The church's membership of over 1800 enjoys being active participants in their new facility.

NEW RICHLAND BIBLE CHURCH A PLACE TO CELEBRATE !

Project Overview
Location: Richland, Michigan
Project Type: New Construction
Square Footage: 36,000
CSM Project Director: Tim Ankney
CSM Project Manager: Jeff Senske
CSM Project Coordinator: Kristin Goodchild
Owner's Rep.: Bob Feitl
Architect:Progressive A/E,
Tom Frey, P.E.

Members and visitors may well come to Richland Bible Church to hear the Word of God. But thanks to a brand new facility, they're now more likely than ever to also read it, sing it, watch it, and play an active part in it. Most importantly, they're going to "feel" it.

That's been a priority for the church since its beginning, 23 years ago. But it's become even more of a mission in the last 14 years, during which time the church has grown from 200 people to in excess of 1800!

Attracting a crowd.

The growth has been exciting and a bit surprising for the church and Senior Pastor Larry Kiser. Surveys showed many members drive from places as far away as Battle Creek, Schoolcraft, and even Grand Rapids to attend services.

Bob Feitl, Executive Pastor, believes much of the church's growing appeal can be traced to its unique approach.

"We are absolutely, unashamedly Biblebased, and are not light on theology in any way. But we wrap it in a contemporary context, with great application to the way people live their lives on Monday morning," he said.

Enjoying the service... and one another.

A core principle of Richland Bible Church is that worship to God is an experience to be enjoyed. Old stereotypes of stuffy, foreboding monologues are quickly laid to rest. Services come to life in a technologyrich environment that allows the message to be not only preached, but also communicated through drama, music, video, lighting, and more. A full band, choral support, and even video clips are added when appropriate to reinforce the message.

"It's a celebration. We laugh a lot, we sing a lot, and are casual in the way we do things. We think our members and visitors appreciate that experience." Feitl said.

More people, more opportunity to serve.

The increasing attendance meant that Richland Bible Church was truly becoming a "regional" church. Its rich and diverse ministries were having an impact, attracting more and more people to its services.

But Sunday services became packed. New visitors had difficulty finding parking spots, let alone seats, and felt anything but welcomed. The struggles of attending services were taking a toll on the spirit of community and fellowship so critical to the mission of Richland Bible Church.

So after prayerful consideration, it was decided a new facility was needed. According to Pastor Feitl, there was no desire to create a showplace for its own sake. But the mandate of Richland Bible Church to provide a welcoming spirit and joyful worship, along with the growth those things were creating, made the decision easy.

"We just had to understand what God was already doing here, and try not to get in the way!"

A church grows for a growing congregation.

So for much of 2005, the new building took shape. It features a brand-new sanctuary, education and nursery facilities, a "coffeehouse" and more.

There were a few challenges in scheduling and coordinating the installation of state-ofthe- art AV equipment, but the results were well worth it. According to Jeff Senske, Project Manager for CSM Group- the final product is one that many top entertainers and concert halls would envy.

"You could hold a Rolling Stones concert in there," he stated enthusiastically.

On February 19, 2006, each service at Richland Bible Church featured a dramatic "migration" to a beautiful new space. The reaction was almost immediate.

"People are just thrilled with the new space. It's warm and inviting, and gives us a place to spend time with one another," Pastor Feitl said.

Tim Ankney, Project Director for CSM Group, said that the project went smoothly from start to finish.

"The sanctuary was a key element, with the acoustical, sound, and video systems that went along with it. The lighting was also a major item.

" A pastor's helpful past Pastor Feitl, himself a former architect and construction manager on numerous large projects, was very pleased with the performance of CSM Group.

"I wanted to see if they put their 'Building Owners' Trust' slogan into practice, and they did it extremely well. I know what a construction manager ought to be doing. And with the quality of their people, the integrity of their practices, and their responsiveness. I've become a raving fan!"