Bethel Baptist Church to unveil new Life Center
Schaumburg's Bethel Baptist Church on Sunday will unveil an $8.8 million addition whose 20-month construction occurred largely out of view of its own congregation.
The church's new, 62,000-square-foot Life Center adds a coffee shop, massive gym, locker rooms, 12 new classrooms and a cafeteria expansion to the 48-year-old church and its Schaumburg Christian School.
But more than that, it connects the church's main building with the former Schaumburg Township library building, which houses the church's preschool, to create a single, 300,000-square-foot space under one roof.
The architectural challenge was not only to link two buildings never intended to be connected but to make it all aesthetically pleasing, Senior Pastor Bradley Smith said.
"This is a great advance for Schaumburg Christian School," he said. "This is something that's been on the drawing board since 2000. It was just time for us. We needed it for the growth."
Schaumburg Christian School opened as a church mission in 1970. Today, its 1,400 students range from preschool to 12th grade. There are about 180 students in the junior high and high school and typically 25 to 30 members of each graduating class.
The original church building is now the youth center, and the old library was turned into a preschool in 1999.
"In the early years, we were the church by the library, but then they became the library by the church," Smith laughs. "The story of Bethel Baptist Church is really just a reflection of the growth of Schaumburg."
Smith's father-in-law, Frank Bumpus, founded the church in 1960 and served until his death in 1999.
Smith joined the staff as a youth pastor in 1983 and was gradually phased in as Bumpus' successor in the mid- to late-'90s.
The church's new athletic facility includes three practice basketball courts and a championship court, an indoor tennis court, a weight room and indoor running track. Beginning in September, it will be open to the general public from 7 to 10 p.m. Thursdays.
A community open house will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Labor Day, Sept. 1.
Sunday's ribbon-cutting ceremony for the congregation will be at 11 a.m.
Because of the configuration of the campus, much of the work has been tucked away out of sight of those who attend worship services on the weekends, Smith said.
Though a large percentage of the congregation doesn't have children currently attending the school, their commitment to the next generation has been key to the fundraising effort for the Life Center, he added.
"The economy has not hurt our church," Smith said. "People have given. But we were largely wrapping things up before things became too bleak. I'd hate to be starting now."
Students at Schaumburg Christian School come from a 10- to 15-mile radius, for both the message of the Gospel as well as the school's strong academic reputation, Smith said.