Adding fellowship and classroom space to Zion Lutheran Church, Hampton, Neb., involved moving a former two-room, 40-ton schoolhouse across the church parking lot. Laborers For Christ, working for the congregation, gutted the 1920s-era building and prepared for what had to be one of the most unusual moves ever made in the town.

The congregation had most recently used the old schoolhouse for Sunday school classes and as a fellowship hall. But the building’s distance from the church and poor accessibility had become a problem. Laborers remodeled the relocated building as an addition that will include four Sunday school classrooms, a conference room, and much improved fellowship space. “It was pretty amazing to see a building that for some 70 years had been in that one spot move,” said Rev. Loren Cooper, Zion’s pastor.

Laborers For Christ recently helped the Christ the King Lutheran Church, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, congregation solve its problem with leaks by raising its flat roof. In doing so, the team also helped raised community awareness.

“Every day for four or five months, our community, the vendors, and trades people saw thousands of hours put in by our church volunteers and the Laborers,” said Russ Schumacher, congregation building chairman. “It made them wonder what causes people to put in such a great amount of time [to the construction project]. It was a good witness to our community.”

St. John Lutheran Church in Charter Oak, Iowa, currently has education space in an old school building that needs either major repairs or razing. The congregation wanted to explore their options, so they turned to LCEF’s Architectural Advisory Committee (AAC). Architect Gary Landhauser walked St. John’s through the feasibility of education space that might also incorporate their needs for main-level fellowship and a carport. Members of AAC help congregations make decisions that meld theology and space. These experts see potential where others do not, and opportunity for expression among wood and wiring.

This summer Laborers For Christ assisted the congregation at Messiah Lutheran Church, in Mandan, N.D., add over 6,100 square feet to its fellowship hall, shown here in the early stages of completion. Messiah serves over 300 members and is affiliated with Martin Luther School in Bismarck. Fellowship and spiritual support are important aspects to life on the project, and congregations gain more than just ministry space when Laborers participate in church activities. LCEF also assisted the congregation with a loan.

The congregation of Faith Lutheran Church, Hazard, Neb., is remodeling a former school building located across the street from the church into a fellowship hall, something it currently does not have. Laborers For Christ is working for the congregation to help defray the costs of the project.