Bethel church tackles multiple expansion projects

from Innovation 2021

NeTia Bauman, Greater Fergus Falls

Multiple expansion projects underway

INNOVATION FRESH AND FUNCTIONAL: Bethel Lutheran Brethren Church was dedicated to creating spaces that would be able to be utilized for multiple purposes when determining how to design and expand their Fergus Falls location.

Bethel Lutheran Brethren Church grows in Fergus Falls, Battle Lake and Africa

By James Allen

Innovation

Bethel Lutheran Brethren Church on West Alcott Avenue in Fergus Falls is continuing their facility expansion project, which kicked off with a groundbreaking celebration in May.

Kate Haus, director of operations, says Bethel has historically had a space problem, both in terms of parking and space inside the church. The campaign is called, “Make room: The mission of Christ in our generation,” and includes three expansions that are part of the project. The three components are the expansion of the Fergus Falls campus, acquiring a facility in Battle Lake and mission work with a school in Boudamasa, Chad — a village in Central Africa.

Haus said that in Fergus Falls, the project includes an extended parking lot and an expanded building. As a floor plan for the campus was conceived, they decided they wanted to be able to utilize the building Monday through Saturday in addition to Sunday programs and services. Church leadership also recognized that it was a lot of square footage to only use one day a week, so they wanted to open up the facility for other options, including possible community events. The church has already worked with a number of

community organizations on that plan.

When they created the new floor plan, another vision they had was to make sure each space was multipurpose, which would give Bethel a lot more flexibility in the usage of the building. Each room is being designed to have at least two purposes. By adding flexible furniture or seating, they can make sure it ccan be used as a meeting space, reception hall or sanctuary.

With the addition being built, the largest piece will be a much larger sanctuary or auditorium and it will have roughly 735 seats along with a couple more adult classrooms or meeting rooms and a kids’ playroom. Haus says it will also include a much larger gathering area and a lot of wide-open gathering space. The architectural term for it is a “mallway.”

Members of the community have wondered about the slope in the parking area. Haus clarified, “It was a design of the civil engineer and the slopes that are present really have to do with drainage of water and the speed with which it drains. A much larger retention pond would have been required without the slope to handle the water coming in.”

Churches by Daniels is the contractor for the project at the Fergus Falls campus. Hailing from the Tulsa, Oklahoma, area, their entire mission is building churches. They are assisting in the design and architectural phases of the project as well as managing the construction, but Haus said Bethel is also trying to work with local subcontractors. She said that so far, almost all of the work has been completed by local firms.

Another component of the overall project includes acquiring a facility in Battle Lake. Bethel is currently renting a building for their second campus in Battle Lake. The goal is to acquire a building that the church would own. They have signed a buildto-suit lease with a developer in Battle Lake and are working on building plans for that facility. The Battle Lake phase of the project aims to break ground in late fall of this year, but that will depend on the work of the developer and contractor negotiations.

In Huas’ opinion, the final component of the overall project is the most exciting. The Church of the Lutheran Brethren, which is headquartered in Fergus Falls, sent a missionary couple to the Central African Republic of Chad a few years ago. They started a school. Haus said that, unfortunately, the majority of the populace is largely illiterate. Missionaries chose to start a school with basic reading, writing, arithmetic and a biblical-based curriculum.

“They teach the people to farm and manage life and are educating them to be sustainable. The kids in the school they established were meeting in a building with a simple grass roof. So, as part of the “Make Room” campaign, we said ‘Let’s build a school over there.’ That project has been completed. It has seven classrooms covering kindergarten through sixth grade that will be housed in the new school building. The grounds of the school feature an orchard and there is also livestock and a home for the teachers and administration on the property, which means that a lot more of the local kids can go to school with the extra room now,” said Haus.

The Fergus Falls campus expansion is on schedule and is expected to be completed in August 2022. Progress of all three components of the project with many videos and pictures and updates are available at bethellutheran.church/makeroom.