Update: As of November 12, we are back in our home building at 3600 Old Antioch Church Way (SC-417), Woodruff, SC 29388.
Contractors have officially started work on the Old Antioch Fellowship Hall today. The entire process of renovation is scheduled to take anywhere from eight to twelve weeks, assuming there are no “surprises” hiding in the walls, ceiling tiles, or floorboards. Please pray for the workers, the project, and the church as we look forward to new and improved facilities.
For the duration of the renovation, we will not be able to use the bathrooms that are on-site at the church property. Rather than bear the added expense of pricey modular unit commodes (or the indignity of “porta-potty” accommodations), we are relocating temporarily to The Cashville Event Center (see below) just a quarter-mile up Old Antioch Church Way (SC-417) toward Highway 101. We are thankful for the Southern hospitality of the Chumley family allowing us to use the space for the next couple of months.
The address for our temporary meeting place is 3501 SC-417, Woodruff, SC 29388. We will conduct our regular prayer meetings and worship services at that facility until further notice. For the duration of our relocation, regular Sunday School classes are on hold.
Fellowship Hall improvements at Antioch will cost the church about $133,000. To make a tax-deductible contribution toward this project, please donate online here or mail a physical check (payable to Antioch Presbyterian Church) to ATTN: Treasurer, Antioch Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 407, Greer, SC 296520-0407.
We are replacing our current (very small) bathrooms with two larger handicap-accessible bathrooms featuring three stalls in each. The kitchenette has been removed to make space for the bathrooms and new cabinetry for Christian Education and facility maintenance/cleaning supplies. The remaining square footage in the Fellowship Hall will be reconfigured and maximized for support of our existing worship, fellowship, and educational activities.
While professional contractors are working on the Fellowship Hall, the men of Old Antioch have organized several work days this September to prepare the manse garage to function as a study and small group classroom. The men will relocate my (i.e., Pastor Groff’s) study from the church building to the manse in coming weeks. I will use my study to conduct my daily work, teach membership classes, train up new officers and pastoral interns, and meet for pastoral counseling. The freed-up space in the worship area will then be used to stage a more efficient and orderly A/V set-up for worship services and our adult Christian Education class, freeing up additional worship seating in the main worship hall.
Thank you for bearing with the minor inconveniences associated with this project. This is just the first phase of a multi-year, three-phase plan to develop and more effectively steward the land which God has entrusted to us. Lord willing, the second phase (see below) will dramatically improve our ability to accommodate our growing congregation, Christian Education needs, and parking requirements. As the congregation continues to grow, we hope to develop the acreage next to the church toward Highway 101 with a new and larger worship building, fellowship hall, Christian Education building, and parking lot.
We look to our glorious and worshipful Lord, who is able “to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us” (Eph. 3:20).
