Transforming through growth
CENTER TWP — Two Sundays ago, the Rev. Dennis Krajacic surprised members of the congregation of Community Alliance Church midsermon by moving them from the sanctuary. The group was moved to the church's new sanctuary, under construction since June 2008.
"It was very emotional, with lots of celebrating, lots of tears and lots of clapping," said Krajacic, senior pastor. "It was incredible to celebrate the past and envision the future."
The sanctuary is just one aspect of the project, which will add 31,000 square feet to the existing 53,000-square-foot structure. The expansion also includes a children's wing, drive-through entrance canopy and an elevator at the lower entrance. Completion is expected sometime in the spring.
Before the new sanctuary opened, the church on Mercer Road held three worship services that usually were pushing maximum capacity of the old 550-seat sanctuary.
"Our choices were to either add a fourth service or build," Krajacic said.
Between 1,100 and 2,000 parishioners attend services each week at the church, which has about 680 members.
The church now holds Sunday morning services at 9 and 10:45 a.m.
The new sanctuary is sleek and modern, with 800 theater-style seats. There is space for 100 more chairs in front of the brightly lit stage.
To finance the renovations, many small fundraising events were held and a stewardship company was hired to organize the efforts, Krajacic said.
The church raised $6.7 million during a six-week fund drive in 2007. The campaign included a series in which personal experiences within the church were shared, Krajacic said.
"We shared the stories of people whose lives have been transformed and asked them to imagine new families whose lives could be transformed," he said.
People were asked to write down on a card how much they could contribute over the next three years, Krajacic said.
The church is unique in that it has more attendees than members, Krajacic said, but both members and nonmembers opened their hearts.
"A combination of people contributed," he said. "Everyone had a part, and everyone could play their role and ask God what he wanted them to give, whether they were a member or not."
About 500 families made pledges totaling $6.7 million.
"(The stewardship company) told us to expect between $3 and $4 million in a pledge drive," Krajacic said. "It exceeded everyone's expectations."
A loan will cover the remaining costs for the $8 million project.
The architect designed the building with future growth in mind, said executive pastor Bob Thomas.
"He designed the lobby so that it could be pushed outward if needed," he said, so the building could be further expanded without being dismantled.
Construction on the new sanctuary and children's wing happened simultaneously, Thomas said. The children's wing includes eight classrooms, which will serve young attendees from birth to fourth grade.
The hallways will soon be adorned with a mural, and the colorful rooms will all be decorated based on a phase of Creation, said children's pastor Connie Krajacic."You want it to be kid-friendly," she said. "We want to focus on the fact that God is our creator and incorporate that into lessons and the atmosphere."The building has occurred in stages, so the church's operations have continued without interruption, Thomas said."We want to have a facility that will serve the community," said Thomas, adding that groups like the United Way and Lifesteps already have held meetings there."The idea is to try to draw people in, not from other churches, but maybe people who haven't been to church in a while," he added. "We want to have more space to deliver our message and worship in a way that is contemporary."Thomas said he would like to see new people coming in to see if Community Alliance Church is a good fit for them."Opening this makes that more natural and makes more people want to check us out," he said.Krajacic mentioned a sociological study that found humans typically have at least three places where they form relationships: work, home and a "third place.""We thought it would be great if the church would be the third place where people can get connected with other people and with God," Krajacic said.The new meeting areas like the sanctuary and café help the church accommodate a wide variety of people, Thomas said."It's hard to be that third place if we only have facilities for one group or segment of people," Thomas said. "We want to minister the whole family."According to Krajacic, the endeavor has been "exciting, challenging, demanding and thrilling.""We are incredibly blessed by God," Krajacic said. "It's not about bigger and better; it's about what God has done here and what He is calling us to do."
