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Portable prayer
By MELIA BOWIE, Times Staff Writer
TAMPA PALMS -- It's religion on wheels. And for organizers at Cross Creek Church, where membership is fast outstripping meeting space, a Troy, Mich., company has offered the answer to their prayers. Portable sound equipment, seating, staging, lights, storage and even coffee pots -- courtesy of Portable Church Industries. The change will enable the church's growing population to move easily and efficiently from a small meeting room at the New Tampa YMCA to a transformed basketball court today. "We're going to be able to have a first-class worship service on wheels," said pastor Brad White. For $67,000 the church will gain an open-air worship center on the court, a home for its youth services (in the abandoned meeting room) and a small children's room (formerly occupied by the youth mass). A worship leader at Cross Creek discovered Portable Church Industries. The company, based in Troy, Mich., assists young churches with everything from pre-launch planning to safety training for opening day volunteers. Set-up and tear-down time will drop from 90 minutes to 45. And the equipment will allow the church to extend its stay at the YMCA and continue to grow, instead of searching for a worship center that won't burst at the seams. "It's going to take the quality of our ministry, of our service up a level," said White. "It's going to be awesome." When White founded Cross Creek Church, a nondenominational church with southern Baptist roots, two years ago, its 13 members met in a Richmond Place apartment complex. Now 130 official members and 300 people attend the church's two Sunday services and a youth mass. Most live in New Tampa; others drive from Temple Terrace, Lutz, Lakeland and downtown Tampa, said church secretary Beth Luchkowec. And while the YMCA does not open until 1 p.m. on Sundays, some exercise buffs see the cars in the parking lot and show up anyway. They may leave without a physical work out, but a spiritual one is often assured. "We have had people walk in in shorts and stay for the service," Luchkowec said. Perhaps the move to the basketball court will add more. Membership is where the focus will remain, said White, noting his parish is not yet ready to launch a building campaign. Nor does he want to search for a site in New Tampa that Cross Creek, soon to change its name to Life Point Community Church, may outgrow. Members held an October banquet to raise money for their Portable Church equipment and pledges are still coming in for that, said Luchkowec. This week "we really want to invite people to come check it out," White said. If you goCross Creek Church meets at the New Tampa YMCA, 16221 Compton Drive in Tampa Palms. Services on Sunday are at 9 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. For more information, contact the church at 813-907-9818 or www.crosscreekchurch.com.
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From the Times |
