Construction for St. Peter’s Lutheran Church and School’s new $5.89 million multi-purpose facility to be shared among the church, school and community is on schedule after its mid-April groundbreaking.
The two-level, 16,623-square-foot building at Fifth and Chestnut streets east of the church should be completed by spring, organizers say.
The price tag includes some of the operational costs for the facility’s first three years, church officials said.
Pledges for the total cost already are in, since St. Peter’s leaders have been adamant about avoiding long-term debt as a part of their financial stewardship.
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Though construction signs at the site use the unofficial label of “athletic facility,” leaders say it also will be usable for events such as concerts, clinics, and community meetings.
The structure, being built by Force Construction, is adorned with a decorative, white, precast concrete, and will seat 700-plus on bleachers and along a mezzanine for basketball, volleyball and cheerleading activities. The space also will be used for school physical education classes.
On the building exterior, the pattern on some of the precast concrete panels will match the pattern on some windows, according to architect David Force.
“It adds a sort of texture (to the panel),” Force said.
Although national statistics, including those from national church-tracker Barna Research, show that Christian church interest and attendance is declining, St. Peter’s leaders decline to focus on what may be elsewhere and instead are focusing on new ways of serving others in south-central Indiana.
“We do see some of those trends in some of Columbus,” said the Rev. Mark Teike, senior pastor. “But I believe, from the church’s perspective, that we are living in a time of great opportunity. And we need to take advantage of those opportunities that are in front of us rather than bemoan the fact that part of our nation is facing what some might say is a lack of spiritual equilibrium.”
He and other leaders, including St. Peter’s Lutheran School Principal Scott Schumacher and church executive director Mike Hinckfoot, also emphasize the school’s 15 percent growth the past three years in student enrollment. They also cite the church’s wide-ranging growth in specialized areas ranging from counseling to Bible studies that attract people from a wide mix of area churches.
Plus, the church youth ministry has been growing.
So, as the leaders view it, the church and school already serving a sizable segment of the community is simply focused on reaching more of it.
“We love our school, our church and our community,” Schumacher said. “And we want to make a difference in the lives of a lot of people. And our strong hope is that this new building will help us do just that.
“We’re about transforming lives for the growth of his (God’s) kingdom. And we see that building as a tool to help us accomplish that purpose.”
Teike said St. Peter’s growth alone has shown the need for such a structure. When its current, smaller gym was built more than half a century ago, only two church/school basketball teams existed. Today, it claims eight hoops squads alone, plus four volleyball teams and two cheerleader squads.
Plus, this court will be high school regulation size, and the older one is smaller, which has made volleyball matches difficult.
Plus, the church’s Life|Fitness exercise and holistic health sessions have been meeting in a school classroom since the program began three years ago because of limited and proper space.
Teike mentioned that one key of the new facility is that its main entrance will face Fifth Street — a purposeful design detail to show that the community is readily invited inside. Plus, the building’s current positioning on the property will allow easy expansion on the north and south ends, according to St. Peter’s leaders.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”By the numbers” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
5.89: In millions of dollars, the project pricetag
700+: Seating for basketball and other sports
16,623: Square feet of the building
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