Mike Gibbs
Asbury UMC Expansion
Asbury's expansion will include almost 30,000 square feet of additional space, 35,000 square feet of worship space, additional parking, new athletic fields, renovations and an organ.
A 20-year-old master plan is about to be put in the works at Asbury United Methodist Church.
When Asbury UMC bought the property at 6690 Cahaba Valley Road almost 25 years ago, an expansion was already part of the plan, said Asbury UMC church administrator Mike Gibbs.
The expansion project will cost $14 million and includes almost 30,000 square feet of additional space, 35,000 square feet of worship space, additional parking, new athletic fields, renovations and an organ.
“It’s sort of a three-phase project,” Gibbs said. “We don’t want to give up anything … The first phase is to move the soccer field, and we already have that land, and add parking.”
The first phase should start in the first half of 2016. Building the expansion comes from a desire to reach more people in the community.
“Right now, several early morning services are overcrowded,” Gibbs said. “We’re having people watch closed video in a different room. That’s not optimal.”
Services around 11 a.m. bring in the biggest crowd, but the 9 a.m. service also reaches about 80 percent capacity.
“That flows to every one of our programs,” Gibbs said. “Our children’s program needs more space. We also have a day school … We have capped our other groups. Almost all of them have waiting lists.”
Changes will repurpose some of the current sanctuary’s space, leaving room for a 400-seat gathering place. This area will be used for a contemporary worship option as well as special events such as weddings or musical performances.
To raise money for the expansion, Asbury UMC kicked off the Reach Campaign in April. Support so far has been “overwhelming,” reaching about 50 percent of their goal, Gibbs said.
“We’ve raised just shy of $3.5 million at this point, and we can start to break ground at $6 million,” Gibbs said. “We’d like to raise $8 million, and we’ve told people that.”
Reaching $8 million would allow for the addition of a balcony in a new sanctuary. Gibbs said the support is part of a typical surge in support, and an eventual plateau is to be expected. Another surge, however, will likely come near the time the church breaks ground. The Reach campaign is set to continue into early summer, when finances will be reevaluated and the building plan will be finely tuned.
“We are asking people to really pray and consider what all they can do,” Gibbs said.
More information about the campaign can be found at reach.asburyonline.org.
