North Shore Bible Church Moves Forward with Community Center Initiative

Church remodels & upgrades facilities in Manson

Information and photos by Norm Manly

From the very beginning of North Shore Bible Church’s history, the motto has been “A Caring Church in a Hurting World”, not just for the congregation but the entire Chelan Valley community. Nearly forty years later this motto remains in place as the church moves forward with a Community Center initiative.

NSBC was founded by five couples from Manson in 1979. In December, 1980, Craig Rayment became pastor, a position he has held for 38 years. In 1987 the church was built on its current location, 123 Wapato Point Parkway in Manson. In 1996, SOWER’s Hall and several classrooms were built as additions to the original NSBC building, bringing the square foot total to 30,000 feet.

Time has taken its toll on the building causing need for repairs, upgrades, addressing safety concerns and a goal to make the church community friendly. Improvements to the NSBC building have been underway since 2016 starting with a new roof. The completion of this project was followed by a remodel of NSBC’s entry and main sanctuary. Hardwood flooring replaced the carpets in the entrance and hallways. The carpet of thirty plus years was replaced in the main sanctuary, 225 new chairs were purchased and added to offer additional seating. The stage was rebuilt in the main sanctuary with new and improved lighting installed. Everything was given a fresh coat of paint completing NSBC’s first phase, “A New Look.”

Moving forward with the Community Center focus was the addition of Kid Haven – Early Learning Center that opened its doors to the public on April 25, 2016. This project required meeting stringent State and County codes for a child care facility that included expensive remolding of rooms, meeting safety concerns for children and fire regulations. Kid Haven is a licensed child care provider with trained, State-qualified personnel focused on enriching the learning and play of your child while maintaining a safe, happy and clean environment. Child care is provided Monday-Friday (5:30 am to 5:30 pm) with drop-ins welcome. Contact Kid Haven at 509-423-2101.

January, 2017 Pastor Craig and the Elder Board moved forward with an initiative, “Building the Future Together – A Vison for Serving Our Community”, followed by the appointment of Timi Starkweather as Project Manager and the development of a working committee. Timi was chosen for the position because of her love of our community, love of our church and thirteen years’ experience as a general contractor. “This project has a special place in my heart and I believe not only North Shore but the Manson community will reap huge benefits when completed,” Timi said.

After much planning and prayers, the congregation was asked to help. “We have always believed in letting a need be known and then trusting God to provide,” stated Pastor Rayment. On “Miracle Sunday”, August 19, 2018 the congregation responded positively.

The first project has been completed with the removal of old blacktop in the parking lot, repaving and striping. There are over 150 parking spaces, including handicap parking and six RV hookup that will be available when needed.

The second project, renewing of SOWER’s Hall into a “Community Center” is underway with removal of the 22-year old carpet, removal of the stage, repairing drywall and repainting. A DynaForce indoor flooring system will go down. DynaForce delivers unmatched durability through its incredibly strong top layer that will not separate over time. And it can be refinished without costly removal or replacement. Once the DynaForce flooring is in place SOWER’s Hall Community Center will have three pickleball courts and a full-size AAU basketball court available to the public. The new stage, already purchased is a professional grade removable stage, enabling full use (6,700 square feet) of the building for the community such as sporting events, concerts and special events with seating for over 400 people.

Next is the remodeling of the kitchen and the new coffee shop (Connection Café) that will be open to the public. Timi Starkweather said, “Both projects need to happen in conjunction with one another as electrical work will be done at the same time and the relocation of the coffee machine and other equipment will be installed at the same time. New flooring for the kitchen and coffee shop area will be part of this project.”

On the list of additional improvements is new flooring for the Education Center, new sound system and LED screen for the Sanctuary and Sowers Community Center and finally new playground equipment.

All these improvements are a part of our faith campaign that we call: Building the Future Together, a Vision for Serving Our Community. We want to be a church that gives back to our community by being a place where many groups and activities can take place.  As Pastor Craig Rayment says, “Our best days are not behind us. They are in front of us!  We want to be a Community Center that blesses everyone in our community.  So come join us!”

North Shore Bible Church is very excited for its future and hope you will join us. Contact the church at 509-687-3636 or Pastor Rayment at craigr@mail.northshorebc.org or come by for our Sunday service starting at 9:30.