Calvary Chapel Pearl Harbor opened its doors eight years ago in a store-front shopping center space left vacant when a supermarket closed its doors. Over the years, the 32,000-square-foot rented space became home to a thriving church and a popular and growing Christian school. 
  
Even though the space was rented, the ministry had a great deal of autonomy in its use.  In the eight years the church met in the space, several items were added at the church’s expense, including a 65-ton air-conditioning system.
  
It came as somewhat of a surprise a couple of years ago when the shopping center’s owner—the U.S. Navy—informed Calvary Chapel Pearl Harbor that it intended to tear down the structure in order to build a new office complex.
 
“The lease was up,” recalled Pastor Derald Skinner. “And they were great about it. They just needed the property for something else.”
  
Immediately, church leaders began scouring the area for a place to move the church. The original idea was to choose another vacant shopping center space, but there was nothing to be found in the area.
  
“We realized that we were going to have to build a new building, and that it had to go up very quickly,” Skinner said.
  
The church found a piece of property, which seemed to have been divinely chosen. The land, which sat at the end of an existing shopping center, already was graded and, surprisingly, had a zoning rating that allowed for churches.
  
“Most churches have to deal with zoning issues, but we didn’t,” Skinner noted. “That part went very smoothly for us.”
  
Immediately, the church began working on getting classrooms built in time for the next school year. The first phase of the building project included 10 classrooms and a set of restrooms. Through the summer, while the classroom building went up, the church met in a tent in the parking lot.
  
Once classrooms were completed, the next step was getting the worship center built quickly. For that, the church turned to Miracle Steel Structure, Inc., for a Miracle Truss pre-engineered steel structure.
  
“We decided to go with Miracle Truss because the product was readily available and the price fit into our budget,” Skinner said, noting that the cost of the structure was around $200,000.
  
Miracle Truss provided a 168-foot by 100-foot structure, which the church is in the process of finishing on its own. Because of the high roofline—which reaches to 33.5 feet in the center, Skinner said the church will add a second level inside. This will be a mezzanine area for church offices and meeting rooms and will add approximately 8,000 square feet to the size of the facility.
  
One reason Skinner said his church was pleased with Miracle Truss is that its structure is conducive to adding on other wings or additions. And, he was impressed with the company’s durability record—making buildings that could consistently stand up to heavy weather, like hurricanes. That’s important, he noted, in an island area.
  
While everyone agreed a steel building was a great idea, there was some concern about the attractiveness of the structure.
  
“When you buy a steel building (for a church), you don’t want it to look like a large warehouse,” Skinner said. To soften the front, the church added an attractive portico on the front entryway.
  
“This dressed it up and took away the warehouse feel,” he added.
  
The front of the church includes about 50 feet of glass, offering nice, outside views from the bookstore and café. Wood and stucco also dress up the entranceway. The Miracle Truss buildings come in a variety of pre-painted colors, so the church chose one to enhance the other materials chosen.
 
To save money on building out the inside of the structure, church members have been able to do much of the work themselves. With the way the building is constructed, Skinner said, putting in insulation and sheetrock has been fairly simple, with most materials coming from local building supply stores, like Lowe’s or Home Depot. And, air-conditioning units from the old church were saved and used at the new building.
  
Once this building is completed, the church hopes to build a gymnasium. Plans also are underway to add a preschool program.
  
For other churches considering a similar building project, Skinner suggests carefully selecting a company to provide the steel structure. 
  
“Make sure you get all the costs upfront,” he said, noting churches should question thoroughly what is included in a price.

His church, in fact, had a problem with another company, before Miracle Truss, which quoted a price that turned out to be inaccurate. After the deposit was received, Skinner said, suddenly there were many other expenses that had never been mentioned before. 
  
“That came back to sting us,” he recalled. 
  
Also, he said, it is important to find a good architect who is familiar with the type of building a church is planning to build, as well as zoning, building and fire codes in the area.  =This will help a church keep from making decisions that later have to be changed.  This can save valuable time and money.

Miracle Truss, www.miracletruss.com, manufactures pre-engineered steel buildings that can be used for a variety of applications, including churches, hangars, warehouses, garages, storage and workshops. The buildings can be customized for any design preference and can be assembled with or without skilled labor.

In a Nutshell
Church: Calvary Chapel Pearl Harbor
Location: Waipahu, Hawaii
Membership: Approximately 1,000
Project: Build a new worship facility for this existing church, which had been meeting in a shopping center space, formerly occupied by a supermarket
Size: 25,000 square feet, when completed
Cost: Estimated $3 million for entire project, when completed
Challenge: Time was the main issue. The church learned on rather short notice that the shopping center in which it was located was slated for demolition. The owner planned to tear down the more than 50-year-old shopping center to make room for a new office complex.
Solution: Instead of building a traditional structure, the church started with a pre-engineered steel structure, which could go up quickly and save time and money.