Grace Brethren Investment Foundation (GBIF) recently approved the financing necessary for a 24,500 sq. ft. addition comprised of a gymnasium, youth rooms, café, and kitchen for Grace Community Church, a Grace Brethren congregation at 900 Smith Rd. in Fremont, Ohio (Kevin Pinkerton, pastor).
The project will give the church much needed space for their youth programs, children’s Upward Basketball, and larger group meetings. It will also provide an additional kitchen for large groups where food is served and enlarges the platform area of the main auditorium. The new gym will have three courts for basketball or volleyball.
“God has blessed us with continued growth,” says Pinkerton. “In 1999, we had grown to about 600 people and we were having discussions about how big a church in Fremont could be. God has currently tripled the size of our church (to around 1,800 people) in the last 15 years. As a matter of fact, God has grown Grace more in the last 15 years than all the other years combined, in a sense. We are unified, excited, and ready to see what God has in store for us.
He added, “There are three things that should never change: 1) Our commitment to the whole truth of the inerrant Word of God; 2) Our commitment to the exclusiveness of Jesus as the only way men can be saved; and 3) we are committed to seeing lives changed for eternity.”
“It is an honor to partner with this thriving Grace Brethren church on a project that will be used to greatly enhance their diverse ministry outreach,” says Ken Seyfert, President and CEO of GBIF. “We will look forward to how God will particularly expand the church’s ministry to youth.”