By: Deborah Johnson Wood
"The building was so ugly, we thought 'there is no way this could ever be anything we would want to meet in or hang our shingle on,'" said Adam Lipscomb.
Lipscomb and his wife Christy co-pastor City Life Church, a Wesleyan church that 18 months ago was meeting in a conference room at Rapid Central bus station. The congregation now meets in their newly renovated, previously "ugly," building at 451 South Division.
The 3,000 square-foot building had been vacant for several years when the congregation decided to lease it. Its dirty, uneven floors with missing floorboards and the crumbling plaster walls have been transformed into an 84-seat worship space, a café, and a children's Sunday school room and nursery.
With the help of a $3,000 Facade Improvement Grant from Neighborhood Ventures, the front of the building was restored with storefront windows and new signage. The capital campaign to raise the $40,000 needed for the interior renovation reached its goal in just two-and-a-half weeks.
A garden scene mural and a kid-sized playhouse resembling a building from ancient Jerusalem make the lower-level children's area a fun place for Bible lessons and crafts.
Adult Bible study, addiction recovery classes, and citizenship preparation classes for immigrants and refugees round out the church's offerings.
Because the congregation is a diverse mix of ethnicities and income levels, the pastors wanted "a place within walking distance for the homeless folks, and yet visible to the middle class families," Adam Lipscomb said.
Worship services are Sundays at 10:30 AM.
Source: Adam Lipscomb, City Life Church; Kimberly Van Dyk, Neighborhood Ventures
Deborah Johnson Wood is the Development News Editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be reached at [email protected].
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.