Article by Ashley Writght, Bismarck Tribune

BISMARK, NORTH DAKOTA -- A dream 12 years in the making has come true for Legacy United Methodist Church.

Photo:  Photo by Mike McCleary, Bismarck Tribune A wood cross made from tree limbs was planted on the empty property several years ago just as the idea of building the Legacy United Methodist Church in north Bismarck was in the early stages.

Legacy United Methidost Church opened the doors to the 27,000-square-foot building on 17 acres in north Bismarck, North Dakota in November 2013. Members are invited their Bismarck-Mandan neighbors to celebrate with them Sunday, January 19, 2014 during a grand opening and community open house.

The first church service was held in the building Nov. 17 and a dedication took place Saturday.

Legacy’s new home has a number of unique features, including a fireplace and an amphitheater that’s being built directly outside the sanctuary that will connect the inner worship space with an outer space.

“It will offer tiered seating and will also be open to community events such as weddings and outdoor concerts,” said the Rev. Kermit Culver.

Incorporating items that the larger community can use was an intentional aspect of the new church’s design, said Culver.

Future plans include adding a community garden and an orchard, and the congregation is planning on offering events such as outdoor bonfires.

“We wanted access points for people to come to the property,” Culver said. “We didn’t build this for ourselves. We now have a tool to use to help God use us in service to the community.”

Culver said that the Dakotas Conference of the United Methodist Church had about six acres of land about 25 to 30 years ago north of town and was seeking to add a Methodist presence in that area.

Culver came along in 1996 and the congregation saw a steady growth of 10 percent a year for five years, he said.

“We were busting at the seams downtown,” he said. “We needed a place that offered room for us to grow.”

In 2001, the congregation decided that room would include 11 acres that were available next door to the six acres the conference had already purchased.

“For 12 years we’ve been at this,” Culver said.

In 2007, the congregation decided the property would be their new home and the building downtown would be sold or rented.

The first capital campaign was launched in 2008 and raised more than $1 million through 2011.

During the second campaign, which was launched in August 2011, the church got an unexpected surprise.

“We had applied for a John C. Lasko Foundation grant that gives churches money to build new buildings,” Culver said. “At the time, they said they weren’t granting more than about $750,000 at a time, but nine months after applying we were told that they were giving us $1.4 million because they loved our project.”

Ground was broken for the new church in May 2012 with congregation members taking part with their own shovels, even the kids, Culver said.

A large component of the new building is the children’s wing, which was intentionally located directly inside the front doors.

“Children need identifiable space, and in the old building we either had room for 200 or 12, from the sanctuary to small classrooms, and it limits how you do ministry,” Culver said.

Those growing pains were the inspiration for the kids wing, which has a high-tech security system that includes registration, a touch screen system and badges for each parent that matches their children.

That also means that parents can get a text in the service if there is any issue with their child, said Culver.

Kids’ Ministry Director Suzanne Thorenson said that the church’s thriving kids’ ministry is due to a strong volunteer presence, with a team of about 80 who volunteer their time to make the ministry thrive.

“We as a church really believe in trying to put people where their strengths and gifts are,” she said. “And Legacy really believes that kids are the future of the church — that if they have a strong foundation in their faith they will stay through youth and into adulthood.”

She said that there already have been rave reviews of the new security system.

“Parents want to know that their kids are safe and they won’t get anything out of worship if they’re worried about their kids, especially as new members come into our congregation as we grow,” Thorenson said.

The building itself is ringed in stone, with the verse “upon this rock I will build my Church” as the inspiration, Culver said.

Culver believes the next wave of ministry that will fuel church growth will be how a congregation is defined and distinguished by its service to the surrounding community.

Consequently, Culver said Legacy has and will continue to find new ways to partner with community organizations.

“We were just able to give $44,000 to Ruth Meiers House, which will be on hand at the open house to receive the money,” he said.

But Culver said that service means more than just giving a check.

“We want to connect with helping agencies,” he said. “As a church we wanted to create opportunities to help them fulfill their services.”

In that spirit, Culver recently preached a sermon that asked congregation members what they would do with $1 million with the condition that they couldn’t spend it on themselves or family.

Legacy has also partnered with Amelia Bailey United Methodist Church in Moffit, which participated in the church’s dedication service. Amelia Bailey streams Legacy’s services each week, and has increasingly seen its congregation grow, said Culver.

“They had about eight members at first, but have grown to 35 or 40,” he said. “They even started a Sunday School again and even had a baptism, and they couldn’t even remember the last time that occurred.”