The new welcome center, as seen from the Main Street side.
This past Sunday was Jan Stoner’s first time visiting the top floor of the First Baptist Church of Hurricane, despite having attended services there for many years. As a wheelchair user, she had been restricted in where she could go in the church due to limited handicap access. With the church’s new ADA Mobility Upgrade, however, she can explore the entire facility from top to bottom.
Over the years, First Baptist Church has seen many expansions, resulting in a large, sprawling complex which is three stories tall in places. The sanctuary and Family Life Center were handicap accessible, with an elevator going to the First Baptist Academy below. However, in order to access the Fellowship Hall and some of the other rooms on the ground floor, a wheelchair user would have to travel all the way around the building for a handicap entrance. The top floor, where the middle school and high school classrooms are located, was completely off limits, as stairs were the only way to access that part of the church. In addition to these challenges, wheelchair users also faced difficulty with bathrooms which were too small for their equipment.
Last May, First Baptist Church began construction on a new welcome center and improvements to handicap accessibility. Built between two major sections of the church, the welcome center removes many of the obstacles which wheelchair users and those with limited mobility have faced over the years. A new elevator now reaches all three stories of the church, allowing complete access to the upper facilities. Short staircases built to bridge different levels of the ground floor have been replaced with gently sloping floors. A too-steep makeshift ramp on the sanctuary level has been replaced by a much longer, ADA-approved ramp. The welcome center also features a café called The Blend, a conference room, more storage, and seating areas on all three floors.
“I really enjoy the new improvements and going around the church and seeing other areas besides the sanctuary and Family Life Center,” says Jan, who enjoyed touring the new facility. “It is a blessing I have access now to the church.”
On Sunday, March 22, a dedication ceremony was held to commemorate the new welcome center and accessibility improvements, and the congregation was allowed to see the new facility for the first time.
“It’s been said, ‘If you build it, they will come,’ but I say if you don’t build it with a way to welcome people, they will not come,” said Pastor Jeff Davenport. “This is not just with regard to the physical building. The people need to be welcoming as well.”
First Baptist Church of Hurricane will be presenting their Easter cantata, “I Believe,” on Palm Sunday, March 29, at 8:50 a.m. and 3 p.m. There will be Sunday school at 10 a.m., and contemporary worship at 11 a.m.
