Doors to open at LifePoint Church's new facility

LifePoint Church has been in the community since 2004. From inception the congregation met on Sundays in the Johnson Ranch K-8 school, Walker Butte. Of course, their hearts were where their home was and eventually moved the church to the Copper Basin K-8 School, across from their land. I always knew they owned close to 7 acres in the Copper Basin subdivision. But as with many things in San Tan Valley I wondered if the church would ever get built. If you’ve driven by the Copper Basin K-8 School in the past few months you should have notice a flurry of construction happening on the LifePoint land. Unlike the infamous Skyline Ranch Marketplace with just empty parking spaces and all the vacant home lot’s among some of the streets in San Tan Valley, LifePoint Church actually delivered on their vision. They have constructed a 22,500 square foot facility. I recently got a chance to chat with the lead Pastor, David Hinman on his 6 year journey .

Every Sunday for 6 years they unpacked their portable storage units and transformed the Copper Basin K-8 gymnasium & cafeteria into sanctuary of worship for those looking for God’s wisdom to bring wholeness into their lives. Pastor Hinman, or Pastor Dave as many in the congregation refer to him, was reflecting on the hurdles he had to overcome. “It was a huge miracle that we were able to finance this building. During the credit crisis, any new large projects like this were getting denied financing. We found out that after our loan was approved, no other projects were going to be funded, we were the last. We slipped in there with God’s grace on our side.” Phase I of the two-phase project is scheduled to open Sunday, September 26, 2010. The new building boasts a 5,500 square foot auditorium which can seat up to 500, six classrooms and an administration wing. As Pastor Dave was speaking all I could hear in the back of my mind was Etta James famous song “At Last”. At last, that was the feeling I got from from standing on the sidewalk speaking to the pastor. I hope I heard everything he was trying to convey =) lol.

After poking around a little bit and snapping some pictures of their new Sanctuary I ran into Debbie Hay. She is LifePoint’s Pastor of Children and Outreach. If you’ve never met Debbie, you are missing out. She is filled with confident wisdom and a passion for kids. I wanted to know what big changes were in store for the kids now that they have a building and no longer had to pack their stuff away at the end of the day. The biggest thing she commented on was the nursery. “The babies now get their own space. It’s so huge because new babies & infants are creatures of habit. Having a homey place for them is sooooo important. They will now get a homey feeling when entering the nursery, and feel safe here.” As I looked around, the staff & volunteers were busy cleaning their newly donated swings & rockers and preparing the room for this Sunday’s very first service in the building. Debbie also commented that the non walking babies will have their own nursery and the walking babies also have their own room next door. The ages go up from there, with pre-school being the next room from the walkers. Their phenomenal Kidzlife program for school age children up to 6th grade is available on Sunday’s as well.

The project’s General Contractor Diego Torres, owner of Prime Development and Investments, was excited that he could play a part in the building of this needed facility in San Tan Valley. “With very little building going on in the current economy, it’s a great feeling to put individuals to work who live in the local area,” said Torres.

For those interested in touring the new facility, a free Pancake Breakfast and Open House is scheduled for Saturday, October 16, 2010, from 8:00am to 11:00am. Everyone is welcome, so come join the festivities. The Grand Opening worship services are scheduled for the next day, Sunday, October 17, 2010, at 9:00am and 10:45am.

Future plans include coffee bar, event lawn, children’s play area and a multi-purpose court. While these items are not available as of yet, the plans are on the drawing board and will be added as time and money permit. Pastor Dave says, “Our goal is to create a community center where all San Tan Valley residents can benefit, not just build a worship center to be used on Sundays only.”

I couldn’t be more thrilled to hear that a number of community events are already planned, including Drive-In Movie Night on October 30, 2010, and Heart For Others 10k, 5k, and Family Fun Run scheduled for November 20, 2010. LifePoint Church will be the starting and finishing point for the run as well as the location for the vendor booths, kid’s events and food court.

LifePoint Church, a Christ centered non-denominational church with a contemporary style of worship, meets every Sunday at 9:00am and 10:45am. They also host Celebrate Recovery, a support group for those who have hurts, habits and hang-ups (lol – I know I have a few hang ups), which meets Friday nights at 6:00pm.

For further information or to contact LifePoint Church, please call 480.888.1560 or email info@LifePointPeople.com. You can also stop by the office at 28479 N. Main St., San Tan Valley, Arizona 85143, or go to their website, www.lifepointpeople.com, for sermon series and additional event information.

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