BATAVIA, N.Y.—After a year of construction, the new worship center at Grace Baptist Church has been completed right on schedule, and church members celebrated with an open house service for the community that packed the new 500-seat space. City officials, local government leaders, contractors, and neighbors were among those in attendance.
“The city was great to work with, and the incredible talent of local workers were things we wanted to recognize today,” Pastor Don Shirk told the audience. “Our ministry has really grown in recent years and the Lord led us to build a building that we believe will be a blessing to this community for years to come.”
Jim Jeffery, president of Baptist Bible College, Clarks Summit, Pa., provided the message, and 44 members of Grace Baptist who were saved through the church’s ministry presented “cardboard testimonies.” Person after person walked onto the platform and, without speaking, displayed his or her piece of cardboard that summarized who they were before Christ and who they are after coming to Christ.
Following the morning worship service, guests were invited to gather for brunch in the fellowship center and then tour the new pastoral office suite, nursery suite, and classrooms that had been included in the addition.
- Read about the ground-breaking in “More than Bricks and Mortar” and “Grace Baptist Breaks Ground for Addition.”
- View photos from Grace Baptist Church’s service:
Cardboard testimonies
Full house, part 1
Full house, part 2
- Watch the video that Grace Baptist produced to visualize its history and construction project.