Founded in 2008 with 500 households, the Catholic Church of the Nativity has been a beacon of faith for the Thompson’s Station/Spring Hill communities for nearly twenty years. The parish has since experienced tremendous growth, dedication to the faith, and commitment to building a bold future. 

In 2013 Nativity bought 20 acres of land. The original master plan for the campus was developed prior to construction of the existing worship space and refined in the years since. The plan included future buildings. These buildings are: a new church to seat 1000 or more, a Eucharistic Chapel, a faith formation center/preschool classroom building, and also a parish hall created by the renovation of our current worship space.

The present structure was built in 2016 to serve as a temporary worship space with seating for 500. Led by its second pastor 
Fr. Jerry Strange, the parish has grown to more than 2,100 families. Under Fr. Jerry’s leadership the parish has retired the entire 21-year loan for the construction of the current building in just seven years. This is a remarkable achievement and testament to the generosity of our parish community. In 2019 we bought a rectory next to the parish land at a reasonable cost and paid for it fully. The rectory also helps provide storage for church materials. 

Our problems:

• More than 2,000 people worship at six Masses every weekend

• Our office space is highly inadequate. The Office Manager, Directors of Religious Education, Liturgy and Music, Communication and IT, Youth Ministry, Early Learning Center, Pastor and Associate Priest are all located on the lower level. Several staff share cramped space or work from home. There is no space for a deacon to council or educate parishioners. 

• More than 50 ministries are competing for scarce space in which to meet. 

• Due to lack of space, we now have three faith formation
class rotations each Sunday to accommodate more than
500 enrolled children. 

• We have no parish hall for gatherings after weddings, funerals or other events, or to rent out to the community for added revenue.

The cost estimate for building out the entire campus master plan is more than $40 million. Funding for capital improvements at parishes is mainly dependent on the financial support of the parish family members to fund. The Diocese of Nashville requires any parish in proposing a major campaign to conduct a professional feasibility study. A further requirement of the diocese is to raise a minimum of 50 percent of a project cost in cash and pledges prior to groundbreaking.

Reaction to Case for Support

• 88% of parishioners were in favor of the case, with concerns about cost and size.

• 89% believed the case represented the most important priorities.

Parish’s Capacity to Raise $20 Million

• 74% believed the parish could raise $20 million, but there were concerns about the economy and parishioners’ financial situations. Raising $20 million will be extremely difficult.

Summation is that, although needed and desired, the community is hesitant about raising the money needed for the entire project.  

This brings us to a process of offering a reduction of costs or eliminating building projects. The primary need for our parish is the construction of a church large enough to accommodate our growing family. We think we may be losing parishioners who are not willing to fight the crowds and parking situations. 

We looked at expanding the current building however our architectural firm counseled it was not cost effective, and we would still have issues of crowding in the other areas of ministry and education. We can have adoration in the church so we can shelve the Eucharistic Chapel for now. We might also reduce the seating from 1,000 to 800 taking care of present needs but perhaps not in the future.

We will still need to provide space for faith formation of our children, and a preschool would add to our present Early Learning Center and provide income for the parish. 

As intended from the start we seek to renovate the present worship space to become an open area with an increased kitchen capacity and the ability to gather and rent for functions. 

We can collaborate with the architect to reduce costs where possible in the building plans. Additionally, parishioners who are willing to donate services and are adequately licensed, bonded, insured and have the ability for large construction projects can sign a letter of intent for certain work which could be deducted from the costs. Also, there is a constant reminder that costs for construction will definitely increase. 

To this end, we have placed a response area on the website for suggestions going forward. We welcome your thoughts. Nativity is your parish, and we are together the members of the Body of Christ and builders of God’s Kingdom.