Hope Community Church and Grace Christian School New Owners
Hope Community Church, a Grace Brethren church in Cary, N.C., and Grace Christian School, also of Cary, have jointly purchased the former Crossroads Ford dealership property in Cary. Located at 1101 Buck Jones Road, the 48,000 square foot property will be shared by the church and the school, institutions who operate independently of each other.
Already sharing a 14.7 acre parcel adjacent to the Ford property, Hope Community Church, located at 821 Buck Jones Road, and Grace Christian School, located at 801 Buck Jones Road, will share 50/50 ownership of the new site. As the school and church already work in tandem sharing current facilities and parking, the purchase of the new property will allow both institutions to expand their presence and influence within the surrounding area and continue to offer unique opportunities to the Cary and Raleigh communities.
Grace Christian School is a private K-12 college preparatory Christian school with an enrollment of 392 students. This purchase will allow future school enrollment to reach approximately 700 as well as provide a separate campus for grades 6-12.
“The acquisition of this new campus will usher in one of the most exciting times in the 23-year history of Grace. The new facilities will better enable Grace to effectively equip students with a quality, Christ-centered education to impact the world for Jesus Christ,” Don Payne, school administrator, explains.
For their part, Hope Community Church has cast a vision for a new community youth and teen center in addition to expanding their already overflowing student ministries. Upon relocating their middle and high school youth facilities and programs to the new building, work will begin on a community after school drop-in teen and outreach center. Hope purposes to significantly impact local youth by organizing positive, proactive student venues in one of the most ethnically diverse areas of Cary.
“We want to be a dynamic and compelling force in meeting the needs of our local community,” says Senior Pastor Mike Lee. “We feel one of the most proactive ways to do so is by reaching out to the burgeoning youth community that surrounds us.”
Renovations to the property to make the best possible use of space by both the school and church are expected to be completed by June 1, 2008.