By Joe Dupree, Message Staff Writer
WOODWORTH — If you have been to Tall Timbers Conference Center in Woodworth recently, you may have noticed some construction going on in the middle of the campus.
What is being built between the main offices and the cafeteria is the $1.255 million, 8,400-square-foot Georgia Barnette Mission Conference Center.
“The Georgia Barnette Conference Center will be a valuable asset to recapture missions as a primary goal of our work in reaching Louisiana for Christ,” said John Hebert, Missions & Ministry Director “The building will contain an on-site office, coffee bar in a spacious foyer, an assembly area that will seat 280 (400 with wings expanded), and seven conference/training.”
“We are very excited about getting this project going,” said Robert Woods, Louisiana Baptist Convention’s Mission Builder Strategist. “When it is finally finished, it will be a great building for Louisiana Baptists. It’s something we’ve been looking forward to starting and the groups who will be coming to help us build it.”
The pouring of the concrete slab took place Monday (June 29) and framing of the building will begin July 13 when 45 Kingdom Builders volunteers from Louisiana and Texas come to lend a helping hand on the building.
“You can’t imagine what a blessing these volunteers are to us. They will save us between 50 and 60 percent of our labor costs,” Woods said. “But this group will only be here a week and we are going to need more volunteers … a lot more.
“The main qualifications you have to have for this project are a willing heart and an ability to take off however long you want to volunteer, from just a few days to the entirety of the project. If you come, we will find something for you to do,” said Woods.
The first group is scheduled to start the first of four phases of construction which will include blacking it in, putting up sheet rocking, and doing electrical and plumbing work throughout the building.
“We’ve got most of the money raised for the project,” said Bill Temple, on-site construction coordinator. “We’re hoping that once we get started, people will get even more excited; continue to donate money and volunteer to help with the construction project.”
Due to limited housing, volunteers are asked to call Tall Timbers at 318.445.6797 so they can be placed in either nearby Camp Brewer and/or The Wesley Methodist Center in Woodworth.
The proposed finish date of the new conference center is March 2016.
