the campus, which has helped support the growth of Five Oaks. However, we believe that having a clear plan for how to pay off debt is an important part of good stewardship and positioning the church well for the future, especially as we look at a leadership transition in a few years.

The giving timeline will be from May 2025 through April 2027.

A slow plant is a church that starts as a campus of the sending church, offering significant advantages provided by the sending church (e.g., board-level leadership, senior staff leadership, financial administration, digital and print communications). The campus has its own preaching/lead pastor, under the direction of the sending church’s
Governing Board, Elders, and senior leadership staff. A growing number of multi-site churches have spun off their campuses to become autonomous. We are starting a campus that is moving toward autonomy as the strategy. The Cottage Grove campus will have live worship, live teaching, small groups, and kids’ ministry while sharing in Student, Men’s, and Women’s ministries with Woodbury.

To learn more about the slow plant, visit www.fiveoaks.church/slowplant

We believe there is a continued need for healthy churches in Cottage Grove. In addition, Cottage Grove was the second fastest-growing suburb by number of people from 2020-2023 (Woodbury was #4). Finally, the proximity between the two campuses will make it feasible and convenient to have shared ministries during the first few years of the slow plant.

To learn more about the slow plant, visit www.fiveoaks.church/slowplant

We would not proceed with 50, but we will have more than 50 since we’re at 44 in February. 150 adults is the optimal number for an exceptionally strong start. Under 100 adults is when there are some concerns about getting that strong start that leads to long-term viability. If our numbers are low, the first contingency is to delay starting until January. In addition, we don’t want to proceed with Portable Church Industries until we either have 100 or confidence that there’s enough momentum to reach that number. These decisions will require prayer, wisdom, and discernment.

To learn more about the slow plant, visit www.fiveoaks.church/slowplant

Attendance and financial contributions are major factors in the timing of the transition. From the start, financial contributions to Five Oaks and attendance will be separated by campus in our records, but there will be a unified budget. Once the campus has the financial ability to staff operations, communications, and key ministry programming staff, the transition will then be possible. One caveat is that the financial viability can’t be built on the giving of just a few people but it needs to reflect generosity from a broad portion of the congregation. In most churches, the 80-20 rule applies (i.e., 20% of the congregation covers 80% of the budget). At Five Oaks a healthy 35% of givers cover 80% of the budget. Other considerations include the readiness and margin needed on staff to make the transition at a time when the campus is financially viable.

To learn more about the slow plant, visit www.fiveoaks.church/slowplant

Formally speaking, that will happen at the time of transition to independence. Before then, we will probably need to develop a pre-elder and pre-governing board advisory group from the campus, formally or informally.

To learn more about the slow plant, visit www.fiveoaks.church/slowplant

• The intent is to staff the campus with the following positions:

  • Campus Pastor FT

  • Worship Pastor FT or multiple PT

  • Kids Ministry FT or multiple PT

• All areas of ministry will be supported by volunteer leaders and team members much like we do in Woodbury.

• Outside of Henry Michael’s role, other staffing decisions have yet to be determined. As we get closer to the fall, any changes in staffing will be communicated to the congregation.

To learn more about the slow plant, visit www.fiveoaks.church/slowplant

We don’t know yet and haven’t made plans on how to name it. Input on names from those who are going will be greatly appreciated. But so will any input from any Five Oaker who has some expertise in this kind of thing.

To learn more about the slow plant, visit www.fiveoaks.church/slowplant

There will be one Student Ministry for both campuses. At some point, probably after the Cottage Grove campus becomes independent, it will develop its own Student Ministry. Because of the nature of ministry to students, this will probably entail hiring it’s first Student Ministry pastor or director. However, students will always have a choice regarding which ministry to attend. We currently have many students attending from other churches. That’s also part of the nature of Student Ministries.

To learn more about the slow plant, visit www.fiveoaks.church/slowplant

No one who joins the Cottage Grove team will have to leave their small group. Some will be sent to start new groups for the Cottage Grove campus. While the campus needs some groups that are for Cottage Grove folks, no one has to leave their small group and small groups mixed with Woodbury and Cottage Grove people are not a problem. The Sermon Application Guide questions will accommodate that reality and work very well.

To learn more about the slow plant, visit www.fiveoaks.church/slowplant

• The primary ministries for the campus include Set-Up/Take-Down, Kids (nursery, preschool, K/1, and upper elementary), Worship (vocalist, instrumentalist, sound tech, slides tech), Greeters (parking, doors, kids), Concierge (the New Here kiosk), Cafe, Security, Communications (video and social media), and Security. There are other opportunities but these are the front line ministries we need to create the Five Oaks experience and carry our DNA to Cottage Grove.

• As people leave those ministries at the Woodbury campus, we will need others to serve in their places.

To learn more about the slow plant, visit www.fiveoaks.church/slowplant

The $1M will generally be spent as follows: 

• $500k for one-time expenses for all the equipment (e.g., chairs, tables, dividers, etc.), trailers, auditorium speakers, and anything needed to get started at Oltman. The current auditorium speakers at Oltman are not sufficient for our needs and Oltman has wanted an upgrade since the campus opened, so we will replace the speakers and then receive discounts on rental over the next five years to approximately match the cost of our investment.

• $500k toward a multiyear fund to assist the Five Oaks General Fund to cover staffing (for both campuses’ shared ministries), central support ministries (e.g., Communications and Finances), rent, ministry programming (e.g., curriculum), and marketing needs over the next three years.

To learn more about the slow plant, visit www.fiveoaks.church/slowplant

The plan is for the campus to be financially independent by the end of year three. If it is not, we'll adjust our plans. Likewise, if financial viability is achieved sooner, the needs of the Woodbury campus will also impact timing. During the first three years, there will be a sharing of expenses and ministry staffing with the Woodbury campus. Woodbury will provide central support for student ministries, adult ministries, finance, operations, and communications (e.g., printing, website, and marketing).

To learn more about the slow plant, visit www.fiveoaks.church/slowplant

• Pastor Henry will likely preach a little more than 50% of the weekends in Woodbury and will likely preach a little less than 25% of the weekends in Cottage Grove and/or as needed. We will have preaching teams for both campuses and will train more folks to join the preaching teams. Philip Vierling will be joining the Cottage Grove campus and will serve on that preaching team from the start. 

• Pastor Henry’s new role will take him out of the day-to-day, behind the scenes leadership of Woodbury, freeing time to focus on developing staff and non-staff leaders over the next few years. Jonathan will assume the Woodbury Campus Pastor role. To make it financially viable, Pastor Henry will voluntarily take a 1/3 reduction in salary. This change is a needed step to help the church prepare for the day (years from now) when, after decades of serving as lead pastor of Five Oaks, he is no longer serving in that role. The plan is to eventually have him transition into a role where he will continue to preach and develop leaders but no longer oversee senior staff, serve on the leadership staff teams, or serve on the Governing Board or Elders. Eventually stepping out those leadership roles is essential for the success of his successor and the thriving of Five Oaks under new leadership. This change also allows for others to develop their senior leadership skills over the next few years with the benefit of Pastor Henry’s mentoring and oversight.