The last couple months at Pelzer have proven to be busy, exciting, exhausting, rewarding, inspiring, challenging, and a lot fun too. We’ve been hard at work creating excellent environments to remove obstacles and help spiritually hungry people connect Jesus. We’ve been tearing down walls, pulling up carpet, and pulling down ceilings—and that is just a glimpse of the demo work. After the demo work was complete, we built a new wall to the lobby and started framing the beautiful vaulted wood ceiling with exposed beams. This transformation will open up the old foyer and create a new, welcoming and more spacious lobby. We know spiritually hungry people will walk through our doors worn out from whatever life has thrown at them. When they do, we want the warmth of the room to invite them in as much as the smiles that greet them in the parking lot and at the door.
After they are welcomed into the newly expanded and renovated lobby, they will step into the updated worship center, where just this week two of our faithful members stood in awe. They were unable to hold back the smiles, gasps and tears as they soaked in the amazing transformation that the fresh coat of paint, new lighting and sound panels had given the room. And we still have a more in store for this worship environment!
Various other projects have been underway as well. The fellowship building was rewired for central heat and air and bathrooms in the lobby have been stripped and started to be remodeled as well. As each project is underway, I love hearing that the oldest member of the church—a 95-year-old man—comes by the church to watch the work in progress. I’ve also heard how someone from the campus brought one of our homebound members by the church and the individual simply said, “Wow, that’s our church!”
Working side by side to accomplish a common goal deepens relationships and builds authentic community in a way that is almost impossible to replicate. As one of our guys put it just the other day, “You don’t really know someone until you work alongside them.” I have absolutely loved getting to know the amazing men and women here at Pelzer by working side by side in anticipation of what is to come!
And in my next update I can’t wait to tell you more about what God is already doing to redeem and restore lives and add to our family (in more ways than one)!
Mark Tolan
Pelzer Campus Pastor
