NEW BGW FACILITY FOR GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH
On February 20, 2005, Grace Baptist of Santa Maria, California, officially dedicated their new church facility. The exterior design is reminiscent of the Spanish history prevalent in their coastal, southern California city. The facility sits impressively atop a sloped site that draws the eye throughout the surrounding neighborhood.
“We wanted to be part of a neighborhood that we could concentrate on and reach for Christ. We had been looking for a new location for a long time, one that was really accepting and compatible with our ministries so that we would have a better opportunity to reach the people around us. We saw this opportunity here, and we felt that God was leading us.”
The 36,500 square feet of space encapsulates a 623 seat sanctuary, 16 classrooms, a fellowship hall (that can be divided into two additional classrooms if desired), a Jr. High basketball court, a library, a reception area, conference room and six staff offices.
“Our costs came out just under a hundred dollars a square foot. In our area that means a lot because in southern California right now with the building boom, the costs are just unreal. I had a church actually call me from a nearby town that had gone with another architect locally, and he had told them that their cost was going to be about 215 dollars a square foot. So they called me and asked what we built our building for? And when I told him, he said “it can't be.” And so they were actually thinking of throwing away the money that they had already spent on the local architect and going with Building God's Way,” states Johnson.
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