Area churches busy building, adding on, trying new services

Local churches are growing and changing in a variety of ways, from building expansions to trying different ways of worship.

Christ Church of the Heartland, 720 Bertling St., is well into an ongoing building program, said the Rev. Zach Strong. The church broke ground in April 2006 on a 72,000-square-foot addition that will expand the church to five times its current size and accommodate its growing congregation.

"When all is said and done, our educational facility will be up and running and will take care of our children and our children's ministry," Strong said. "We have put an incredible amount of emphasis on our children's ministry."

The education building is under construction and expected to be finished by August. The parking lot for the church building is about 80 percent finished.

"If we can get the weather out of the way, we can get this thing going," Strong said.

Once the education building is done, then the church will turn to construction of the new auditorium and administration area.

Plans call for a sanctuary with advanced sound systems, stage lights and space for performances. The completed project will house a main auditorium that can seat 1,500, a converted auditorium for teens that will accommodate 500, and a children's auditorium that will hold 400, along with a cafe, library, classrooms and a day-care center.

The Jackson First General Baptist church recently added a new wing to its building at 1506 S. Farmington Road, said administrative assistant Janice Green.

The new administrative wing added classrooms and offices, Green said. The church enclosed the area between the church and the activity building, putting both buildings under one roof and adding a few classrooms in the process.

Green said church members are thinking about building a new sanctuary sometime in the future but have no firm plans.

The labyrinth

Growth for First Christian Church Disciples of Christ, 2411 Abbey Road, came with a labyrinth to aid in worship. The church dedicated the labyrinth in October. It is open to the public as well as to church members and is regularly used, but it's difficult to say exactly how many people walk through it.

"We don't have any way of keeping track of its use other than word of mouth," said Sally Blankenship, a church member who spearheaded the building of the labyrinth. She knows it is used because she sees people walking through it; people tell her they use it and that they see others use it, even that they have seen people out there at night with a flashlight.

The outdoor labyrinth is 60 feet in diameter with gravel paths laid out in arcs going back and forth leading to the center. It is used for worship, meditation and stress reduction.

"Personally I have difficulty sitting still meditating," Blankenship said. "When I try to sit still and meditate, my mind is going everywhere."

Walking through the labyrinth, she said, has helped her to focus her mind on finding peace and pondering answers to things on her mind.

Future plans for the labyrinth include building a pergola and growing some vines to provide some shade. Blankenship said the church also plans to add some landscaping, plant some trees to serve as a windbreak and place some more benches nearby.

Ministers looking for a little peace and tranquility can find that at the newly opened Shadow Rest Ministries, off County Road 635 in rural Cape Girardeau. The Rev. Fred Burgard and his business partner, Paul Cordes, opened the facility to give pastors a place to go to sort out problems and take a short break away from interruptions.

Shadow Rest, a nondenominational, independently run ministry, has a large barnlike building pastors and other people in the community can use for retreats or meetings, and two rustic cabins for pastors and their wives to stay in while sorting out what's on their minds.

"A pastor can feel very safe here," Burgard said.

Burgard and Cordes plan to build two more cabins, a multipurpose building, and small prayer cottages in the wooded area behind the main building. They are currently adding walking trails.

'Come as you are'

For people searching for a less formal, traditional spiritual connection, Cross Country Church has opened in a former western supply store on Highway 25 in Gordonville. A country band takes the place of a piano or organ and a choir. Shouts of "yee haw" are heard instead of an exuberant "Amen."

The Rev. Roger Sivert and worship leader Rick Irwin say they want the church to be an informal place where people can feel comfortable. It's for people who don't normally go to church.

"What you wear doesn't matter," Irwin said. "You come as you are. We leave it to the Lord to clean you up."

One small rural church was able to add to its building in Gordonville in an unusual fashion.

Jackie Mueller, wife of Delbert Mueller, the pastor of the Church of Jesus Christ on County Road 316, found a steeple on eBay and placed the successful bid on the steeple -- 99 cents. The steeple now sits on the church.

The steeple was offered for sale by a Nazarene congregation in Indianapolis. That church was putting up a new building, and the steeple wouldn't fit. Instead of destroying it, the church put it on eBay and set the minimum bid at 99 cents.

The total cost of transporting, cleaning and installing the steeple added several hundred dollars to the original purchase price but was still a bargain, the Muellers said.

lredeffer@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160