Atlas Township ? Nearly 200 people came out for azlast weekend’s groundbreaking service for the new Atlas Community Baptist Church building.
Warm winds whistled around long-time member Stan Reis as he hoisted a shovel full of earth, where the 18,000-square-feet gym and classroom building will be situated.
The building will be the first phase of a two-part project to be built on the 20-acre parcel, located at 9490 Perry Road. The site plan gained final approval at the Atlas Township Planning Commission Nov. 19, and dirt will start to move today, said administrative assistant Mike Fox.
‘We want the foundation in before winter,? said Fox, who hopes the building will be completed in six months.
The second phase, which has not yet been drafted, will include a 1,000-square-foot auditorium.
The Rev. Jim Combs Jr. conducted the ground-breaking service, and shoveled dirt, along with deacons Bryan Fox, Fred Arnold, Rich Gulledge, and Gary Ellis, as well as the pastoral staff: Fox; the Rev. Bill Wiemer, youth pastor; the Rev. Nathan Pittman, junior high pastor; and the Rev. Jim Combs Sr., administrative pastor.
Church services have been held at Goodrich Middle School since July, as elbow room was scarce in the old Gale Road building.
‘It was getting really crowded,? said Fox.
At approximately 350 members, the church has grown considerably since getting its start in 1842, when Abial Woodworth organized a schoolhouse Sunday School. A year later, six residents of Atlas, then called Davisonville, met to consider organizing a church, with the Rev. A.K. Tupper serving as the first pastor.
The first church building was completed in 1855, and eventually a long shed’for sheltering members? horses’was built. Later a parsonage was constructed. The church building was enlarged in the 1940s through volunteer help and donations, rendering it a debt-free project, as with the construction of the original building.
An educational building was dedicated in 1964, and a library was opened.
The Gale Road building will be retained to use for wedding ceremonies and children’s activities, said Fox.
The Rev. Mik Halliburton first suggested the Perry Road project.
‘The previous pastor had the vision for it about five years ago,? Fox said. ‘He was looking ahead. We’re starting to grow, we wanted to reach out to the community.?
Fox expects the gym to be a great place for youth and community activities, which local schools can also use. Church officials are also planning for ball fields, he said.
Although the church will soon submit a loan application to finance the project, it’s hoped that donations will offset the loan amount. A pledge drive is also being conducted.