News Editor

Bush Memorial Baptist Church has increased its capacity to twice what it once was.

"We have built a new worship center, which contains a new sanctuary, nursery facilities and choir suite," said Pastor Otis Derrah.

He added that the plans also include renovation of the ground floor of one of the existing buildings for used as offices for the church.

Derrah said the main reason for all of the expansion work was to accommodate the growth of the congregation. "Our sanctuary was maxed out," he said.

The new building will seat 450, plus the new choir suite will hold up to 50 people. The Bush Memorial Choir currently consists of approximately 35-40 members. The church membership stands at 400, according to Pastor Derrah.

Before the new construction, the capacity of the original building was 200. "Our goal was to double our capacity and we did that," said Derrah.

The first worship service will be held in the new building on Feb. 24. It will be officially dedicated on March 10 at 10:30 a.m., which incidentally is the church’s 50th anniversary.

For the week leading up to the 50th anniversary celebration, special events are planned at the church beginning on Wednesday, March 6 with special services each night. On Saturday, March 10, the singing group The Florida Boys will perform at the church at 7 p.m.

Derrah said the church boasts state of the art sound equipment and multimedia projection equipment, along with a new organ for the sanctuary.

The church holds Sunday school at 9:45 a.m. every Sunday, followed by morning worship services at 11 a.m. The Sunday evening services are at 6 p.m. On Wednesday nights worship service is at 6:30 p.m. Activities include family night with children’s missions and youth programs offered.

"I would personally like to invite everyone to come out and join us for any of our services," said Derrah.