Publication: THE CHARLESTON GAZETTE
Published: 04/12/2002
Byline: BOB SCHWARZ
bobschwarz@wvgazette.com
The Bible Center Church, which in the last two years has
added both parking spaces and sanctuary seats, will add a third Sunday
morning service starting Sunday.
The church, second in size only to Maranatha Fellowship among the valley's
evangelical churches, draws about 1,100 people on an average Sunday
morning, up about 100 since last year and about 260 since Pastor Shawn
Thornton arrived in 1997, church administrator Lee Walker said.
Thornton will now add an 8 a.m. service to the existing 9:30 a.m. and 11
a.m. services. He'll give the same sermon at all three services, but the
early service will be more contemporary, Walker said. Thornton may give
himself a rest Sunday evening, and let someone else do the preaching.
Last year, the church added about 11,000 square feet, which included
classrooms, an expanded fellowship/social hall, and an overflow area built
onto the sanctuary. The folding partition in the overflow area can open
for services, but goes back into place for meetings and Bible study
classes, Thornton said.
"We thought it would be three or four years before we needed that
space, but it turned out to be three or four months," Thornton said.
The early service will not use a choir and orchestra and will include
perhaps just one traditional hymn rather than several, Thornton said. An
electric keyboard and guitars will lead the music, and a praise team will
lead the singing. "Instead of a suit, I'll wear a golf shirt, or in
winter maybe a sweater."
Two years ago, the church added 90 spaces to the parking lot. "We
have 320 spaces, and we're parking 350 cars, sometimes more, for the 9:30
a.m. services," Thornton said. "We're hoping to bring some of
our own folks out of the 9:30 service and also reach out to people in the
community."
The Bible Center moved out to the corridor from Kanawha
Boulevard East in 1976, then added on to the building in 1982, Walker
said.
The Bible Center has expanded its kindergarten through
sixth-grade elementary school, adding a second kindergarten class in
August 2000 and a second first-grade class in August 2001, Thornton said.
Next year the school will add another second-grade class and the following
year another third-grade class. The school now serves 185 children, and
the day-care program serves 115.
"The school and day care are one and the same with our
ministry," Thornton said. "Every child gets Bible class
or chapel time every day."
Thornton, 35, credits the church's high visibility location on the
corridor for the church's growth. Televised ads on local cable channels
also help. But nothing beats word of mouth from congregants.
"We don't get into the issues of local and national politics and all
the distractions that they bring," Thornton said. "And that's
encouraging to people who visit. We don't get caught up on hobby
horses."
To contact staff writer Bob Schwarz, use e-mail or call 348-1249.
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