Today was a day that was a decade in the making for TrueNorth Church.
The church, that has met at the auditorium at North Augusta High School for the past 10 years, opened the doors to its new facility this morning. More than 1,100 people attended the 9:30 a.m. service at TrueNorth, with every seat full in the auditorium and overflow standing in the atrium.
"I'm so proud of our people and our leadership in all that was accomplished to bring us to this point," said Steve Davis, lead pastor. "There's no doubt; I couldn't imagine it being any better than what it is in regard to just where the spirit of our church is at. The facility has come so far to this point. I don't think I ever imagined it would come together at this level so early in the journey."
Davis couldn't sleep leading up to "Opening Day," arriving at the first service with such anticipation that he forgot his car keys as he into the church.
"There was just a sense of excitement and giddiness," he said. "Like I said in the service, I was like a child on Christmas Eve looking forward to the day. I also had a real gratefulness, because so many people have been a part of this and shared in the journey with me. There's a true sense of humility, that you're a part of something bigger than yourself and you feel that God has just blessed you to be a part of it."
Associate Pastor Gene Jennings served as the leader of the new campus project for TrueNorth Church, and led the dedication prayer at the first service on Sunday.
"We're here to thank the Lord for this place," he said. "We thank God for what he's done in 10-and-a-half years in a public high school, and that we've turned the page to a new chapter today. We're home. This new house is a place to worship God."
While the new buildings are exciting for the leadership and members of TrueNorth Church, Jennings said the church is not about the infrastructure.
"The church is people, not the building. This is our base of operations, like a military base where soldiers of Christ march to the tune of Jesus," he said. "We're not building a cruise ship, we're building a battleship to engage in spiritual warfare. This is a place where anyone and everyone can come to humble themselves before God. They can take their sin to the cross of Jesus Christ and be transformed."
City Councilman Fletcher Dickert, a member of TrueNorth Church, called the new facility a major upgrade for the church.
"The kids' building is amazing, it's a lot better than what we've had with the high school," he said. "This has so many things to help reach those kids, and it's a fun place to be. My hope is that the kids' building will bring in kids and their parents to TrueNorth. It's going to be a really neat place for the kids to learn about Jesus."
As a member of the volunteer staff, Dickert assisted in moving traffic in and out of TrueNorth and saw first-hand the excitement of the area.
"Opening day has been great - we had 697 cars to park at the first service and 1,100 people," he said. "It's an exciting day. We've had people backed up on Martintown Road trying to get in."
Moving into the next few weeks, Davis plans to preach a series of sermons about the mission of TrueNorth Church.
"The title of our upcoming series is 'Everyone' because God's love is for everyone," he said. "We want to make it clear that everyone matters to God, and he has a purpose and a plan for us. As we meet him and experience that purpose, we find the joy and purpose for our life."
TrueNorth Church is located at 1060 W. Martintown Road with service times at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m.