President Alan Cureton was overwhelmed by the number of students that came to observe the unofficial groundbreaking of the Billy Graham Community Life Commons Aug. 27.

“What a wonderful day this is. My heart is absolutely delighted,” said Cureton at the event, which occurred during the first official student chapel of the school year.

The chapel service, led by Cureton, began with praise and worship in Maranatha Hall. Cureton gave a short message, then invited the students to join him in the Nazareth Hall parking lot to witness the “first dig,” symbolizing the start of construction on the CLC.

NWSA President Peter Kemp led the mass of students in prayer in the lot. “I’m happy that we could do this for the students because they will be the ones to enjoy it later,” said Kemp. Cureton asked the students to remove their shoes in a symbolic gesture of standing on holy ground and to lay hands on each other during prayer.

“What a joy it was to see so many students out here to pray. That was really cool,” said Cureton.    

An employee from Adolfson and Peterson Construction used a small construction machine to remove a 3ft by 4ft square from the parking lot, followed by cheers and applause from students.

The crowd of students filled half the Naz parking lot and flooded into Maranatha circle. Cureton joked about one student climbing a tree like Zaccheaus in order to see the event better.

According to Vice President of Advancement Amy Carey, who also spoke at the chapel, this event was not an official groundbreaking ceremony. It was a time for students to come together and ask for the Lord to bless the project from the very beginning, said Carey. She explained that an official CLC groundbreaking ceremony will be held on Oct. 2 at 3:45 p.m. NWC supporters from all across the country will be present, including members of the

Billy Graham family, members of the NWC Board of Trustees and some special guests. This event will correspond with KTIS’s 60th anniversary. 

With the approval from the board this summer, Northwestern will soon start construction on the Community Life Commons.  The goal is to have the building completed by May 2011. The transition between buildings will happen during the summer, and it will be open to students in the fall of 2011.

The construction of the CLC is a key component to the Envision Excellence Campaign, a multimillion-dollar campaign that provides funds for the college to continue to fulfill its mission and to follow its long-range strategic plan. 

The building will be named after Billy Graham, Northwestern’s second president (1948–52). 

The new building  has an estimated cost of $17 million. Northwestern was awarded the prestigious Kresge grant of $750,000. President Cureton has said, “The Kresge Challenge Grant will provide momentum and significantly impact the success of our current capital campaign as well as future fundraising efforts for Northwestern College.”