Last spring, Immanuel Baptist Church opened the doors to its new facility, a place that is more than brick and mortar, said Pastor Todd Fisher.
Greeters welcomed old-timers as well as many new faces into the new church, a culmination of years of discussions, planning, and hard work. Choir members, with a clear view of people filing into an already full sanctuary, wiped tears from their eyes as they sang before the congregation.
Some members will say that talk about a new church building has been going on for more than 20 years, said Pastor Fisher.
“The decision does have a long history to it,” he said, “because we knew for a long time that we were out of space. And as our church continued to grow, space became even more of an issue. Our vision is to reach people and you can’t do that with physical limitations.”
In 1999 the church purchased 32 acres on 45th Street in north Shawnee at a “God-thing price,” Pastor Fisher said. But the church stayed in a “fund-raising holding pattern” because it was without a pastor for more than a year.
“Being without a pastor is tough on a building program. Momentum is lost,” Pastor Fisher explained.
Fisher was called as Immanuel’s pastor in July 2003 and helped revive the lost momentum, which included revamping the original plans. Instead of building the church in its entirety, an expensive endeavor, the building committee agreed on phasing the construction. The completed Phase I allowed the church to make the move from its Main Street location to 1451 45th Street. It is a 60,000-square-foot facility that includes education space and a temporary worship center. Phase II will be the permanent worship center and a gym.
“When we broke ground we had about half the money raised,” Pastor Fisher said. “We knew we could raise $1 million as we built. Then we planned to borrow $2 million to finish. Our goal is to pay off the loan within five years and then turn our focus to Phase II.”
As Immanuel raised money, it opened a Church Building Loan Investment Fund with The Foundation, where the money grew until the church needed it. “We had incredible returns on our account. With the Foundation, you know that your money is going to be invested professionally, you will have a nice return, and it will be invested with standards,” Pastor Fisher said.
When it was time to borrow the remainder of the money to complete Phase I, Immanuel chose the Foundation for its loan. All interest paid on a church building loan is returned to Southern Baptist causes.
“I think the hardest thing for a church in borrowing money is the thought of paying interest,” Pastor Fisher said. “If you have to borrow money, it takes a little bit of the sting away when you know that the interest you pay is going back to ministry.”
Although the past years have been filled with a concentrated effort on raising money for the building and completing Phase I, Pastor Fisher is quick to remind his congregation, “This church is not a monument to us and is more than brick and mortar. It’s about people and we are here to welcome people and see people’s lives transformed.”
Posted on
Fri, May 1, 2009
by Taprina Milburn