Facilities were the first feature
mentioned by denominational leaders when I inquired about BT in 2009.
There were built strong and maintained well. They include four, three
story, interconnected buildings, two smaller buildings, a playground,
a two bedroom house, a garden and five parking lots on four corners
of an intersection; 80,000 square feet on three acres. They are
indeed a remarkable presence in the community.
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| Baptist Temple quickly outgrew its new building and had to build again. The new concrete structure, built in 1917 still stands today and has been designated an historic building. |
From the beginning of it's history BT
has been putting up new buildings, tearing down old ones, renovating,
improving, repairing and expanding as it continued to meet both
numerical growth and the changing needs of its ministry. Buildings
are an important part of the ministry for most churches. It is
exciting at first. Attendance and finances are growing and your
building becomes a sign of prosperity. It seems easy to get people to
invest in beautiful, modern facilities. However, when a church begins
to decline, the building becomes a burden. Few people want to invest
in a lost cause. First maintenance begins to take up a growing share
of the budget. Next minor, then major, maintenance needs are
deferred. The deterioration is visible from the street turning away
potential newcomers and, soon, a seemingly irreversible downward
spiral ends with the church shutting down.
In 2009 BT was in great shape. In
needed some work but it was still an attractive facility. In the
1980's major renovations began to modernize most of the BT
facilities, particularly the 1942 sanctuary and the 1930 children's
building. To preserve the future and expand our ministry impact,
renovation continued in the 21st Century, when over
$500,000 dollars were raised to repair the roof and exterior walls
and improve and expand the facility's ministry impact.
Included in these renovations was an
old dry goods store that once belonged to the Brunneman family. It
had been purchased by the church and wound up being a closet for
things we weren't ready to throw way, yet. As part of the
strengthening our community ministry focus, the building was cleaned
up, remodeled and christened the Brunneman building (honoring Max
Brunneman whose parents, children and grandchildren have all been a
part of BT.) Here our Highland Park CAN (Community Assistance
Network) provides a thrift store, food pantry and teaching garden
serve our community.
The Fritz Building (once a Boy Scout
Hall) was renovated to make it more appealing for community meetings
and events. The Long Mission House was purchased in 2018 to house
resident interns who will live and work in the community. Modern
touches included WiFi, flat screen monitors and a solar array that
declared our commitment to creation care.
The work to expand the ministry impact
of our facilities continue as we renovate our playground to be inclusive and enable special needs children to play with their
friends with typical abilities.
