Harvest Baptist Church continues to burst at the seams.
With its weekly services numbering as many as 180, and a sanctuary that seats only 100, organizers have decided to add a second weekly service.
The two services will be identical, at 9 and 10:45 a.m., senior pastor Tony Godfrey said.
A large membership “is a good problem to have,” Godfrey said. “But it’s still a problem.”
Membership has grown steadily after Harvest Baptist moved to the old Grace Lutheran Church building at 401 S. Walnut St. in 2009.
To alleviate crowding, overflow parishioners are taken to a separate room to watch a video feed of the service. Children, meanwhile, meet in a building next door.
“But those are all getting full, too,” Godfrey said.
Church leaders continue to seek a new location to call home. In 2016, they tried unsuccessfully to swap facilities with the Iola American Legion, but that deal was rejected by the Iola Board of Zoning Appeals.
Church adds weekly service
