First Baptist Church, Haysville, Dedicates New Addition
December 2009
HAYSVILLE, KS - Church members and guests filled the worship center of First Baptist Church in Haysville Sunday morning, September 20. They came for the dedication of their new addition, known as the Lighthouse.
“The new, 23,000 square-foot facility holds a gym, coffee shop, classroom space, office-complex and youth center. We will be able to offer a lot of new activities for families in our community,” Pastor Phillip “Bo” Graves said. He preached a message on light from John 8:12 encouraging the crowd to shine the light of Jesus Christ out into the community. He said this will be accomplished in part by offering Upward basketball, showing movies, and offering recreation opportunities such as roller skating and volleyball in a Christian environment. The coffee shop will provide a casual setting in which to host workshops on topics such as financial management and parenting.
The service included recognition of the more than fifty volunteers who worked on the second floor youth center and remodeling the old fellowship hall into a new state-of-the art preschool wing. The Celebration Choir sang an arrangement of Chris Tomlin’s God of This City accompanied by a slide show of Haysville and the building project.
Following the service, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held outside the doors of the new addition. Special honorees were those who had been members of First Baptist in the first five years of its existence. Wanda Thompson cut the ribbon. She said, “I always wished I would win the Publisher’s Clearing House Sweepstakes so I could build a gym for our kids, but I finally realized my tithes and offerings could do it, along with everyone else’s. And we did.”
Members toured the building and then ate a picnic lunch on the grounds. Some sat around tables in the coffee shop, others played in the gym, while still others enjoyed the warm sunshine outdoors.
Subscribe to Updates