10/20/05 :: Filling an empty building
Denver, CO >> Providence Community Church is renovating an old building, with hopes to move in this winter. Cindy Healey, a member of the church, sent us the story, along with photos.
We purchased an empty church building this past April and are in the process of renovating it. This building was empty I believe for 3 years. It is amazing that it hadn't sold, as it is in a prime location with a great view of the city and the mountains. We had our eye on it for a while, but it was out of our price range. The longer it sat the more available it became. It holds approximately 700 people, and the location is pretty much dead center to most of our members.
Basically we have removed the pews, carpet and much of the ceiling. We are leveling the floor in the sanctuary and going to have chairs instead of pews. Since the building was vacant so long and there were some leaks, we are having to remove all carpet, fix the roof, clean and update the heating and air conditioning. We will have 7 Children's Ministry classrooms.
The church has been very faithful and generous with the Building Fund pledges, we have received about 90% of the total pledged amount. We are hoping to begin painting in a couple of weeks and if all goes well we hope to be in the building by Christmas.
Having a building will allow us to reach those that want to know we are more invested in the community. As in, they wouldn't attend a church service at a school. Just working on the building we are having more people stop by at least 2-3 times a week, asking us when we are going to open. We want the building to be used as a tool for God's glory.
We are currently in the middle of negotiations with the city of Westminster, CO. We would appreciate prayers for favor with the city. There was a landscaping plan in place by a group who were trying to buy the building and make it an event center. The city had already approved that plan, but the event center fell through. So the city wants us to go ahead with the previous plan, which is a great deal of money, that is not necessary for our church. For example, they wanted a privacy fence put around the church, which is not needed as the noise is a non-issue now.
Photos: (Top) Providence Community Church's new building. (Middle) Concrete workers level the sanctuary floor. (Bottom) Joel Schlosser and Dave Doyle hard at work.