Transforming Church

Renovation of the 34,000-square-foot building that formerly housed Aloma East Bowl on the northeast corner of State Road 50 and Rouse Road began in January.

The first phase of the $400,000 remodeling project involves gutting and redesigning about 24,000 square feet of space into designated areas that include a sloped 350-seat worship center, a children's ministry and multipurpose area, a nursery, a youth center and a terrace cafe for fellowship in a relaxed, coffeehouse atmosphere.

The floor plan also includes office space, a bookstore, a community outreach area and expansion of an already established creative arts studio for a music, art and drama ministry sponsored by the church.

Renovations should be complete by early summer, Linman said.

The congregation kicked off the massive remodeling effort in December with a "floor-breaking" ceremony.

Young and old alike took turns using a jackhammer to break up the concrete floor that supported the old lanes. The space will be converted to a 5,500-square-foot worship center with a portable altar, projection system and a stage for a band.

Linman said the worship center is being built with growth in mind. He predicted that in a year or two, it will need to be expanded to hold as many as 600 members.

During the floor-breaking ceremony, members of the congregation took home pieces of broken concrete as a reminder of prayers answered at the end of a long journey.

"When Joshua led the Israelites out of the wilderness into the Promised Land, they erected a pile of stones as a reminder of how God led them to the Promised Land," Linman said. "The stones when the floor was chopped up became visual reminders of what God has done for us."

Services previously were at Waterford Elementary School and now take place at Orlando Lutheran Academy.

Linman said he and the church leadership team looked at about 60 sites in east Orange before buying the vacant bowling alley for $2.1 million a year ago.

About three years ago, the church had nearly closed on a deal to put down roots as a town-center church in Avalon Park. But Linman's vision of building a growing church that would serve east Orange didn't mesh with the limited space and less-centralized location of Avalon Park.

"We voted nearly unanimously to leave that site and $120,000 worth of planning behind," he said. "There was a real strong sense that God was leading us to an area of greater impact."

Although discouraged, Linman and a strongly committed core of congregation members focused their efforts on S.R. 50, where Linman said a need for community outreach and a lack of access to community services were most evident.

For two years, a small group of church members prayed weekly for the right space and kept vigil for the right opportunity.

When the bowling alley became an option, Linman immediately knew it had potential.

"When I first walked in here, I could see the possibilities, even when this was a bowling alley," Linman said. "Another real key thing for us is that we believe that God placed us here to be a servant church and gave us a strategic location in east Orlando to be good stewards of that location. It's a crossroads site."

Sonlight Construction, which specializes in church building and renovation, is overseeing the project. In addition, an average of 10 church members per day, volunteering three days a week, have been helping with work preparation, cleanup and renovation for the past several months.

Linman said the church is exploring the possibility of providing meals and serving as a drop-in center for the homeless. Designated space also may be available for support-group meetings such as Alcoholics Anonymous. He is talking with other area churches about outreach plans.

"This could be a catalyst for some exciting new initiatives on the east side. The area is so poor when it comes to accessibility to community services," he said.

Linman said that the wait, although long and at times difficult, has been worth it.

"The blessing isn't necessarily the destination; the blessing is the journey. It's been an incredible journey. I'm just absolutely convinced that God is going to do incredible things."

For information, call 407-282-4569 or visit www.spiritofjoy.org.
Pastor Jeff Linman--- spiritofjoy@earthlink.net
Reprinted by permission.