They were hoping for growth, but the folks at Bridgewood Church could not have written the script leading to plans for a new building in Independence Township.
Sue Marquis, administrative assistant for the church, said there’s only one explanation.
“God’s been in this from the beginning,” she said. “We just sit back and marvel at how he has handed us one thing after another.”
Marquis and Lead Pastor Curt Demoff are among a group of about 12 who came to the former Good Shepherd Assembly of God in December 2001 by request of the denomination’s district office. The congregation had dwindled to about five families, and the team supervised a renovation of the building, a new name and a new emphasis on family ministry.
Now attendance exceeds 100, and the current building on Sashabaw Road is inadequate for the church’s growing needs.
Even without the growth, development along Sashabaw between Waldon and Maybee roads will force the congregation to move. The current church property will be bisected by the new Waldon Center Drive.
“We were faced with some huge challenges,” Demoff said. “We look back now and we see that as a total blessing.
Purchase of property and approval of a site plan take time. Bridgewood Church has seen it happen in the space of about a year. It began with the availability of 12 acres on the southwest corner of M-15 and Rattalee Lake Road.
“We wanted to be in a visible place and wanted to be within a couple miles of this place in Independence Township,” Marquis said.
There were good negotiations with the property owner, but some understandable uncertainty of how the small congregation would pay for it. The owner eventually donated three acres (where the new church building will go up), reduced the price on the rest and allowed for land contract terms.
“That was the beginning of the property miracle for us,” Marquis said.
The next challenge was to design a building with both economics and aesthetics in mind.
The Design Resources architectural firm produced drawings that, so far, have received township government’s blessing. Final site plan approval was expected from the township planning commission last week, and the hope is for footings to be placed this fall to allow for building construction throughout the winter.
“From the quotes of the architects and engineers, this has been a flawless project,” Marquis said. “They’re amazed.”
If all goes well, the 18,000-square-foot building (with an estimated cost of $1.25 million) will be ready for occupancy in spring. If weather becomes a factor, it could be fall occupancy but still with plenty of time to beat the developers’ deadline to vacate the Sashabaw property.
“They’ve kind of worked their project all around us,” Demoff said, giving credit to the developers “They’ve given way beyond what’s been expected of them.”
There was some consideration of leasing space on a temporary basis, but Demoff has witnessed that in the past.
“It wasn’t that much more just to make our payments and have a facility that we will actually own and are able to use more than two days a week.”
The new building will not follow a lot of traditional church design rules. Following their emphasis on full-family ministry, the center of the multipurpose building will house the “Exploration Station,” from which “launch pads” will direct people to different parts of the building depending on the desired program.
Regular worship services will be “family services,” Demoff said.
“It’s difficult to find something to do with your family,” he said. “We really feel like the family is being torn apart because families aren’t doing things together. They’re not worshipping together, they’re not playing together, they’re not spending time together.”
Even with age-oriented programs, the church is gearing their “Planet Adventures” program to be on the same general theme.
“It gives families the opportunity to take the lessons beyond Sundays, and everyone has some common knowledge on it,” he said.
The church realizes that the new building will not be the final challenge. Their prayer is for additional growth in both ministry and finances.
“We need to get in the building to keep the momentum going,” Demoff said. “It’s an incredible risk in the human aspect, [but] we recognize the Lord is helping us.”