Copper Creek Church started in 2007 as a satellite campus of First Presbyterian Church in Champaign, Illinois. After 5 years, they felt led to establish the satellite campus as a new church plant. And on September 9, 2012, Copper Creek Church was officially commissioned as a new church.
So often, those in ministry experience the many ways God moves beyond what we could have ever imagined. It is often a journey with windy roads sometimes filled with speed bumps.
This church experienced many of those bumps along that proverbial road as they transitioned from a satellite campus to launching themselves as a new church plant. They were a “mobile” church as they did their best to worship as many do across the country first in various temporary environments, including an elementary school and then on to a YMCA.
Fast forward to present day. After a number of starts and stops with planning and closed doors on opportunities for acquiring property, the Lord put on their hearts a piece of property that places them along a major road in a growing area. Through the generous commitments of their congregation, they were able to purchase the property and begin planning for the design and construction of their new home.
In reflection, Scott Keeble, Copper Creek pastor, stated, “One advantage to meeting all these years in a rented school and YMCA spaces has been that people who may have had a bad experience with a church have been able to feel comfortable walking into a Copper Creek service.”
Keeble went on to say that “the goal in designing the new church building has been to maintain that level of comfort by creating a space in which people feel safe and welcome. If people are uncomfortable with the idea of church, or being in a church space, they won’t feel like they are in this new environment.”
Copper Creek’s vision is to be a home for those who have given up on church. As their “About” statement reads, “We celebrate unity in diversity.” They wanted to create an environment that would embody this statement.
The church exterior has been intentionally designed with styling consistent to that of a take on rustic modern meets rural barn, which fits within the culture and heritage of the community. The inside will include an intimately finished space for worship services consisting of warm finishes and exceptional audio/visual/lighting/acoustics.
In addition, the balance of the space will include multi-purpose rooms, a coffee shop, a custom indoor play area for kids, a children’s ministry wing, and a separate multi-purpose staff wing.
Copper Creek is designed to make all people feel welcome from the outside to the inside. From concept to completion, the ministry wanted to create a space that the community could utilize as well, truly creating an environment where all are welcome.
The project consisted of the complete design, engineering, and site development of a green field site and construction of a new 20,000-square-foot multi-purpose worship facility. The project is well underway and is slated for completion this summer.
Professional Building Services (PBS) is an award-winning design-build firm that specializes in designing and building Commercial, Industrial, Church and Municipal buildings throughout the Midwest, www.pbsdesignbuild.com.
