“ Prayer was really the pillar for everything ,” he adds . “ At that point , I really felt like we shouldn ' t phase the project . Why not just go after the whole thing and trust God ? So that ' s what we did .” Accordingly , the project that was originally envisioned in three phases ( beginning with a sanctuary and some restrooms ) will be 100-percent complete when it opens its doors in early 2022 . The newly reimagined church will include a youth room that , on its own , is as large as Forward City ’ s entire sanctuary on Legrand Road . This scale reflects the important of this ministry to the church . “ When people walk in , it ' s like , Wow !” Travis says . “ You can get 300 people in there . We ' ll be able to do functions [ and host ] so many other initiatives in that space .” Additionally , the new facility boasts the largest , highest ( 20 feet ) indoor playground in the region — another vision Travis asked Daniels and his team to realize . “ To me , that playground delivers the wow factor for any visitor , especially kids ,” Travis says . The new facility even includes an arcade with games and pool tables for church youth , as well as classrooms and meeting spaces . In its new home , Forward City will now be able to do ministry the way Travis , Dr . Jackie and their team have aspired to for years .
No one does it all alone In the end , the value of a trusted building partner has been essential for Travis , especially as he maintains his busy travel schedule . “ I really think [ Church by Daniels ’] tagline needs to be ‘ helping lead pastors avoid stress ,’ because this whole process has been pretty stressfree ,” Travis says . “ They ' ve been just a tremendous blessing .” It seems the admiration is mutual . “[ Travis ] and his congregation are just some of the nicest people you ’ ll ever meet ,” Daniels says . “ It really comes through , how he loves his people . “ He ' ll outgrow this building , too ,” Daniels adds . “ It ' s just who he is .” When he does , Travis is likely to pursue another retrofitting project . “ That ’ s probably going to be my model ,” he says . “ You avoid so many headaches and save so much money because the ground is already
QUICK FACTS ABOUT FORWARD CITY CHURCH
Year established : 2016 Staff : 10 + Combined weekly attendance : 1,000
leveled . There ' s already cement , which is crazy expensive . There are so many advantages to just literally going in with some sledgehammers and opening up the space so you can build it out how you want .”
It stands to reason , then , that Travis encourages other church leaders to consider reimagining an existing retail space for their own ministries . “ My goal is definitely to help increase the faith of any builders or any pastors or leaders who are looking to do a sizeable project ,” he says . “ I had very clear direction on what to do and how to do it . For me , that made all the difference .”
10 CHURCH EXECUTIVE | JAN / FEB 2022