NEW HOUSE FOR WORSHIP
Northstar Church opens new building in 21st Century Park
CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. >> After holding religious services in multiple locations throughout town during the past 15 years, Northstar Church has a home it can finally call its own, at least for a while.
Last Thursday, Pastor Roscoe Lilly, his wife, children, and several church members cut the ribbon on the church’s new home in 21st Century Park. They were joined by Town Supervisor Philip Barrett, Sen. Jim Tedisco, Shenendehowa School District Superintendent L. Oliver Robinson and Chamber President and CEO Pete Bardunias.
The worship center at 410 21st Century Park Drive in the 21st Century Park complex off Route 146 is a leased space, but its home to the growing congregation just the same. The space was used as a day care center for many years and its vibrant painted exterior was visible to motorists from Route 146.
The church’s official grand opening, to which the community is invited, is scheduled for April 28 and April 29. Known for doing good deeds throughout the town, there will be pony rides and bounce houses available outside while visitors and members take tours of the renovated interior.
The church holds services at 5:30 p.m. Saturdays and 9:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. on Sundays.
Prior to renovating the 21st Century Park site the Northstar Church was renting space from the Shen School district and holding weekend services in the Gowana Middle School auditorium.
The church owns 27 acres on Route 146A where it plans to build a worship center at some point in the future. But after doing the calculations, church members realized they were still years away from moving into a building they would own. When the offer of a 10 year lease for the 21st Century Park space was made by owner Wayne Wagner, they agreed to rent and refurbish rather than wait.
“It just made a lot of sense,” Lilly said. “We can recoup the costs. For what we put in here we would have had got a design drawn for the new building and a parking lot. This is a win-win, a win for us and a win for Wayne. And with this space we can continue to grow.”
Since signing the lease the church has rewired the building, renovated its duct work, removed walls, put in new ones, landscaped the grounds and painted everything inside and out. The renovation created four educational programming rooms, a game room, pastoral offices and a large worship space suitable for the church’s lights, and sound system.
The spacious new building and the 700 people who attended the church for its four Easter services is a long way from the church’s start in 2003 when six families gathered at the former Phelan’s Banquet House.
“We had 25 at our first Christmas Eve service,” Lilly said.
In addition to the banquet house and Gowana Middle School the church has held services through the years at the Clifton Park Senior Community Center, and Shen’s High School West auditorium.
“When we used the Gowana auditorium we had to get there at 6:30 a.m. to set up,” Lilly said. “We had three trailers of equipment. And that was in any weather, rain, sleet, snow. Then we had to take it all down. People were finishing up at 1 p.m. Now, our equipment and our rooms are set up all the time.”
In the new building there are separate educational rooms for infants, toddlers, pre-schoolers, and elementary school-age children. A separate room for Sunday services for middle school and high school students is shared by the two groups.
Lilly was asked why he and his wife chose to start the church when there are so many in the immediate area.
“We didn’t want to just talk of God’s love, we wanted to show it,” he said. “We wanted to be a good neighbor, help people in need. And, what was very important for our church was to do community service. Most people want to do good things in their community. They just don’t know how and we want to be that broker”
Lilly said he wanted the church to be outward focused rather than inward, seeing what it could do for others. To that end Northstar Church provides the free refreshments at the town’s summer theatrical and musical programs, its Halloween parade and provides boxes of food for Shen students in need during the long breaks like the recent spring break.
“Being outward focused is what Jesus taught us, faith and good works,’” Lilly said. “Jesus cleans us up and gives us a new start. That’s what we did with this building. He makes us shine, makes us the best version of ourselves. We did this not just for ourselves but for the community.”