C3 FOOTPRINT
Honoring our past; the story of Centralia Community Church and the physical footprint in our community.
Background photo original rendering for 2004 building upgrades
In 1901 at the Centralia train depot, a small gathering of God’s people decided to hold a tent meeting on the north bank of the Skookumchuck River. From this meeting came the congregation which today is known as Centralia Community Church of God in Centralia. For many years, the congregation occupied a building at the intersection of Oak and Walnut Streets. When that property was needed by the Centralia School District, the entire building was moved to the intersection of Cherry and Oak where it stands today, though now occupied by another congregation.
The members of the church moved to new quarters on Borst Avenue in 1976 under the leadership of Reverend Ray Miner. This property was purchased with funds secured from the sale of a building lot that was donated to C3 by a widow, Hattie Barton. Proceeds from the sale were used for the down payment to purchase property on Borst Ave and Eshom Rd.
In April of 1980, with a congregation of 80 and now under the leadership and vision of Pastor Darcy Fast, the church took a giant step of faith by entering into a major building program to build a 15,000 square foot facility that included a sanctuary, classrooms, and offices. In May, three years later, the church, now with 420 attenders, began construction of a 22,000 square foot Christian Education complex known as the Family Life Center. The loan for this mortgage was paid off in 1996.
In August of 1997, the church resumed building improvements by remodeling the sanctuary and adding a new foyer (now called the Commons). The new space included a small chapel/classroom, library, information center, kitchen, and restrooms. The remodeled sanctuary improvements provided a new worship platform, choir (green) room, restrooms, extended balcony, carpeting, pews, and new HVAC, lighting, and sound systems.
In 2004, a Building Fund Campaign began, called “That Others May Believe”, and was launched with the goal of raising $225,000+. With this successful campaign, Centralia Community Church completed a 5,000 square foot addition to the Family Life Center that included four large classrooms and two children’s classrooms which the daycare, Happy Day Learning Center, currently utilizes. The next year, C3 began restoring and updating the exterior of the church by installing hardi-plank siding, brick facing, new windows, parking lot lighting, interior gym lighting, and landscaping.
In the early 2010s, a face lift was given to various areas of the church; the sanctuary bathrooms, front office, gym classrooms, and family room. The library was converted into our espresso stand, Common Grounds, and during the summer of 2013, the parking lot was resurfaced and repainted. The west side of the sanctuary also had some work done on the roof.
Centralia Community Church makes excellent use of our space by not only scheduling our in-house events, but using our facilities for the community. On any given day or evening, you will find the church full of people for different activities! This is an exciting time in the life of Centralia Community Church - what a history we have! Forty years ago, a group of 80 heard from God and took a leap and built a building. In a matter of years, they grew 5x the size and expanded the facility even more! And in less than a decade, the mortgage was paid off. The challenge for us now, as our building ages, is the care of our facilities. When we look at the faith of that little congregation in 1980, they had no idea how their big idea would impact Centralia and the people in their neighborhood. How can we steward our precursor’s vision and their building for the future generations as we partner in God’s Kingdom work? We believe that He continues to bless us and that He will supply the resources for future growth and expansion.
It is our privilege to be a part of the work God is doing in Centralia and around the world. God has given us so much, now we have the opportunity to prepare together for the future God has set before us. Our giving will not only continue to bless us and our families, but will help us reach out to our communities and prepare for future generations as well. Join us as we make a special commitment for the next 36 months, in addition to our regular giving, so that we can honor our past and prepare for the future, and that God can do abundantly more than we can ask or imagine here at C3.