South Hill Church Remembers Past and Embraces Future

Tthe Spokane South Hill Church gathered in March to celebrate the groundbreaking for a new addition to the church building. The church is bursting at the seams and needs more room to spread out. The new addition will provide six new rooms, including a new pastor’s office and classrooms for Sabbath School classes, which will also provide broader possibilities for Church Night activities.

The honor of the golden shovel was given to Wayne Searson, the pastor who led the construction of the building in the early '80s. Pastor Searson reminded us of the rented Heritage Congregational Church where we met, the teamwork of members building under the direction of Ken Cramer, and using the design by the late Swanie Swanberg.

John Solomon, church pastor, is now heading the expansion project to accommodate the growing needs of this active group. The steering team—Ted Lutts, John Wilkens, and Jerry Wesslen—has given the green light for the added wing and other needed renovations inside the church. The story of Nehemiah, as told by Pastor Solomon, served to remind those gathered of the real reason for the addition and South Hill’s ultimate goal in the expansion: community outreach. The extra space is meant to provide our neighbors with a place where they can come and meet Jesus.

If the new and improved structure doesn’t do the trick, maybe the softball field will attract the notice of our friends on the South Hill. The hard work of leveling the ground and installing sprinklers is paying off this year with the green grass growing. We will soon be able to host games for the Christian league our athletes have excelled in, and our South Hill community will have a beautiful field to play in while getting to know their Adventist neighbors.

Featured in: August 2005