Friday, Aug. 5, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | New name, new placeBy JOHN MUNFORD It didn't take long after the final worship service last Sunday for a team of about 100 volunteers to get to packing and loading up 11 years of history at Braelinn Baptist Church in Peachtree City. About 15 minutes, in fact, said Executive Pastor Matthew Winn. This move to the 94-acre campus on Dogwood Trail, and the resulting name change to Dogwood Church, has been in the works for quite a while, Winn said. Sunday's farewell service to the Robinson Road campus featured old photos and the congregation sang old songs, bidding goodbye and beginning a new chapter almost simultaneously. "It was just a great time for everybody to reflect on God's ministry here the past eleven years," Winn said. There is also an air of excitement among the congregation, looking forward to Sunday's service at its new home in Tyrone, just on the border of Peachtree City. Worship services will be held temporarily in a 12,000 sq. ft. building that ultimately will be the student multi-use center, Winn said. The church will reduce its services from three to two, because it will have more parking available and more room in general in the student center, which seats about 550 people, Winn said. Two new temporary buildings will be used for the children's programs from birth to sixth grade. Winn hopes to "get the kinks out" at Sunday's service in anticipation of the Aug. 14 service to which the general public will be invited to celebrate Dogwood's grand opening. Anyone is welcome to come this Sunday if they want, too, Winn said. It is unclear if the two new temporary buildings for the children's programs will be ready by Sunday service, but if not the church will likely celebrate a family service Sunday, Winn said. The children's programs are for youngsters from birth through sixth grade. The children's ministry is a "big part" of Dogwood's ministry to the community, Winn noted. The church focuses on the older youth also, with worship services Sunday afternoon and evenings: one for middle school students and one for high school students, a group dubbed "The Next Generation," Winn added. Dogwood isn't fully cutting its ties with the Braelinn campus, which is now totally owned by Landmark Christian School after the real estate closing Monday, Winn said. The church is leasing its current office space at Braelinn for the next two years, as the hopes are for Dogwood's second phase, including a 40,000 sq. ft. sanctuary, to be ready by Easter 2007. Construction on the second phase should ultimately take 16-18 months. Winn said he was very pleased that LCS was able to find a use for the church's old campus. Negotiations are underway for another church to hold Sunday services there, but no agreement has been reached yet, Winn added. Although Dogwood's new direction has been planned dating back seven years, changing the campus location and the name had some emotions attached for people, particularly because of the church's place in their lives, Winn said. The process was done deliberately and "newly strengthened our church in the process," Winn added. To deal with space issues at the Braelinn campus, the church held three Sunday worship services recently and went from one service to two about five or six years ago, Winn said. Now the congregation of about 1,200 has room to grow. And plans are underway to further expand the church's programs, Winn said. Athletic fields at the campus are also on the master plan, Winn added.
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Copyright 2004-Fayette Publishing, Inc. |