Submitted by philip on
START – The members of one rural Northeast Louisiana church believe they are laying a foundation for growth for future generations, one building at a time.
Located in a village of 657 and with an active membership of around 300, Start Baptist dedicated a new children’s building on October 13, 2013. This project will be one of several buildings for the congregation.
Start Baptist Pastor Jeff Thomas said that God placed the idea in Brad Brazell’s heart while he was children’s minister of the church in 2007. Thomas believed that if the church were to have a thriving student ministry then it must also have a quality children’s ministry and thus needed such a building for that ministry.
Rather than construct a new structure, the church’s old sanctuary was chosen as the future home of the children’s building. It would be the first of three phases, the other two being a fellowship building and a family life center.
Soon after the deacons and congregation approved the plan, donations began to come into the church.
Funds for the building were raised through its annual Harvest Day offering and general donations in a two-year period.
In June of 2012, Start Baptist Children’s Minister Brad Brazell was called by God to move. Soon after, John Hatten felt the call of God to become the new children’s minister.
Hatten, who became a Christian after his daughter asked if they could attend the church, said such a building is important to reach their children for the Lord.
Within months of these events, plans were announced to renovate the structure.
No money was borrowed to pay for the $160,000 worth of work done on the building. Thomas expects the same financial plan to follow for the fellowship building and family life center, though a projected start date for construction is not known.
Among the features of the new building are LED lighting fixtures, brightly-colored walls, monitors throughout the building that alert parents of upcoming events, sound booth and a welcome center.
A computer lab that is near the welcome center will be utilized for free tutoring services the church offers to students at the parish schools – Start Elementary and Start Junior High – located across the street.
Planned for the future is a gated playground.
The interior and exterior parts of the building have words and artwork with special meaning to the church and its mission.
On the inside, scripture passages line the hallways with a bold stencil.
Two walls in the rear of the building each have a circle with the word “Faith” printed on one of the circles and “Obedience” printed on another circle. These two walls will be filled with handprints of children – one when that child accepted Christ as his or her Savior along with the date of salvation that will go underneath the “Faith” logo and another place underneath the “Obedience” logo once that child has undergone baptism.
Printed on the front exterior of the building are the words “Jesus and Me” in a circular pattern.
The church believes this emphasizes that Start Baptist is coming out of its circle to reach its world for Christ.
Even though the structure is a children’s building, other ministries likely will utilize the space.
The youth ministry plans to use the space for future Disciple Now events and some of the other church ministries may find themselves enjoying the modern amenities for future ministry events.
“It’s about the kids,” Hatten said. “I’m a Christian today because of my own child’s urging to go to church.”
Brazell, who attended the dedication ceremony, said he was blessed to see that God is faithful.
“God uses us to a point,” he said. “His plan is one thing at a time. I’m grateful to be a part of His time.”