New Multipurpose building
gives kids their own “church” at the First Christian Church of Cimarron
The
youth membership at Cimarron’s First Christian Church has been increasing
recently under the direction of youth pastor Gary Bailey and the church decided
that it was time to give them their very own building.
So, following pastor David
Johnson’s philosophy of “Do God’s will and he will take care of things,” the
church set out to explore building a youth and multipurpose building for the
church.
Pastor Johnson said that the idea started when the
church body decided to serve the community and made the decision to grow. As
with any major project, some members of the church questioned the addition at
first, but they have now turned around their attitude as the challenges have
been met. Pastor Johnson added, “And we’ve grown closer during the process.”
The 60-or-so young people needed room and facilities
to gather and worship, and now they have it with the recently completed
addition to the church. It is more than just an entertainment facility. It’s a
complete church inside the church for pre-school through high school students.
They presently meet Sundays for Sunday School and
church and Wednesday evenings. Pastor Bailey said, “We wanted the building to
be relevant and interesting and to keep the kids involved and teach them
responsibility.” Since the church serves
communion at every service, Gary added, “even the kids
serve communion to their own members.” He went on to add, “We want the kids to
learn to be involved in the church so they will be ready when they grow up.”
The new facility encompasses approximately 7,000
square feet and includes rooms so that each age group from pre-school to high
school has their own complete area. As you enter the facility from the main
church, the walls are actually “chalk boards” so the young people can express
themselves for everyone to see.
The two largest rooms are the “Teenage Worship Room”
and “Multipurpose Center.” The teenage worship room allows the young people to
enjoy their own youth band without disturbing the “older folks.” The room also
includes complete audio and video facilities.
The multipropose room is
large enough for games such as dodge-ball, but can also be used for church-wide
dinners. Located next to this room is a complete café and kitchen area.
Pastor Johnson has been with the church since 2006 and
he brought Gary Bailey on-board as youth pastor in January 2014. Gary had
previously served as a traveling missionary where he worked primarily with
youth and summer camps, so his background aided him in developing the youth
ministry for the church.
As the church looks at the outreach opportunities for
the new facility, some ideas under development include providing 5th
quarter programs during football season, an after-school program,
community-wide concerts and nights of worship for the young people.
Pastor Johnson noted that taking on such a financial
responsibility was no small matter for the church, but many of the items were
donated to the church. He said, “We’ve got many more plans and ideas for the
facility, but it’s OK if God changes or adds to these plans.” He said that the
other Cimarron churches have been very supportive of the new facility.
The First Christian Church of Cimarron is located at
302 N. Main in Cimarron. If you would like more information about their youth
program, give pastor Gary Bailey a call at
620-855-3311.