Hope Lutheran Church breaking ground on 8,700-square-foot school building
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IDAHO FALLS – A construction project is underway at Hope Lutheran Church and School in Idaho Falls.
Construction began last month at 2071 12th Street on a new 8,700-square-foot school building on the east side of its campus.
Pastor Garen Pay tells EastIdahoNews.com the building will include six new classrooms. They’re also planning to remove two walls that divide classrooms in the current building and make it a large common area for early childhood education.
Additional parking spaces will be added at the new building, and an update to the current parking lot is also in the works.
A groundbreaking ceremony will be held in conjunction with worship services on Sunday, March 8.
“We’ll stand up and sing a hymn as we walk down there. We’ll do some prayers and blessings and do a (ceremonial turning of the soil) and close our service (at the construction site),” Pay says.
The $3 million project is slated for completion this fall in conjunction with the start of the new school year. If there are any leftover funds, Pay says they’re considering renovations to the sanctuary inside the church. Get a look at the construction site in the video above.
The reason for the expansion project stems from several factors. Pay says one of them is the result of a growing student body and regulations about how many students can be in a confined area.
The 45-year-old building is also showing signs of wear and tear, and Pay says it’s time for an upgrade.
“This church was built in 1981, and there’s no AV equipment,” says Pay. “We’ve got wires going along the side (of the walls). We want the House of God to look nice. It’s not because he doesn’t bless us if it doesn’t look nice enough. We just want to make it a reverent space.”
Hope Lutheran’s beginnings
Hope Lutheran began in 1957. St. John’s Lutheran Church previously existed, but church members felt a second congregation was needed, according to a written history of Hope Lutheran.
Pastor Robert Thoelke held the first worship services for Hope Lutheran at the YMCA on Aug. 18, 1957. Historical records show 24 people attended the initial service. Ground was broken for a new church building at 1300 East 17th Street in April 1958. It was completed in 1960. Jeanine Lange helped establish the school while the building was under construction.
The congregation continued to grow. By 1979, the congregation had grown to 659 members. That led to the construction of the current building on 12th Street. It was completed in 1980.
During the congregation’s 50th anniversary in 2007, its membership surpassed 1,300. It’s not clear how many members there are today, but Pay says about 100 people regularly attend Sunday worship services.
Today, the school serves hundreds of students in the area, and community members utilize the space for events. Pay says these updates will allow them to better serve patrons and parishioners.
“With the fellowship hall on the church side, we’ll have better areas for community events. Right now, there’s just a little room, but soon they’ll have a nice (larger) space to meet,” Pay says. “Classrooms will be updated with new technology. The new building will have surveillance cameras and safety protocols. We’re excited about that because that’s the day and age we’re living in.”
The worship service and groundbreaking ceremony will begin on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. It is open to the community.
