Groveland Twp.-After 3-1/2 years, Pastor Darrell Smith and the Great Lakes Baptist Church are on the verge of getting a home of their own.
Smith said the church, which averages about 175 people in attendance per week, hopes to start construction on a church building at the corner of Grange Hall Road and Dixie Highway in Holly.
For about a year, the congregation has met at a Seventh-Day Adventist church in Holly. Before that, they met in a school building in Holly.
Under the direction of Smith and Associate Pastor Tigg Vanaman, they currently hold services at 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sundays, as well as a 7 p.m. Wednesday Awana service.
Smith said the church purchased 9.1 acres of property in April 2002, which has been paid off. He said now is the time to establish a permanent home for the Great Lakes church community.
‘We need a building,? he said. ‘We need to identify with a community and have a long term ministry.?
Once completed, the new church building will take up about 20,000 square feet. The building will hold an auditorium with seating for about 320 people, as well as a large fellowship hall, a commercial kitchen, Bible classrooms, and office space.