AVERAGE 7-YEAR WAIT FOR CHURCH CONSTRUCTION

By SUZANNE M. SCHMIDT

With the high price of real estate in New Tampa, many churches have adapted by finding non-traditional meeting spaces.
Some churches find the mobility to be a blessing, while others have just been biding their time until they could finally find a place to call home.
After about four years of meeting at Liberty Middle School, St. Andrew Presbyterian Church will finally have a place of its own. St. Andrew’s offers a 10 a.m. service.
“It has taken a while to get to this point,” said the Rev. David Shelor. “On average it takes about seven years before a church gets into a building. We had a lot of issues finding land. The price of property has skyrocketed and it has made it difficult.”
After a few deals had fallen through, the church looked to an unconventional location, the Tampa Palms Professional Shopping Center.
“We expect to break ground this month, while we are still trying to raise money,” Shelor said. “We hope to be in by the end of this year. We are very fortunate to have found a spot in the center. We like the significance of that. Rather than separate ourselves in our own plot of land, we will be in the middle of where people live and work.”
Shelor said he is excited about getting into their own space because of all the options it will open up to them.
“We will have a main building with a worship space, nursery and classrooms,” Shelor said. “The second building will have a place for the classrooms. We certainly hope to expand our services. With our own building we will have more opportunity to offer services to the community during the week and on Sunday.”
The Rev. Dean Reule, pastor of Cypress Pointe Community Church, said he is looking forward to their building being finished for the same reason. The church has a plot of land at the corner of Cross Creek Boulevard and Morris Bridge Road.
“We will have the opportunity to do ministry seven days a week,” Reule said. “Being in our own building will afford us all new opportunities. We will be able to do more for the community”
The non-denominational church, has been meeting at the New Tampa Muvico Starlight 20 since 2000. Sunday mornings the church uses five theaters for children, youth and adult services at 9 a.m. and 10:15 a.m.
“When we got started in May 1998, there was no place to meet,” Reule said. “We contacted the owners of Muvico while it was still being built. They don’t show films on Sunday mornings, so it was a win-win situation for both groups involved.”
The church’s first building is currently under construction and is expected to be finished in August.
“The plan was always to have our own campus,” Reule said. “We purchased the land and have been paying it off. The 30,000-square-foot building has been paid for all through generous contributions. I feel really happy for the people of the church; they have worked so hard to see this goal accomplished.”
The Rev. Steve Wells, pastor of North Pointe Church, said having church at Wharton High School has many benefits. The southern Baptist church meets 10:30 a.m. on Sunday.
“We have been meeting here for two and a half years,” Wells said. “We use the auditorium and the cafeteria. The community is growing so rapidly and the property is so scarce.”
Wells enjoys the freedom of having a mobile church.
“Most churches that meet in a building have fixed audio gear,” Wells said. “If we have an opportunity to perform or go to another location, we have a portable sound system. We are able to pick up and go out into the community and we can take our entire church set up.”
Another reason Wells likes the school as a meeting place is for the neutrality.
“We don’t have any of the elements that might intimidate a person,” Wells said. “We use a contemporary method of meeting people; it is not such a sterile environment. So even if a person doesn’t see themselves as a religious person, they can come. Since it is at a high school, it is more on neutral ground.”
The church enjoys the freedom and the space they have at the high school. There are no plans to move into a building of their own one day.
“This is a great way to grow with the community,” Wells said. “We have unlimited facility space that supports dynamic growth. If we need another room, we just pay for another room that week. The auditorium seats 850 people. The location is perfect.”
For more information about St. Andrew’s visit http://www.saintandy.com or call 907-3057. For more information about Cypress Pointe visit http://www.cpcconline.com or call 973-0314. For more information about North Pointe visit http://www.thenpc.org or call 545-9420.