Hope Lutheran Church’s current sanctuary was built in 1964 with the vision of a bigger, brighter future in mind. Fifty-six years later, the church has decided there’s no time like the present to build a new future.
A May 30 groundbreaking ceremony on church grounds confirmed that. Hope invited the public to join in from the comfort and safety of their vehicles, all parked on its lawn, and tune their radio to a specific FM station broadcasting the audio live to better hear church leaders, Mayor Rick Lott and others speak.
“This new sanctuary has been a dream of many people for many years as we have outgrown our current structure that has served us so well all these years,” Rev. Dean Pfeffer said. “While the current facility holds many wonderful memories for us all, those memories will always live on in our hearts. I look forward to many opportunities for Hope to expand her outreach in this great community in so many ways.”
All five city commissioners and City Manager Bill McDaniel joined Pfeffer, Hope’s staff and members of the church’s building committee to put the golden shovels into the ground and start the next chapter of the church’s life.
The new sanctuary, which the church expects to have completed in March or April 2021, will seat 300 people and will feature a designed space for its music ministry, a new sound system with improved acoustics, wider center and side aisles, a bigger altar area, a large narthex with a welcome center, easier parking area access, a covered drop-off/walkway area and “modern” restrooms. Hope will also add a new, larger parking lot in front of the sanctuary which will be accessible from its current parking area. The church said its goals for the new building are to “increase capacity” and “improve function” in an energy-efficient space with “low-maintenance construction” while preserving a family feel and welcoming culture.
This project has been several years in the making and members of the church’s congregation chipped in to help it raise the funds needed for construction. The church said the total project cost is $1,991,000, and that its three-year capital campaign goal and pledges raised $500,000 and $675,501, respectively.
The new sanctuary was designed by architect Mark Johnson of Dykes-Johnson Architects, Inc. and will be built by Plant City-based T. Clayton Jenkins Construction Co., Inc.
Phase 1 strictly concerns the building of the new sanctuary. Phase 2 will consist of replacing and remodeling the fellowship hall and offices. Phase 3 will be to remodel the classrooms.
“Having served at Hope for 24 years, I see this new building as God hearing our prayers and showing us the hope and future that He has planned for us,” Pfeffer said. “A future for us to grow and prosper as we proclaim the Gospel.”