Photo by Jon Anderson
A greeter welcomes people to the grand opening of The Station Church’s new facility at the Morgan Road exit off Interstate 459 on Sept. 23.
It has been 12 years since Randy and Susan Norris stepped out in faith and started The Station Church with six other families, but they finally have a church building they can call their own.
The Station Church spent its first seven years at the former Bumpus Middle School (now Brock’s Gap Intermediate School) and then relocated to the Southeastern Bible College campus on Valleydale Road.
But in September, the Southern Baptist church moved back across town to the former ITT Technical Institute building, at the Morgan Road exit off Interstate 459. A grand opening service drew 417 people — the first time the church had ever had more than 400 people, Pastor Randy Norris said.
Having their own building is like a dream come true, he said. It gives the church a lot more flexibility and ability to do things during the week that they haven’t been able to do before.
Brock’s Gap Intermediate School and Southeastern Bible College were great partners, but there were frequent challenges that came with being in someone else’s building, Norrissaid. “You just never knew what to expect.”
Around 2007 or 2008, The Station Church bought some land along Alabama 150, about half a mile west of the Lake Cyrus entrance, but the economic downturn that followed stalled development plans in that area and made it a less attractive site, Norris said.
Church leaders kept their eyes open for opportunities, but in June 2017, they knew they needed to get serious about finding a site when Southeastern Bible College suspended operations. The church was allowed to continue meeting there but got busy looking for a new home.
ITT Technical Institute, which had filed for bankruptcy in 2016, was selling its 6 acres and 34,000-square-foot building off Morgan Road, and the church was able to buy it for a bargain price of $1 million, Norris said. The deal closed in May.
They sold their land off Alabama 150 and spent about $350,000 to renovate the ITT site, which is more space than the church has ever had, he said.
The facility off Valleydale Road, formerly home to Valleydale Church, was humongous, but The Station Church only used a part of it, Norris said.
At the new building, they have 295 parking spaces, an auditorium that seats 400, a youth room that seats about 150, children’s worship space, nursery and preschool space, several other classrooms and areas for future growth, he said. “This space is really going to allow us to grow.”
The Station Church has about 375 members and an average attendance of 250 to 275, Norris said. Attendance has increased since leaders announced the new location. Members seem more excited and have been more willing to invite friends and neighbors now that they have a permanent home, he said.
If they keep up their current pace, the church may add a second service, Norris said.
Scott Sanders, a member who said he’s been part of the church since nearly the beginning, said everybody is excited about the move.
“We’ve never had a permanent place of our own,” he said. “We’ve just been waiting 12 years for it.”
It’s a little unusual for a church to move across a city and then back closer to its original spot, but many of the members are from the western part of Hoover and Helena, Norris said.
Brad and Brigitte Letcher, Helena residents who joined the church in December, said it’s the group of believers that draws them more so than the building or location, but they like the new building and the new location saves them about 15 to 20 minutes on their trip to church.
“It works better for us. We just come straight up Morgan Road,” Brigitte Letcher said.
Norris said it was important to find a site close to I-459 because the church draws people from across the metro area.
While they love the new facility, they have to remember that it’s just a tool to help reach people, Norris said. They can’t sit back and rest now that they have a building.
“The ride’s just starting. There are a lot of things left to do,” Norris told the congregation at the grand opening. “We’re excited about the days that are ahead.”
