First Look Inside First Baptist Umatilla Expansion

    The congregation of the First Baptist Church of Umatilla on Sunday was able to take a first walk-through of the church’s latest expansion. The first phase of a $14.5 million expansion, a building that will house a 1,278 seat sanctuary, classroom space, baptismal, and ancillary facilities is taking shape, with the expectation that the building could be occupied by the middle of 2023.
   The project, which will immediately be followed by a renovation of the church’s events center to add a second floor and additional classroom space inside that existing building, looks to provide the congregation needed space as it continues to grow.
   Currently, the church hosts three services inside a 600-seat worship center, which during certain times of the year can be cramped.
   “Last Sunday, at the 9:30 a.m. service, we had 593 people in there,” said church senior pastor Brooks Braswell. “That’s getting tight.”
   The church’s membership has been aggressive in providing space for the church to grow, as this project is the third large construction project undertaken since the church outgrew its historic location a few blocks south on Orange Lane just a few decades ago. The new space allows the church to expand its many educational and outreach offerings.
   Braswell said the success of the church’s growth has been members’ participation in the process.
   “It’s God’s miracle, he just lets us be a part of it.”
   From dedicated giving of financial resources to participating in a variety of activities, or from placing rocks in the new building’s foundation to writing scripture messages on the concrete riser that will serve as the new sanctuary’s stage, the congregation has been an active force in the church’s growth.
   Buy-in has been important, and was considered before the project was undertaken. Today, the church has taken in over $8 million toward the project.
   “Our giving has been tremendous,” Braswell said Monday. “People have been consistent and faithful.”
   Braswell said the financial support of the church is a great testament to the congregation, which he describes as being made up mostly of working-class families whose each small contribution is making the whole project possible.
   “When you live in a small town, sometimes you feel like an underdog. When the underdog wins, it can be pretty special.”
   Indeed, walking through the expansive building, one might be led to think such a structure could only exist in a large city. Braswell says God's support of the work being done at First Baptist Umatilla and its members' desire to be active participants in the faith works of the church makes it all possible.
   “Even for me, someone who has already walked through the building, Sunday was an emotional time,” Braswell said. “Years of planning… probably over 20 years of planning, coming to fruition is special.”
   It is true, the current project at First Baptist was actually part of an original site plan created all those years ago, and Braswell is quick to give credit to those who conceived of the campus in the first place, as well as keeps an eye forward toward who will be served going forward. He says many of the activities surrounding the project, including the rock placement and scripture writings, allow young people to be a part of the project in some way. In time, they will be the faith leaders in the church and community.
   Braswell said he hopes that supply chain issues that plagued early parts of the project are in the rearview mirror, and the new sanctuary will come on line as hoped mid-year or slightly after.