Church on a hill

By Staff
Expansion at Church of Christ nears completion
Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
The Hartselle Church of Christ has been called “a light on the hill”, a fitting title for the church which has served the community since 1920. While first housed in a small house on Hammitt Street, the church has grown rapidly, and now dominates the skyline of Sparkman Street. As the church grows as a result of a $3.6 million expansion, Minister Phillip Hines hopes that the church’s reputation and influence will grow along with the building.
Hines sees the construction of the new buildings as a way to provide for the next generation of church members and ensure the church’s growth and expansion. “We’re looking at the future,” he said. “We’re trying to look at the next generation.”
After seven years of planning, expansion at the church is nearing completion. Within the next two weeks, the church plans to move into their new fellowship hall. The fellowship hall also has one unique feature: a shower. By including the shower, the fellowship hall can be used as a storm shelter if an emergency or natural disaster strikes Hartselle. Hines estimates that the structure could provide shelter for roughly 250 to 300 people if needed.
Construction of the auditorium is not yet complete, but Hines hopes that the construction will be completed late next fall.
Expansion was necessary because the church has outgrown its current facilities. The church’s fellowship hall can no longer be used for large church events, and at one point, the church held large meals and fellowship events at the high school cafeteria in order to accommodate its 400 members in attendance. The current auditorium was almost filled to capacity. The new auditorium, when completed, will seat 800 and if necessary, can seat up to 1,000.
As a “light on the hill”, the church’s influence is far reaching, and its’ mission field reaches from down the street to across the world. Heart to Heart, House to House is a newsletter that the church publishes every three months and distributes to homes around the area. The church also has a strong missions program in Romania, where they have constructed two churches in the cities of Timisoara and Lugoj and provided medicine, glasses, and school supplies to numerous cities across Romania.
While the church plans to continue their existing outreach programs, they also plan to add new programs in order to expand their outreach.
Hines said plans are in the works to modify the current auditorium to serve as classrooms and a chapel area for a preschool. Hines hopes that program development will begin in earnest within the next two to four years.
The new auditorium may be an impressive sight, but Hines hopes that the building never seems more impressive than the greater purpose it serves.