Dowagiac church to host ground-breaking for new facility
Published 9:28 am Thursday, June 11, 2015
A local church’s $2 investment is about to pay off in a very large way beginning early next week.
Construction on the new home of the Michiana Church of Christ, located near the corner of Railroad and Prairie Ronde streets, is slated to break ground on Sunday. The congregation is planning on holding a ceremony to commemorate the event following their morning worship service, beginning around 12:15 p.m., said Pastor Justin Shepard.
The new facility, which will be constructed by Ideal Construction, based out of Warsaw, Indiana, will be located next to the church’s current chapel, on the former site of the old Securit building.
They purchased the property and a neighboring house from the business’ owners for just a dollar a piece last year, demolishing the structures last April.
Ideal has given the church a discounted rate, of $85 per square foot, for the construction of the 9,000 square foot facility, which will be paid for with a loan from The Solomon Foundation, Shepard said.
“We’re not a wealthy church at all,” Shepard said. “A lot of members are living on fixed incomes, so it’s been a real challenge for us. But we’re taking the plunge.”
The new chapel will be able to seat up to 300 people for worship services, over triple the capacity of their current building. It will also have space to hold 250 people for meal services and other events.
“We a congregation that cares about the community, and this will help us serve the community better,” he said.
The support from the church’s congregation for the project has been strong, Shepard said. During a recent fundraising event, the church raised over $20,000 to help pay for construction in a single afternoon, he said.
“They’ve seen some of the amazing things that have happened up to this point,” Shepard said.
Construction is expected to last around four months, the pastor said. The church is hoping to begin service at the new location before winter.