COLONY —”We want this to be a center of joy,” said Colony Christian Church Pastor Chase Riebel, referring to the church’s new building at 211 Catalpa St., just south of the town’s baseball and softball fields.
The 60-by-100 foot facility includes a large sanctuary in the south half. The north portion is a split-level structure.
The first service in the new building was Sept. 8 and the congregation has settled into its new quarters in the four months since.
“Our other building was too small for our growth,” Riebel said. The church had resided in the previous building for 120 years, having been built in 1889.
“In the church world, there’s this 80% rule,” Riebel explained. “When you grow to where 80% of your seating is full, you won’t grow past that. We had been at 90% to 100% for quite a while.”
Average attendance at Colony Christian’s Sunday service is 120. On Christmas and Easter, it is closer to 150.
The process of moving into the new church was emotional at times. “Our former building was really old and kind of decorative and we all loved that,” said Reibel.
On moving day, members of the congregation each carried a chair from the old church and put it on a large flatbed trailer.
“Then we drove to the new church and everyone brought their chairs into the building,” he said. “It was an emotional process. Everyone was part of the move — it wasn’t just the leadership.”
While noting that the new building isn’t necessarily fancy, Riebel likens it to a battleship. “We built it to be very functional and oriented towards the kingdom of God — making disciples, like the scriptures tells us, and sharing that hope with our community through love and service,” he said.
SPACE IS plentiful in the new church.
“We just had our Christmas pageant and it was pretty epic the way that the volunteers were able to spread out,” said Riebel.
The play boasted a cast of about 40. “We had angels on the tops of those decks,” he said, gesturing across the sanctuary to two raised platforms flanking the stage. “And we had carolers going room-to-room.”
The sanctuary serves as a multi-functional room. By having chairs instead of standard pews, the space can be utilized for church dinners and other events. “It even turns into a basketball court sometimes, or for volleyball,” added Riebel.
Moving into the large kitchen, adjacent to the sanctuary, Riebel noted, “The ladies are extremely excited about this. They’ve already used it for potlucks and they have lots of room to spread out.”
