Written by Nicole Sophia Sullenger
A local church now worships in a larger, remodeled worship center after growing attendance on Sunday mornings left many without seats.
Fellowship Bible Church, a mission-based non-denominational church in Searcy, has doubled the seating capacity in its worship center, as well as opened a new youth warehouse, this past month.
“Last spring the church noticed an increase in families and students from Harding attending Fellowship,” said Fellowship’s Student and Families PastorChris Massey. “We knew that something was going to have to be done. However, it happened way faster than we expected.”
The church began by renting and remodeling a 3,000-square-foot warehouse into the new center for the youth that opened mid-January. This youth center, appropriately named “The Warehouse,” is the home to Fellowship’sTREK Ministries, the youth group comprised of junior high and high school students. More than 10 Harding University students are involved in this ministry serving as youth leaders.
Massey described the Warehouse as a place where students go to fellowship and focus on Christ while playing basketball, ping-pong, video games or just relaxing in the loft. Students in the youth group involved themselves in the building of this center and continue to find ways to bless others, from inviting friends to church toheading to Haitifor a mission trip this coming summer.
A weekly devotional and fellowship period is held in the Warehouse every Sunday night, where Logan Callier, a volunteer youth leader and Harding student, believes lives are being changed.
“The Warehouse makes a huge impact and it gives this youth family a place to call ‘home,'” Callier said. “Having a place to go to for safe, good fun is very important to kids growing up, especially to those who would have nowhere to go otherwise.”
Fellowship Bible Church began nine years ago, without a building and solely meeting in members’ houses. Rebecca Montgomery has been a part the church since day one and says there’s been constant growth, which she attributes to the focus on community.
“We’re a churchofcommunity, not just with community,” Montgomery said. “That makes a difference.”
Each year, more college students attend and get involved in all aspects of the church, Montgomery said.
“The college students love us for the praise and worship, and because we use them and let them get involved,” Montgomery said. “They serve on the praise team, lead the youth and get involved with different community groups.”
As Fellowship’s numbers grow in both early and late service, the only apparent resolution to the lack of seating has been a renovation, Massey said. To fix the issue, the wall was torn down that separated the former youth room from the worship center and the stage was turned sideways to create more space to accommodate the approximately 500 people that attended on Feb. 7, the first day the new worship center was revealed.
The expansion of both the worship center and the Warehouse atFellowship Bible Churchis just another way the members see as a way to reach out and bless the community, Massey said.
“We see God working in this in every way as lives are being changed, people are coming to know Christ and people are inviting others,” Massey said. “We know that only God can do these things and we are thankful that he is using Fellowship to accomplish this.”
