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In the early morning hours of July 13, Englewood Church was facing what looked like a crisis.
Lightning had struck, and a fire smoldered for hours. The fire didn’t do that much damage, but the smoke and water did. The sanctuary and much of the rest of the church’s campus at 10628 E. Winner Road in Independence would need a lot of work.
As he drove to the church, Lead Pastor Doug Reed said he told his son, a Bible student, to watch what would unfold – a congregation stepping up to embrace not just repairs but overhauling the campus while maintaining and even expanding its ministries and outreach.
It’s a long list. Sanctuary – rebuilt with a contemporary feel. Gym – redone. Early childhood center – refurbished in bright, friendly colors. Meanwhile, Sunday services continued, first at Van Horn High School, then Truman High School. Wednesday nights were at Maywood Baptist across the street. And ministries – such as the 10,000 to 15,000 pounds of food from Harvesters that gets distributed once a month – kept going. The church even attracted new members.
“People say it was a blessing in disguise,” Reed says. “I say there was no disguise.”
Six months later, the congregation is ready for Sunday’s grand opening of its rejuvenated facilities. It was able to do far more than insurance alone would have paid for because people gave their time and effort – “We had so much professional work donated,” Reed says – in what came to be called the congregation’s “Maximize the Moment” campaign.
“There was an overwhelming sense of ‘this is a unique moment, and I want to be part of it,’” Reed says.
The church, formerly Englewood Ministries, has been around for 68 years. It has 400 to 500 people between the two Sunday morning services and about 125 on Wednesday nights. Reed, in ministry for 22 years now, came in three years ago, finding a church already in transition. Its school, Englewood Christian Academy, closed a few years ago. Two congregations it had started set off on their own.
Last summer’s fire, it was clear to Reed, was another step in the journey.
“This church has a 68-year history,” he says. “It was a tremendous blessing for this church to step out of its history and realize that the presence of God followed us. It’s more than a building.”
One story in particular stands out.
Faith Assembly in Joplin lost its building in last May’s massive tornado and is rebuilding. Reed and the lead pastor at Faith, Larry Griffin, are friends. After Englewood’s fire, an idea came up: Griffin preached at Englewood, and Reed headed for Joplin – preaching in a Holiday Inn, where Faith was holding services.
In the early morning hours of July 13, Englewood Church was facing what looked like a crisis.
Lightning had struck, and a fire smoldered for hours. The fire didn’t do that much damage, but the smoke and water did. The sanctuary and much of the rest of the church’s campus at 10628 E. Winner Road in Independence would need a lot of work.
As he drove to the church, Lead Pastor Doug Reed said he told his son, a Bible student, to watch what would unfold – a congregation stepping up to embrace not just repairs but overhauling the campus while maintaining and even expanding its ministries and outreach.
It’s a long list. Sanctuary – rebuilt with a contemporary feel. Gym – redone. Early childhood center – refurbished in bright, friendly colors. Meanwhile, Sunday services continued, first at Van Horn High School, then Truman High School. Wednesday nights were at Maywood Baptist across the street. And ministries – such as the 10,000 to 15,000 pounds of food from Harvesters that gets distributed once a month – kept going. The church even attracted new members.
“People say it was a blessing in disguise,” Reed says. “I say there was no disguise.”
Six months later, the congregation is ready for Sunday’s grand opening of its rejuvenated facilities. It was able to do far more than insurance alone would have paid for because people gave their time and effort – “We had so much professional work donated,” Reed says – in what came to be called the congregation’s “Maximize the Moment” campaign.
“There was an overwhelming sense of ‘this is a unique moment, and I want to be part of it,’” Reed says.
The church, formerly Englewood Ministries, has been around for 68 years. It has 400 to 500 people between the two Sunday morning services and about 125 on Wednesday nights. Reed, in ministry for 22 years now, came in three years ago, finding a church already in transition. Its school, Englewood Christian Academy, closed a few years ago. Two congregations it had started set off on their own.
Last summer’s fire, it was clear to Reed, was another step in the journey.
“This church has a 68-year history,” he says. “It was a tremendous blessing for this church to step out of its history and realize that the presence of God followed us. It’s more than a building.”
One story in particular stands out.
Faith Assembly in Joplin lost its building in last May’s massive tornado and is rebuilding. Reed and the lead pastor at Faith, Larry Griffin, are friends. After Englewood’s fire, an idea came up: Griffin preached at Englewood, and Reed headed for Joplin – preaching in a Holiday Inn, where Faith was holding services.
And the congregation there raised $2,500 for Englewood.
“So there were just some real God moments throughout the process,” Reed said.
Englewood focuses on reaching young families, and what Reed calls “the crown jewel of the remodel” – the Englewood Early Childhood Center – is emblematic of that. Bright colors. Warm pictures of people. Inviting rooms in which to play and learn.
“Moms and dads have got to feel comfortable when they drop their kids off,” Reed says.
Elsewhere the church has a coffee shop, and there’s a kiosk to distribute books. “The patio” will be a place to gather, sip coffee and watch a plasma TV. There’s a large area for youth programs.
The congregation got behind the remodeling program and made the improvements that figure to benefit the church’s ministries for a long time.
“It causes an ownership that you really can’t get anywhere else,” Reed said.
It’s been a lot of work, of course, and Reed says there’s been a transition from a sprint to a jog to what he hopes becomes “something sustainable.”
On Sunday, there will be balloons, finger food and a moment to celebrate.
“It’s been a really great journey.”
