How We Work
Collaborative Partnerships
The Presbytery of East Africa is organized with standing committees responsible to the Moderator of the Presbytery to conduct various aspects of the Presbytery’s business. For building a facility, there is both a Land Committee and a Building Committee. The Presbytery meets with all its Pastors (over 100) at least 3 times a year.
The Land Committee seeks out possible sites for new churches. Typically, there is a backlog of opportunities. This tracking is continually updated based on input from local church Pastors in the Presbytery. As churches mature, it is common for the local body to start a “neighborhood” church a few kilometers away. These neighborhood churches have no land or buildings and frequently meet under a tree or in a village. In our case, once King’s Kids Africa has secured the funds and made a commitment to the Presbytery to proceed, the Land Committee will: (i) identify a site; (ii) search for the rightful owner (which can often be an issue); (iii) negotiate the purchase price; (iv) pay for the property; and (v) secure the necessary sales/legal documentation.
In much this same way, the Land Committee will secure land for a new school, except that a backlog tracking system is not in place.
Once the property is secured, the Building Committee will establish the design standards and oversee the entire design, bidding/contracting and building process. The committee will first solicit bids for design and then, once completed and approved, will solicit bids (including bills of materials) for construction. (Note: Wherever possible, the design of the orphan homes are being standardized to reduce costs and shorten the design/build cycle.) The Building Committee will then review the bids and make a recommendation to King’s Kids Africa for final approval, funding and award. The final contract will be between the Presbytery and the contractor.
Throughout construction, the committee will visit the site; meet with the contractor to monitor progress, make decisions/selections as necessary; and approve payments to the contractor. Generally, the Building Committee will withhold 5 – 10% of the funds as retention until such time as the work and a final inspection have been completed.