LBE has a new home!

In January, 2025, Living Bible Explorers was able to secure the purchase of a new centre! This is the answer to many prayers. Not only does the new centre fill our ministry’s needs for space and equipment, it is barely 150 metres from our previous centre’s front door!

We are so thankful for this new home but, as the building is more than 100 years old, it doesn’t come without some much-needed repairs. To help us pay for these repairs and pay down our mortgage, we have embarked on our Faithful to the Call capital campaign!

A new home with new spaces

  • Chapel

    Previously owned by Saint Josephat’s Ukrainian Catholic Church, LBE’s new centre comes with a beautiful sanctuary. This space needs minimal work and we’re excited to us it for our AGM, Bible Club, Generations, and for chapel times during our summer day camps.

  • Kitchen

    A major highlight of the new centre is a full commercial kitchen. The kitchen is more than double the size of the one in 600 Burnell, and comes equipped with two large fridges, gas stoves, three ovens, and a dishwasher!

  • Multi-Purpose Spaces

    We now have several large spaces in which we can run our programs! We can fit two basketball hoops, three couches, a piano, a pool table, air hockey, and 11 tables in these spaces without feeling crowded. And we still have a stage leftover from which to lead devotionals!

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Along with the new centre at 590 Alverstone St, the purchase included the house and garage at 594 Alverstone and the parking lot across the street, which is a double lot. We purchased these properties at asking price for $1.3M.

  • To help pay down our mortgage, we have sold the vacant double lot (the parking lot on Burnell St) as well as our previous centre at 600 Burnell. These properties sold for $770,000. We have done some work to the house at 594 Alverstone and prepared it for rent. We expect to receive approximately $1,800 per month from this rental, which will help us pay down the mortgage. Lastly, we are embarking on a three-year fundraising campaign from 2025-2027. You can find the budget for this campaign below, part of which includes $300,000 to pay down the mortgage.

    The sale of 600 Burnell + the parking lot and the ongoing fundraising campaign will leave us with a mortgage of $200,000. We will which we will raise funds to pay this off and aim to have the entire mortgage paid by 2030.

  • 600 Burnell St. was purchased at the end of April, 2025 by Redeemed Christian Church of God. They were able to purchase the building as well as the vacant parking lot for a total of $770,000. They have agreed to let us continue parking our vehicles in their lot for the next two years. We are excited to build relationship with the new owners and hope to be able to get some of our LBE families plugged into their church!

  • Thanks to generous donors, we have currently raised $200,000 of our $900,000 goal!

    $100,000 of this total will go towards repairing the roof and water damaged areas through funds provided by New Life Ministries’ Property Sale Fund.

    Last update: May 14, 2025

A new home, but it needs work

  • Water Damage

    The newest addition to the centre was built with a flat top roof, which has deteriorated to allow water pooling and damage to the underlying walls and ceiling. We will need to repair the roof to prevent further damage and restore the affected areas, including the office.

  • Washrooms

    The centre’s women’s washroom is currently located in the basement, separate from all program spaces, and is not fully functional. The men’s washroom is conveniently located in the centre of our program space. Our dream is to transform the men’s washroom into a unisex space with floor to ceiling stalls.

  • General Improvements

    Currently, many lights in the centre can only be turned on by flipping a breaker switch. To make the space more functional, we will need to do some rewiring to install switches and outlets. The kitchen needs repairs and consistent maintenance to attain health certification. And a fresh coat of paint never hurts!

Campaign Budget

Click the button to access a PDF of the Faithful to the Call campaign’s three-year budget.

All money received towards this Capital Campaign will be put towards Board-approved projects for the sustainable improvement of Living Bible Explorers’ centre.

We are also pursuing grants to help pay for the completion of these projects. Should funds be secured for the required construction projects, all additional funds will be used for other capital projects as approved by the Board.

If you would like to learn more or donate, please click the “Contact Us” button or call us at (204) 786-8667 and we will get in touch with you about the different options that are available.