Grace Church renovations ongoing, bringing international students into congregation

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Grace Church has not let continual work on the old Embers restaurant building stop it from holding regular services in the quickly transforming space.

Church founder and Pastor Barry Flanders said one of the primary reasons to relocate to 1217 S. Mission St. from the Ward Theater, 218 S. Main St., was because of an influx of younger couples with children into the congregation. He said the non-denominational church will continue to use Ward Theater for special events.

Kevin Daum, application programmer for Residence Life and CMU alumnus, said he began attending Grace Church when he was a freshman at CMU and now brings his children.

“I’ve never been at a church that had better children’s ministries,” Daum said. “My kids are always excited to come.”

Services run at 5 p.m. on Saturdays and at 10 a.m. Sundays.  Flanders said its 500-member congregation meets in the half-finished basement lit by construction lamps, while the 150-strong children’s ministry meets upstairs.

He said the underground vibe is not for effect, but rather a result of the ongoing work.

“We indirectly stumbled into that look,” he said. “It’s a combination of a club and a bomb shelter.”

Midland sophomore Lauren Butler said the church has a “cozy feel” and, though it has a large congregation, she does not feel like another face in the crowd.

Butler was baptized on Feb. 13 while surrounded by friends and family. She said she was inspired by seeing others come forward to be baptized, and knew she wanted to as well.

“I feel like my life just changed,” Butler said. “The action of baptism was so rewarding.”

International appeal

Flanders said about 10 percent of the congregation is made up of international students. The church offers several services for international students, he said, such as picking them up from the airport and a storeroom stocked with donated goods like warm clothes for Michigan winters and refurbished bicycles.

The church also has an international gospel choir and host celebrations for the Chinese New Year and Diwali to make internationals feel at home, he said.

Pharanyoo Choompol, a Thailand freshman who attends Grace Church, said he enjoys meeting new people because it helps him understand the culture better.

“It makes me calm,” he said. “I felt really bad (a few weeks ago), and then I came here and I felt better.”

Even though Choompol does not consider himself a Christian, he said he still goes because his friends there accept him and help him feel good.

“The idea is not just for Sundays, but to keep it open for all the community,” Flanders said. “We’re trying to share the gospel of Christ to Mount Pleasant and all the nations.”