Dreams do come true.

Sometimes, they even exceed expectations.

Such seems the case for the brand-new Grace Baptist Church, which aside from landscaping and some small remaining details, is ready to open its doors.

Many church members got a "sneak peak" inside the building at 605 E. McCoy Lane during a special worship service Sunday, Jan. 2.

The church/s grand opening celebration will be Sunday, with worship services at 9 and 10:30 a.m. The public is invited to attend, and to visit, the new church during the celebration.

"We recognize that the Lord has been very gracious," said Pastor Duane Johnson, who couldn/t be more pleased with his congregation/s new home. "He/s given us far more than we dreamed about."

When the church first purchased the property at the corner of College Drive and McCoy Lane five years ago, it was a strawberry field. Home Depot was the lone business in the Crossroads Shopping Center, and the cluster of housing developments surrounding it were perhaps not even a forethought yet.

Design-wise, there wasn/t really one.

But Johnson and others knew they could better meet the needs of members by starting from scratch rather than continuing to renovate the buildings at the former site at 121 W. Alvin Ave., where the congregation met for about 53 years.

Together, those buildings offered about 27,000 sq. ft. of space.

However, several of the buildings were across the street from each other, which was cause for concern, Johnson noted. Inadequate parking meant parishioners often had to park across the street and walk over to the fellowship hall. And a person acting as a crossing guard was often needed for safety during certain youth activities.

"People were constantly crossing the street," Johnson said.

Plus, the location itself didn/t always seem to attract many new faces, he added.

"It was hard to find us," Johnson said. "Everybody knows where College and McCoy is."

No longer will members have to worry about crossing the street, climbing stairs, or feeling the slightest bit cramped.

"It/s all on one level. And once you/re in, you/re in," Johnson said.

So just how much space does the new Grace have?

To be exact: 36,500 sq. ft.

If that/s a bit too abstract to try and picture, here/s an exceptionally short tour.

Enter the main doors facing College Drive (you can tell it/s the College entrance because there is a green "street sign" cleverly placed above the doors that says "College." There/s another one that says "McCoy" above the other set of main doors at the opposite side of the church) and turn left at Crossroads Cafe, an area where church newcomers are welcomed with a complimentary cup of coffee and a snack, and greetings from church members.

Behind the cafe are some adult Sunday School classrooms, offices and the music room. Right next to the cafe is the church sanctuary, where the worship services are held. This large room with mauve-tinted plush carpeting and pew cushions, apparently has such good acoustics that of the many who attended the service last week, several told Johnson they had to turn down their hearing aids, or take them out altogether.

Continuing on the left, next to the sanctuary, are the church offices.

Across from the church offices is the Children/s Ministries wing, which includes several classrooms divided into age groups. One of the rooms connects to a children/s bathroom, complete with a toddler-size porcelain toilet.

Continuing around the building, the library 77 much larger than the one in the old building 77 is next. Behind the library is a place called the H.U.B., which stands for Healthy Unified Body. The idea behind this room, which church administrators were reluctant to call a gym, was to have a place where kids could play basketball and participate in other physical activities, but also where they could hold conferences and other spiritual meetings and events, even wedding receptions.

A portion of the H.U.B. opens up to the kitchen, which wasn/t quite finished yet. Connected to the kitchen is Grace Hall, an area that will be used for the Spanish-speaking members/ worship service and other services.

"This is a nod to the past," said Grace Children/s Director Michelle Winger of Grace Hall, explaining that it was also the name of the fellowship hall at the old church.

Last, but certainly not least, is the youth ministries area, to the left of Grace Hall, which includes a large room with couches, Foosball tables, a drum set and more, where junior-high, high-school and some college age members can hang out.

While getting lost might seem inevitable the first time through the building, fear not.

The way the church was designed makes it impossible, Winger said after the spontaneous tour on a recent weekday.

She explained that the building is set up in sort of a circular pattern, with each separate area, or group of classrooms categorized in different wings. Each room number corresponds to the number of the wing.

For example, the church offices are in the 100 wing. Children/s Ministries is the 200 wing. The H.U.B., kitchen and Grace Hall are all in the 300 wing. Youth Ministries is in the 400 wing. The cafe and all the rooms behind the cafe are in the 500 wing. The sanctuary is in the 600 wing.

The 500 wing also includes handicapped access to places such as the stage in the sanctuary.

Acknowledging God/s hand in all of this, Johnson also spoke to the dedication and contributions of those in the congregation in helping make the dream a reality.

Between 40 and 50 volunteers helped with the move, which took just three days beginning on Dec. 27, he said.

"They worked so hard," Johnson said.

Not only that, but the congregation has been an integral part in helping decide what the new church 77 designed by Daniel Cook and Associates 77 would look like, both in its design and decor.

And church members donated enough money 77 above and beyond what they normally tithe 77 for the church to pay off the ,900,000 it borrowed to buy the property in just three years, Johnson said.

In the past two or three years alone, Johnson noted, members have donated an additional ,900,000 to the church/s relocation fund.

The church sold the old property to the Hispanic church, Centro Cristiano Vida Abundante.

"People have been very gracious," he said.

For more information about the church, phone the new church office at 925-2671.

* Staff Writer Britt Fairchild can be reached at 739-2220 or by e-mail at bfairchild@pulitzer.net.

Jan. 8, 2005