"On a Sunday morning, five years after moving into the multi-facility, the congregation gathered for one final service. The room was packed and people were standing all around the walls. When the congregation marched from that room into the new sanctuary, it was indeed a moving experience, and each step of the way we sang, "To God be the glory, great things He hath done!"
These are the words of Brother Livy Cope describing what happened on November 23, 1980. Ridgeway Baptist Church had their first service in the brand new sanctuary! The place was packed, both the floor and the balcony. As everyone found a place to settle, they sang "Sweet Sweet Spirit," and the place was overwhelmed with energy, excitement, and a desire to see God move.
Here we are thirty years later, and the sanctuary is once again "Under Construction." Our remodel officially began this past Sunday night immediately after church with some preliminary jobs to make way for the great exodus of pews. And so it was, by Tuesday afternoon, each pew on the floor had found a new home.
As of Wednesday afternoon, all the carpet is in the dumpster, the chandeliers are in storage/cleaning, the wood trim is taped and covered, and the painters are beginning the transformation. "We are farther ahead than I thought we would be," Dennis Colley, project manager, said late Tuesday. Dennis has been feverishly working for weeks to make sure all things are in place for each phase to go smoothly, and so far there have been no major hiccups.
So, with all those in attendance thirty years ago, let the current generation of Ridgeway sing, "To God be the glory, great things He has done!"
