Making room for the flock

An 880-square-foot expansion is being added to the sanctuary at Maple United Methodist Church, 2441 Jean Ann Drive in Cape Girardeau.

The expansion is one that the congregation planned when it bought a former Lutheran mission church at the corner of Jean Ann and Cape Rock drives and moved there from 624 S. Ellis St.

"The Methodist church has an 80 percent rule," said building committee chairman Tom Leggett. "When the membership of adults gets to 80 percent of seating it's time to stop growing. We have surpassed the 80 percent rule."

Since July 2001, the church has had a 78 percent increase in attendance and a 77 percent growth in new members, according to the Rev. Jim Cooper. The congregation now has 219 members, 105 added since July 2002.

The Rev. Jim Cooper, right, and others involved in the new addition to the front end of Maple United Methodist Church looked at the area to be renovated.

It wasn't always that way for Maple. There was a time when the church nearly closed because of poor attendance. There was talk of rolling the remaining membership of about 40 into another Methodist church.

"We lost a third when we moved from Ellis Street up here," Leggett said. "There were many who thought our mission was to be in south Cape Girardeau. But we had no room down there to grow. We felt like we had to move."

The congregation moved into its new location in 1994 and since then has expanded twice; the current expansion will be the third. Another expansion is already provided for whenever the need for it arises.

Leggett says the church has grown for two major reasons.

"We have a close feeling of family around here," he said. "This is a church where friends become family."

Last December Leggett was taken to the emergency room with a heart problem. Three people in the emergency room with him were his family.

"While I was in the emergency room, 16 people from the church were sitting in the waiting room waiting to see how I was doing," he said.

Ted Davis said he and his wife Edythe, love the church members enough to make the 26-mile trip from their home in Bollinger County to worship on Sunday mornings. They joined Maple about a year ago, encouraged by some members Edythe works with. Both of them have had to curtail their trips lately because of ill health, he said, but the friends they have made in church have stayed in close touch.

Another reason for Maple's growth, Leggett said, is Cooper's popularity among the members.

"He is an outstanding pastor, preacher and friend," Leggett said. "He preaches from the Bible and lives what he preaches."

Cooper, a former Baptist minister, says he believes Bible-based preaching is of paramount importance in his ministry. He also believes that worship should be a joyous experience.

"We have a warm friendly atmosphere," he said. "When you come in on Sunday morning, worship is a celebration, not a somber, serious service."

Maple is large enough to offer something for everyone, yet small enough that Leggett can greet 90 percent of the people by name on Sunday mornings. The congregation had considered having two services instead of adding on to the building, Leggett said, but decided that would fragment the congregation and people wouldn't get to know each other.

More young families are joining, bringing with them enough children to make it possible to consider beginning a youth ministry, maybe at some point hiring a youth minister. No longer are Leggett, at age 56, and his wife, Flossie, among the youngest members as they once were, and Davis said that at 75, he is not one of the oldest.

Construction of the new addition will begin in a matter of days. Tom Holshouser, an architect at Holshouser and Associates, designed the addition and the previous expansion projects. Zoellner Construction Co. will build the addition.

The addition will add 100 seats to the sanctuary, making room for 12 pews that Leggett said he ordered last week. A new choir loft will be added to accommodate a larger choir. The expansion will move the outer wall of the church toward Cape Rock Drive.

Maple United Methodist Church plans to move into its newly expanded sanctuary with a dedication service around the end of July.

"We want to fill it up that first Sunday," Cooper said.

lredeffer@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160