Some of you have followed my posts over the past few years about the phenomenal growth of the independent Spirit filled church I am a part of. We are not traditional Pentecostal and in the world of AFF discussions would certainly be "one stepper's" although we baptize in Jesus name and it is emphasized heavily.
Three years ago we moved to a new building from a sanctuary in a old downtown grocery store that seated about 150 people to a location that seated about 650 people. Our new building was a leased 100+ year old brick factory that is a very cool building with the perfect vibe to reach the unchurched who are turned off or not interested in traditional churches.
We leased one side of this building and it housed the 650 seat sanctuary, Sunday School rooms, nursery, and loft meeting room that will seat about 125 people for youth services / events. The rear of the building is leased by a micro brewery and a bread company. A year later we leased 4,000 sq feet on the other side of the building for offices and more meeting rooms for small groups, etc.
When we made that move our 150 seats at the old location had become full as the church had grown from a literal handful of people to around 400 people in four years (we had three Sunday services to accommodate them).
Easter Sunday three years ago (2013) we moved in the new building and had 713 people that Sunday. After Easter attendance dropped to around just over six hundred as a norm then started steadily growing. The largest attendance we had before moving was 450 one Sunday.
When we moved in the new building with our 650 seats we kept the same three Sunday services and felt like we were set to handle growth for some years to come. People kept coming though and after a year or so we realized we were quickly running out of room. The initial solution was to go from 3 weekend services to 4 which we did. Two Saturday services (5 pm and 7 pm) and two Sunday morning services (9 am & 11 am). This bought us a little time but this past year we realized that we were once again out of room as we have been averaging around 2,000 folks each weekend.
After prayer and careful consideration we pulled the trigger on leasing and building out the larger half of the building on the side where our offices and meeting rooms are. Saving money (we paid cash for the build out and the church owes no money to anybody) and developing building plans then getting them approved took some months before actual construction began but around the first of the year work began.
The new additional footage houses a new 1200 seat sanctuary, 200 seat chapel, fellowship hall, new nursery (the old one will become a Sunday School space for special needs children), and additional rooms and offices.
Remembering how our first Sunday at this new location three years ago saw us having 713 folks on Easter Sunday when the largest attendance we had prior was around 450 made me curious as to how this Easter Sunday, our first in the new 1200 seat space, would be.
We are keeping the same four weekend services and Easter Weekend we had 3,370 people at church! God has really blessed this church in a supernatural way. It will be interesting to see if any / many of the almost 1,400 additional folks to the number we usually have will come back or stick.
Our Senior Pastor and Executive Pastor wrote a book last year about the birth and growth of the church up to that point. Here is a link to the print and kindle edition of that book at Amazon. Below that I will also post a link to the church website.
http://www.amazon.com/Authentic-Purs...=Corey+Trimble
www.experiencecc.com
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