HIGHPOINT, N.C. - Williams Memorial Christian Methodist Episcopal Church will more than triple its seating with a $4.7 million ministry complex to be built on 20 acres, the High Point Enterprise reported.
Currently, the church seats 275 in its sanctuary, requiring three services on Sundays to accommodate its 1,000 members. The 40,000-square-foot complex will consist of a 987-seat sanctuary, a fellowship hall wing, an administrative wing and Sunday school classrooms.
The Rev. Robert J. Williams Jr., who has watched the church grow from about 150 members when he assumed the pastorate 26 years ago, called the growth a good problem to have.
"It's very major," he said of the building project. "We've literally outgrown this place. For our children and our youth, we just don't have enough space to do the kind of ministries we want to do.
"We're very excited about it," he told the newspaper. "We know that it's the movement of God as He opens doors for us. We're just looking forward to doing the ministries that we want to do and that we're called to do."
Williams said he expects construction to take between 18 to 24 months and should be completed by early 2005.
