Kansas Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists (KNCSB)

Church finds home in former school

The former elementary school in St. George, Kan. (between Manhattan and Wamego) is now home to Lighthouse Baptist Church.

Residents of St. George, Kan., rejoiced on Sept. 30, 2008, when their new elementary school was finally ready for use. The town of 250 people is tucked between Manhattan and Wamego.

But members of Lighthouse Baptist Church had another reason to rejoice. The church purchased the old elementary school and closed the deal on Oct. 1. It had been using the school part time since March.

On Sunday afternoon, Dec. 7, a crowd of well-wishers gathered in the gym to dedicate the school-turned-church building to God’s glory.

Pastor Jim Lowry is serving in his home area. “This is home,” he said of St. George. He wore a broad smile as he surveyed the happy scene: the church had finally found a permanent home.

Lighthouse Baptist Church began in August 2001, meeting in the Lowry home in nearby Manhattan. In January 2002, the congregation rented a conference room in the former Ramada Inn in Manhattan.

After meeting at the hotel for nearly a year, they rented a building on Fort Riley Boulevard in Manhattan for about five-and-a-half years. When they lost the lease there, they met at 8 a.m. on Sundays at Trinity Baptist in Wamego.

Lowry recalled how the church dwindled to about 20 people during that time. With some church members driving from as far away as Paxico, the early meeting time proved to be a hardship. But momentum began to build again when the door opened to meet in the school. Sunday attendance has been averaging nearly 70 people.

He emphasized the church’s desire to serve the community. Every Wednesday the church opens the gym at 5 p.m. for children to play basketball. Then a community dinner is held at 6 p.m., followed by Bible study.

The church staged a community Thanksgiving dinner with about 175 people attending.

As Lowry told of the vast potential to reach people in the rapidly growing area, he said, “God is an amazing God. I believe He placed us here with that in mind.”