Churches build for the future
As the valley's population grows, a number of local churches are trying to make sure there are enough seats to go around, with church building projects in progress throughout the valley.
For two years, Kalispell Christian Church on Foy's Lake Road has been pushed to its limits. Even after stretching to two Sunday services, the congregation is currently meeting in the WestCoast Kalispell Center Hotel to accommodate the more than 200 people who now attend the church every Sunday.
The current sanctuary holds around 165 people comfortably. After the $1.5 million addition project is completed the auditorium will seat 500, and the current 3,000-square-foot building will be closer to 13,000 square feet.
"One thing we want to emphasize," building committee chair Ross Holter said, "is that it's not about a big building. We're trying to reach Kalispell and we look at the building as a tool. If it's crowded, people will turn around and leave."
To finance the project, Kalispell Christian borrowed money from a church development fund available primarily to Christian churches and Churches of Christ. A three-year capital campaign brought in $900,000 worth of pledges from the membership.
"We're not a big church but we have a lot of plugged-in people," Holter said.
Holter said the church hopes to be in the new building by Easter of 2005.
With its new building currently under construction on 10 acres on Whitefish Stage Road, Easthaven Baptist is expanding significantly.
The church, currently located on U.S. 93 North near Kalispell Regional Medical Center, will be moving from its current 16,000-square-foot building to a 41,000-square-foot facility.
When they will move is still a big question. The Rev. Daniel Lambert said that the church's initial wish was to be in by Christmas, but now chances are slim that Easter services will be held in the new building.
The slow pace of construction is worth the savings, though, Lambert said.
"Almost all of it is being done with volunteer labor," he said. "Over the summer we had over 500 volunteers who spent a week each working on the project. It's miraculous how much money we've saved and how much has been done."
Easthaven's congregation, just over 400 people, has grown considerably in the last six years. The church lost about 120 people when it started Harvest Baptist Church on the south end of Kalispell, but Lambert said in a year and a half those who left have been replaced with newcomers.
The new facility will accommodate more growth, with a 650-seat auditorium and a full-sized gym plus an indoor playground.
Whitefish Assembly of God broke ground this fall on the first phase of its new church on 20 acres at 1549 Karrow Ave., but the project is on hold until the foundation can be set in milder weather.
The first phase of the building project features a multipurpose auditorium seating about 480 people and four times the classroom space of the current building. Phase one will be 15,000 square feet; a gymnasium is planned for the next phase.
The new building was necessary, the Rev. John Weaver said, because the church grew exponentially in 12 years, from about 30 people to 550. The Tuesday night youth group draws about 150 participants, and the children's program is also thriving, Weaver said.
As the new building will be filled right away, Weaver said they will open with two services, but that option is more welcome than the three services the church currently has to offer.
Weaver said he expects to create a sister church if the congregation numbers continue to expand.
Other church building projects include the just-completed expansion of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Lakeside, and the new Catholic church that will bring together the current congregations of St. Catherine's in Bigfork and St. Ann's in Somers. It will be a 500-seat facility on 42 acres on Coverdell Road, south of the Montana 35 and Montana 82 intersection.
Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4431 or by e-mail at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com