The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
CHURCH SEEKS TO BE THAT ‘THIRD PLACE’
Life Point Church plans to transform former Brentmoor Elementary School
Apart from going to work and going home, people usually have a third location they go to on a daily basis, whether it’s the gym or a coffee shop.
“We’re trying to create where this becomes people’s third place,” said Pastor Ken Wright, of Life Point Church in Mentor.
Life Point purchased the former Brentmoor Elementary building, 7671 Johnnycake Ridge Rd., in 2019. Wright said. However, the building was not ready for the church to move in.
Still, the upstairs area of the Brentmoor building was being prepared as a temporary space for service. Renovations downstairs began roughly a month ago, and it’s expected to be completed around Christmas of this year by Lakeland Construction, Wright said.
The entire building will be renovated.
“The gymnasium will be turned into the sanctuary, there will be a cafe and lobby area and we will be creating a family room,” he said. “It’s creating space for people to hang out in and do life together in.”
About $1.1 million is being invested into the new space for Life Point, Wright said, adding that local people have been generous in giving toward the building fund and close to $400,000 has been raised so far.
Life Point Church started in Wright’s living room with only 12 people in October 2013. Life Point officially launched as a church in 2014 in the A Wing at Mentor High School.
For six years, church service took place at Mentor High School, but when the novel coronavirus hit, the services stopped, Wright said. Over the years, the church has had steady growth and with the new space at Brentmoor, it’s a good position for continued growth.
“It was about a three-year process for us,” Wright said. “The school had contacted us to let us know that three of their buildings were going to be going for public auction.”
About 450 people attend Life Point Church, and with the new, 7.5-acre space at Brentmoor, Wright sees those numbers increasing.
Currently, the city of Mentor is using the baseball fields in the back of the property and football practices are taking place throughout the week, he said.
Not only is the property used for local sports, children are always using the playground and the swing set, said Maressa Ayers, the church’s executive assistant.
“It seems like our neighbors have welcomed us quite well,” she said. “Now that we’re here, it’s kind of a relief for them because they see that we’re open to them being on our property and we want to be a part of the community.”
While the Brentmoor project is phase two of the church’s journey in finding a permanent home, Wright sees a phase three in the future — an auditorium attached to the new, contemporary building.
“Our vision is to build one life at a time and just to be a third place where people can come and connect, grow spiritually, grow in personal relationships with others and discover their purpose,” Wright said.
For six years, church service took place at Mentor High School, but when the novel coronavirus hit, the services stopped, Wright said. Over the years, the church has had steady growth and with the new space at Brentmoor, it’s a good position for continued growth.