ARNOLD – The Rockport Baptist Church was out of space. Easter Sunday, the pastor said they were packed in so tight he could hardly move. But God has answered prayers, and in February they sold their 1960s era facility and moved into a former Catholic Church building, May 17.
The amazing part of the story is the provision of God for the sale of their current facility and the purchase price for their new building. Initially it looked like they couldn’t afford to make the purchase.
Through answered prayers, their facility has been sold to the neighboring fire department, and they have purchased the former St. David’s Catholic Church. They initially did not think they could raise funds to buy the church. But the funds from their property sale turned out to be more than enough, and now they have about a $250,000 surplus for use in renovations and future ministry.
Pastor Scott Lee said they have been out of space for about five years. Their current building has a usable capacity of about 175. Easter Sunday they had about 300 attenders. They had people in overflow rooms in the basement and they were out of parking spaces. They needed a bigger building.
For two years they had talked about their options. One idea was to go to two services. But the pastor and church leaders were hesitant because, as the pastor said, “You end up with two congregations.” They talked about having Sunday School and Worship simultaneously and the facility just would not accommodate that. A church plant was considered, starting a new church, but that wasn’t what they felt God wanted for them.
So in 2024 they start earnestly praying for a solution. The wife of the pastor, Amy Lee, told her husband she was going to pray that God would open up another church they could purchase with the proceeds of the sale of their existing building. Pastor Lee said, “It won’t happen.” But he is now glad that God did it anyway. Church leaders joined in the prayer.
It was discovered the St. David’s Church was going to merge with another Catholic Church in town. This was a long process as the Vatican headquarters in Rome had to give approval and the church building be decommissioned. They were told it might take two years. The Catholics were asking for $1.75 million dollars.
They started talking about putting the Baptist building and adjoining parsonage up for sale. Another church in town had some interest. There were some offers exchanged but not enough to buy the St. David’s building. The offer on the Baptist property was about $1 million. The congregation wasn’t sure they could raise another million.
Some more negotiations ensued. Then the fire department heard about the possible sale and they were interested in the five acre plot of land to establish a training facility beside their current station. Offers back and forth took place.
When it was completed, the fire department offered the Baptist church $2 million and then the Baptists purchased the Catholic Church for $1.75 million. That left $250,000 for renovations and future ministry projects.
The air conditioning system in the St. David’s building did not work. They thought it might take $200,000 to fix it. But a retired engineer had some HVAC experience and was able to get it working again for about $20,000.
There will be some renovations needed, but the Catholics have removed all fo the “sacred” religious objects and statues and the building will easily convert for Baptist use.
It has a large sanctuary, plenty of classroom and office space. There is a gymnasium which was built in the 1980s. There is plenty of parking on the 7-acre lot.
It is an answer to prayer for the growing Baptist congregation. Pastor Lee said: “God answered prayers amazingly better than expected. And he has provided a new home for the congregation that more than meets our needs.”
The Rockport Baptists occupied their new facility on May 17. The pastor said they praised God that day for answered prayers.
