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Buildings Plain Anabaptists Use for Church Endeavors.
Meeting places for worship. Schools. Mission endeavors, etc.

This is a thread to discuss buildings bought from other denominations, buildings repurposed for religious uses, or even new construction.

Judas Maccabeus wrote: ↑Fri May 15, 2026 4:44 pm For the record, we all (Church, School) got a great deal on a “surplus “ Roman Catholic Church and school complex. We were clearly outgrowing our present site. We just had our fire inspection, minimal work required to get it in service. Almost a full square block of land, a 260 seat church and a three story school with a gym.

Hopefully, will have first service in a few weeks.

https://baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/s ... te-church/

A different news report.
https://anabaptistworld.org/its-fancy-but-its-home/

Ernie wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2026 10:18 pm

Judas Maccabeus wrote: ↑Fri May 15, 2026 4:44 pm For the record, we all (Church, School) got a great deal on a “surplus “ Roman Catholic Church and school complex. We were clearly outgrowing our present site. We just had our fire inspection, minimal work required to get it in service. Almost a full square block of land, a 260 seat church and a three story school with a gym.

Hopefully, will have first service in a few weeks.

https://baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/s ... te-church/

A different news report.
https://anabaptistworld.org/its-fancy-but-its-home/

Statements like this give the impression of being secretly glad that there's this good excuse to have a building like this. Sort of like the people that are just so tickled when they can find a BMW for a really good price so they can argue that it's "good stewardship."

Eberly grew up in the Eastern Penn­sylvania Mennonite Church, a confer­ence with the usual conservative Ana­­baptist aversion to ­steeples and stained-glass windows. He said the Hampden congregation accepts the orna­men­tation as part of the building’s his­tory.

“The simplicity of worship still remains in a very elaborate piece of beautiful architecture,” he said. “There’s a general excitement about it. I don’t know that we would build something like that, but we will enjoy it.”

Also this:

Zook said the pipe organ in the balcony at the back of the church works.
“The four things we asked to keep were the bell, pews, windows and pipe organ, more for historic preservation,” he said. “We won’t be using the organ in structured worship services. That’s been an ongoing conviction in our congregation for years, but they are OK with it being there to look at. . . . A lot of people in the congregation do instrumental music in their homes, but not in the worship services.”

I predict within 5-10 years max the organ gets used for youth singings or special singing of some sort outside of the regular worship services, and within 20 years it gets used for weddings and special services.

Not saying it's necessarily wrong, just making an observation/prediction.

Buying existing church buildings is very smart. My denomination has bought a number of existing churches or churches plus schools from other denominations that didn't want to operate them anymore. If the timing is right, the amount of deferred maintenance is often minimal.

Some expectations about having a church building just-so may need to be laid aside, and the church building may not be as luxurious as one made up to the very latest fads and standards.

I predict within 5-10 years max the organ gets used for youth singings or special singing of some sort outside of the regular worship services, and within 20 years it gets used for weddings and special services.

Not saying it's necessarily wrong, just making an observation/prediction.

I would agree, although I expect that within 20 years Keystone will have the same standards around instruments during weddings/special services that BMA does today (assuming it is still distinctively conservative at all). So I'm not that bothered by a pipe organ sitting in the corner, which seems like a bit of a historic relic anyway. The young people today would want a drumset, guitars, piano or electric keyboard, and a fancy sound system.

After the church moved out of meeting in peoples homes, for a number of years, we met in a duplex that UMM. Was using as a school building. We then moved to the current location at 1234 W. 37th St. in Hamden. That building which had already been converted from a German reformed church into a public charter school met our needs for a number of years, but is that article said we are starting to outgrow that facility. The current building we are, God willing, going to be meeting in is a disused Catholic Church. The Catholic Church is closed more than half of its buildings in Baltimore city, giving us enough opportunity to buy at a very good price a building right in the core of the neighborhood we seek to serve. So we went from basements, to a duplex, to a used, German reformed church, to a disused Catholic Church.

500 years ago these people would've been burning this at the stake, now we have their buildings. An interesting irony to say the least.

ken_sylvania wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2026 10:28 pm
I predict within 5-10 years max the organ gets used for youth singings or special singing of some sort outside of the regular worship services, and within 20 years it gets used for weddings and special services.

Not saying it's necessarily wrong, just making an observation/prediction.

Your prediction will be wrong. We have already moved one piano out of the space. And we're getting ready to move the second. That organ is already partially nonfunctional, and if it becomes completely nonfunctional, it is not going to be repaired.

If we remain in Keystone, which we fully intend to, these things can't happen and will not happen. I'm part of the churches ministry, and if such a thing happened, it would happen over my cold and lifeless corpse.

JohnH wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2026 10:28 pm Buying existing church buildings is very smart. My denomination has bought a number of existing churches or churches plus schools from other denominations that didn't want to operate them anymore. If the timing is right, the amount of deferred maintenance is often minimal.

Some expectations about having a church building just-so may need to be laid aside, and the church building may not be as luxurious as one made up to the very latest fads and standards.

I predict within 5-10 years max the organ gets used for youth singings or special singing of some sort outside of the regular worship services, and within 20 years it gets used for weddings and special services.

Not saying it's necessarily wrong, just making an observation/prediction.

I would agree, although I expect that within 20 years Keystone will have the same standards around instruments during weddings/special services that BMA does today (assuming it is still distinctively conservative at all). So I'm not that bothered by a pipe organ sitting in the corner, which seems like a bit of a historic relic anyway. The young people today would want a drumset, guitars, piano or electric keyboard, and a fancy sound system.

Go ahead and make any prediction you like, you will be wrong. I work with our young people all the time, and I feel absolutely no pressure for any of that sort of stuff. If anything, Keystone is moving in a more conservative direction. But hey, don't believe me. I just go to all the meetings.

Judas Maccabeus wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2026 10:35 pm

ken_sylvania wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2026 10:28 pm
I predict within 5-10 years max the organ gets used for youth singings or special singing of some sort outside of the regular worship services, and within 20 years it gets used for weddings and special services.

Not saying it's necessarily wrong, just making an observation/prediction.

Your prediction will be wrong. We have already moved one piano out of the space. And we're getting ready to move the second. That organ is already partially nonfunctional, and if it becomes completely nonfunctional, it is not going to be repaired.

If we remain in Keystone, which we fully intend to, these things can't happen and will not happen. I'm part of the churches ministry, and if such a thing happened, it would happen over my cold and lifeless corpse.

You're better positioned to know than what I am, for sure.

Based on the description in the articles it sounds like it could be quite enjoyable to join a song service in your new building.

JohnH wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2026 10:28 pm I would agree, although I expect that within 20 years Keystone will have the same standards around instruments during weddings/special services that BMA does today (assuming it is still distinctively conservative at all).

BMA seems to be rather congregational on that issue, unlike others. Some do, some don't, and "conjoint meetings" are supposed to be acapella.

ken_sylvania wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2026 11:03 pm

Judas Maccabeus wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2026 10:35 pm

ken_sylvania wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2026 10:28 pm
I predict within 5-10 years max the organ gets used for youth singings or special singing of some sort outside of the regular worship services, and within 20 years it gets used for weddings and special services.

Not saying it's necessarily wrong, just making an observation/prediction.

Your prediction will be wrong. We have already moved one piano out of the space. And we're getting ready to move the second. That organ is already partially nonfunctional, and if it becomes completely nonfunctional, it is not going to be repaired.

If we remain in Keystone, which we fully intend to, these things can't happen and will not happen. I'm part of the churches ministry, and if such a thing happened, it would happen over my cold and lifeless corpse.

You're better positioned to know than what I am, for sure.

Based on the description in the articles it sounds like it could be quite enjoyable to join a song service in your new building.

Building does have interesting acoustics. And joining a song service will certainly be a major pleasure. But don't expect to hear organ music. If somebody attempts to introduce organ music during one of the services, I will personally take an ax to it. I have a personal commitment from the rest of the ministry that under no conditions will that organ ever be played during a service, or during an official church gathering.