Proposed Sale of Land

279 Lexington Road, Waterloo, Ontario

Introduction

The Church Council is recommending the sale of 279 Lexington Road to the City of Waterloo.

In October, 2024, the City of Waterloo approached WMB staff to see if we would be willing to sell this land to them. The Church Council approved a Task Force in late January, 2025, to look at the City’s proposal and offer recommendations to the Church Council.

Information, updates, and discussion happened at several Town Hall Meetings, beginning at the meetings held in July, 2025. The church was also called more recently to pray, fast and share at meetings in May, 2026.

The members of the Church Council, after seeking the Lord, considering various options, and discerning together, believe that selling the land to the City of Waterloo is a step of obedience and an act of faith. The sale of the land to the City, given the conditions of the potential sale, align with our Strategic Priorities, specifically; “To be using our facilities for mission in a visible way that benefits the community as well as creating income to fund mission.”

This information package has been created to inform the WMB and KMB congregations and to help prepare the Members of WMB Church to make a decision, to vote on, the proposed land sale at a Special Meeting of the Members on Wednesday, September 30, 2026.

You are encouraged to take time to pray and seek the Lord’s guidance as we prayerfully discern this important decision before us.

Prayer & Strategic Priorities

As we discern together the future of 279 Lexington Road, we want this decision to be rooted in prayer, Scripture, and the mission God has given us as a church.

The documents below provide important context for that discernment. Our Strategic Priorities outline the mission, values, and ministry direction that guide WMB, while the Eight Days of Prayer Guide invites our church family to seek God together and consider this decision through the lens of Scripture and those priorities.

We encourage you to take time to read both documents and, most importantly, to join us in praying for God’s wisdom, clarity, and unity as we discern together.

Strategic Priorities
Prayer Guide

Details of the Potential Sale

Size of land: 5.167 acres

Selling Price: $1,350,000

Current Zoning: “R4” - Residential; with a restrictive covenant (per Land Registry Instrument No. 144047)

Proposed Use: The City of Waterloo plans to develop a new 10 acre community park in combination with the adjacent land.

Conditions of Sale: Ongoing access to run Wumba summer camp; 100 parking spaces for church use; and that it remains parkland.

IMPORTANT DATES

Town Hall

September 17 | 7pm
WMB Church

Join us to learn more about the proposed sale, hear additional details from Council, and have an opportunity to ask questions.

September 30 | 7pm
WMB Church

Special Members’ Meeting

Members will gather to consider and vote on the proposed sale of the 279 Lexington Road property. We encourage everyone to review the information provided, participate in the conversation, and join us as we prayerfully seek God’s guidance together.

Proxy Form

Part of Block M on Plan 1313, designated as Parts 1 and 2 on 58R-12086; Subject To 439202; City of Waterloo, Regional Municipality of Waterloo

Legal Description:

Frequently Asked Questions

  • The City had a Narrative Appraisal of the land completed in April 2025. This appraisal stated: “As a result of our investigations and analysis, it is our opinion that the fee simple market value of the subject property, as at the effective date, April 8, 2025, is: $130,000 (based on $25,000 per acre and 5.167 acres of land).”

    The City and the Church Council both agreed this value was low. The City came back with a price of $800,000 in July 2025.

    The Church Council dedicated a time of seeking the Lord, through prayer and fasting, around price in October 2025, discerning a price in the range of $1.2 to $1.5 million.

    The City responded with the current amount of $1.35 million.

    NOTE: Given our current use and the City’s planned use of the land AND given the Restrictive Covenant in place, we feel this is an appropriate selling price.

  • The Church Council met on June 1, 2026 to review the feedback from the church-wide call to prayer and fasting. This feedback included submissions from individuals and from the table discussions at both gatherings (May 26 at KMB and May 28 at WMB).

    The Church Council discerned that we are to move forward with an increased focus on Preferred Culture of Discipleship. That we establish spaces and settings for training and equipping disciple-makers and that we live as disciple-makers in our neighborhoods.

    Ultimately, we see that the land sale moves us forward and is in alignment with our Strategic Priorities.

  • In looking at what is best for the community around us, and also what serves our mission within the community, which is both access to a park (for Wumba) and parking for Sunday services and other events (weddings, funerals, etc).

  • We are sorry for the confusion around the zoning of the land in previous communications. As the process has moved forward the Church Council realized that initially we had announced that the land was zoned as ‘parkland’. This was our mistake. It was clear in the Narrative Appraisal we received from the City that the zoning was “R4”.

    However, this oversight doesn’t impact the suggested selling price of the land given the use that is planned for the land and the restrictive covenant that links the land to our property at 245 Lexington.

    If you want more detailed information around the zoning of the land, it is available at: https://www.waterloo.ca/planning-and-development/check-zoning-and-land-use-rules/zoning-bylaw-and-map/

  • Wumba is our summer day camp that currently uses the field at 279 Lexington Road. The City is supportive of Wumba continuing as they value this type of programming for the community. As a condition of the sale we would have access to park with the city waiving any park fees for permits.

  • The money is to be used for the mission of the church, not maintenance. This follows our Ministry Approach as outlined in our Strategic Priorities. Specifically, to be a 50/50 church that operates from 50% of its income in order to use the other 50% for missions, planting churches and other missional communities.

    While the specific missional use of the funds is not yet determined, we are beginning to look toward how our facilities can serve this focus on discipleship and mission, with a strong community presence. We'll invite the congregation into the conversation this fall as we seek the Lord and discern together what's next.

  • Summary notes of the Town Halls are available on request. Please email churchcouncil@wmbchurch.ca or call the church office at (519) 885-5330.

  • At the time of publication these documents are still being finalized, but will be available shortly. If you would like to review them please email churchcouncil@wmbchurch.ca or call the church office at (519) 885-5330 and we will get them to you as soon as possible.

  • According to section 13.02 of the WMB General Operating By-law, the decision must be made by the voting members of WMB Church at a Special Meeting of the Members. The date for this Special Meeting of the Members has been set for Wednesday, September 30, 2026 at 7 pm.

You can download a digital version of this information and FAQs below:

Download a Digital Copy