VINELAND, N.J.--A former indoor soccer arena has become a 300-seat house of worship for Trinity Bible Church, according to the Vineland Daily Journal.
In its six-year-old history the church has met in a home, a motel conference room, a school gymnasium and a community church building. They purchased the 18,000-square-foot sports facility last year for $370,000.
The church's co-founder Robert Ellis, 64, spoke after the dedication service for the new facility.
"It's staggering for me to stand up on that platform and see what God has done here," Ellis said.
"It's inspiring to look forward to the next six years of what God is going to accomplish here," he said.
The church began as a Bible study of six people who met in Ellis' home. The congregation continued to grow and the church has been meeting in the new facility for the past year as renovations continued.
The Rev. Gary Holden told church members that their mission was embodied not in the new building but in glorifying the name of God.
But more building is in the works for Trinity. Plans for a balcony overlooking the auditorium will increase the building capacity by 400. A new classroom wing, gym and fellowship hall are also in planning stages.
"It's a miracle that all this would happen in that short a time," said Doris Romero, 35, a Vineland resident and Trinity Bible churchgoer for the past year.
