Senior Pastor Patrick Kelley ( center ) and RPC members and staff celebrate the grand opening of The Coffee House at West End .
Though the coffee shop employs 25 part-time workers , church staff and volunteers ( even Pastor Kelley himself !) regularly help out in the café . “ It ’ s a grassroots effort providing something that hasn ’ t been done by a church at this caliber in the Houston area ,” he says .
“ There is life once again on this site ” Today at West End , a church with once just 17 members , is now a campus that more than 600 people call home . Kids are once again filling the children ’ s building , and young people are finding friends . Marriages — not just funerals — are being performed . “ There is life once again on this site ,” Kelley says . “ And the community surrounding the church is discovering ways in which the church makes the area a better place to live .”
River Pointe Church comes by its commitment to faith + community partnerships honestly , having established The Yard at its main campus in Richmond in 2015 . Leaders were concerned about the lack of connection between churchgoers before and after services , so this large , open-air pavilion was created to invite them to linger , grill burgers , and enjoy lunch after worship services . One of the only installations of its kind in the Houston area , a large climber structure – gives children a fun place to play . ( Photo by Geoff Lyon )
Keeping the community at the forefront , once again
Well before the West End campus was built , River Pointe Church leaders were hyper-focused on engaging the surrounding community wherever they planted roots — and making that work regardless of site challenges . “ Typically , a church has to find property with problems in order to make it affordable ,” Kelley explains . “ Sites that are improved and ready for commercial development are typically not within reach of a church , especially a startup church . Solving site issues over time and building a facility around those issues is a more realistic path .” Such was the case with RPC ’ s second campus , in Missouri City . It was built in 2019 on a seemingly undevelopable piece of land adjacent to the high school where the church ’ s satellite campus was meeting at the time . The site housed protected wetlands and low-lying areas prone to flooding . There were zoning restrictions to contend with . Obtaining utilities would be a challenge , as would requirements for on-site detention of water runoff during storms . Still , Kelley was undeterred . “ When we were portable , we were invisible until Sunday morning church ,” he explains . “ With an investment to establish a home in the community , we ’ re saying ‘ We ’ re totally committed to serve this neighborhood .’” Having the right expertise on hand made the uphill battle much more attainable
. Studio RED Architects immediately teamed up with local landowners and professional partners to create a new hydrology for the site and neighboring parcels . “[ They ] had the ability to ask better questions than I could [ about this ],” Kelley says . “ By giving the city and FEMA different options , we were able to have more affordable solutions for drainage and flood control .” Ultimately , RPC was able to retain eight usable acres of land out of the 18-acre tract — sufficient space for developing the campus . Extensive sitework was needed to provided detention basins and to raise the site , in some places by more than 7 feet . But the result was a new home for the Missouri City congregation , with enough room to grow . Notably , this RPC campus — as well as the other two — offers the iFit Special Needs Ministry for children and adults . The ministry plans curriculum to help each age group learn about the love of Jesus at their own pace in a specially designed environment . Dedicated spaces are provided to tailor to special needs , including sensory sensitivities . “ Families with special needs children are a large part of our community , and we want to serve this group of people well ,” Kelley explains .
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