SOUTH BUFFALO TWP, Armstrong County - They aren't building ballfields from cornfields in Iowa, but the Rev. Dan Culp and his wife Debbie are sowing their own Field of Dreams.

As part of a "church plant" project initiated by the Biblical Life Institute, the Culps will be driven by faith as they foster support for a newly built church.

The newly constructed Family Life Worship Center, which includes more than 12,000 square feet of worship and all-purpose fellowship space, will open next week with a dedication and open house.

Unlike most church constructions, the $1.6 million building on Freeport Road was created without a congregation. Instead, the Culps were brought in as church planters, or people who build congregations from scratch.

Dan Culp said most often planters emerge from larger congregations with a goal of expanding to outlying areas. "It's a trend in church growth," he said, describing his role as slightly less conventional.

Culp describes the new church as inter-denominational with a blended worship style.

"We sing a balance of traditional hymns and gospel songs along with more 'up-beat' contemporary Christian music. As we grow, I look forward to including drama and other creative arts as part of the worship experience," he said.

Culp described his background as Wesleyan-Arminian, stemming from the teachings of John Wesley, who founded Methodism, and Jacob Arminius, a Dutch theologian.

"We're a solidly evangelical church as well," he added.

With missions work as their original goal, the Culps say a plan to relocate to Belgium was derailed by the invitation to do a similar type of work at home.

"God changed our plan," Debbie Culp said of the new mission on American soil.

With a fellowship space large enough to accommodate baton-twirling teams or a basketball league, the Culps say their job in part will entail providing a hub for community functions.

"Our vision is to be a community church," Dan Culp said. "The church is not here for the school, per se. It's here to minister to the community."

"Our purpose is really to go out into the community and make an impact - and that's really what Jesus did," he added. "Our driving force is to share the love of God with people."

Beginning without a ready-made congregation, the Culps said slow growth could ultimately benefit Family Life, allowing members to bond and evolve like family. It allows a chance for getting acquainted, Debbie Culp said.Although construction on the new Family Life Worship Center began in 2002, plans for the church were set in the 1950s by Henry Shilling, founder of the Biblical Life Institute. The college was originally called the Transylvania Bible School."The founder of Transylvania Bible School in 1950 had prints drawn of a church across the road: Now (his vision) just got formulated," said Lucille Shilling, the late founder's daughter-in-law and business manager at the school. "The vision got picked up and carried on by our board. Fifty years later the founder's vision has been fulfilled."Shilling said funds from the building came from loans and donations."We had a matching gift … of $100,000" from an anonymous donor," she said.Since the Family Life Worship Center is currently without a congregation, it is technically not a church, Shilling noted. The institution will become a church when members form a board of directors.Despite that technicality, Dan Culp will hold services at 11 a.m. on Sundays.

Although the Culps most recently lived in a more populated area, the couple said their three teenage children took part in the decision to embrace rural Pennsylvania. Raised in a Michigan farming community, Dan Culp said South Buffalo Township resembles the culture in which he grew up.The Culps both attended United Wesleyan College in Allentown, where Dan graduated with a double major in pastoral ministry and missions. Debbie graduated with a double major in elementary education and missions work.Dan Culp later returned to school at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School near Chicago, where the family most recently lived. There he earned a master of divinity degree with an emphasis in missions.