Benton church has new look, new name

BENTON -- After months of extensive renovation, a Scott County church is ready once again to open its doors to the community.

In early October, the LaCroix Church Benton had its first "pre-launch" service to give the public a glimpse into some of the changes made over the summer.

"On May 4, we closed down the campus and had the final services for the church as Benton United Methodist Church," said J.T. Thomason, pastor of LaCroix Church Benton.

The Benton church changed management and now is operating as the Benton branch to LaCroix Church, which has its main campus in Cape Girardeau, Thomason said.

"In May 2013 members finally realized: 'Our church is dying; there's nothing else we can do,'" Thomason recalled about the management change.

At the same time, La Croix Cape was looking to add a branch in Scott County and came into contact with the Benton church.

"We thought, 'How about if we add a church who had the resources and re-create life in this facility?'" Thomason said. "It was an amazing step for the longtime (Benton) church members to say yes."

Alvina Mainord, who has attended the Benton church with her family for the past 16 years, said it was a difficult decision for church members to move to new management.

"In the long run, we had to look at the future of the church," Mainord said.

At the time of its closing, the Benton church had about 14 core members, with attendance ranging from 25 to 30 each week.

"It's a big change -- but one we're looking forward to seeing," Mainord said, adding that because services will remain on the Benton campus, she thinks the church will still have a "small feel" to it, which is what she prefers.

"As hard as it is (to make the change) -- I was there for a year as their pastor -- and I love Benton and the people there -- what we felt like we needed to do was close the doors and put an end to Benton United Methodist Church because of people's faithfulness in the past. It is time to breathe new life in this facility," Thomason said.

One of the goals was to give the Benton church a "LaCroix Church-feel," Thomason said.

"We started construction and wanted to bring a contemporary feel and give new life and a new look to the church," Thomason said. "The focus was on two main areas: adding more seating on the church's main level and having a phenomenal children's ministry in the bottom level."

The renovation will make room for about 125 seats compared to the 90 or so before the renovation. The church's main level also received new carpet and a fresh coat of paint, Thomason said. State-of-the-art technology is also visible throughout the church.

"We want people to come and sit and breathe -- and be a place for peace and rest," Thomason said.

Thomason said three areas were needed in the church plans to be successful: audio/video, hospitality and children's ministry.

"Eventually, other ministries will get started, and we will have a student ministry.

Situated on the church's lower level and taking on a rain-forest theme are areas for a nursery and toddler area and preschool and children's church for first through fourth grades.

"One of the things we really poured a lot of time into was creating an environment where kids go, 'Oh, wow.'"

Going forward, the church will have a contemporary worship service rather than the traditional liturgy of the past.

"Every thing is live except the sermon," Thomason said. "We will have live worship where the campus pastor gets up, says things and leads prayer time, but during the sermon time, we'll watch the sermon recorded on Saturday night on the big screen on Sunday morning, which is a pretty common practice happing in the United States."

Music also will be contemporary. Mainrod said, however, the church plans to use updated versions of more traditional, well-known songs.