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Church purchases Events Center
Published 11:17am Monday, December 3, 2012The vacant Events Center downtown will soon be the first permanent home to Cornerstone Church.
Since 2001, Cornerstone has held services and events at the YMCA, but the Rev. Eric Uggerud said he hopes the church can begin hosting services and activities in the former Elks building by spring.
“Our congregation is growing, and the Y has been a great place for us, but now we want our own space,” said Uggerud.
The search for a permanent home for Cornerstone began about a year ago when it became clear the congregation was outgrowing the available space at the YMCA. The Events Center on Lincoln Avenue between Court Street and Union Avenue was a natural fit.
“We looked at some other places as well, but we’re really excited about this,” Uggerud said. “It’s in the middle of the city where we will be both visible and accessible.”
Cornerstone had to take out a loan in order to make the purchase possible, but the church held a capital campaign and came up with much more money than anticipated, he said.
“The response has been overwhelmingly positive,” Uggerud said. “Sometimes they say a building project can split the church apart, but for us it has been very unifying. The money came in, and we feel like God provided.”
Cornerstone is now in the process of working with an architect to come up with construction plans for the building. The project could be complete and ready for church services by as early as April, he said.
“We’re excited about being right in the middle of Fergus Falls,” Uggerud said. “We’ve been committed to knowing God’s word and following Christ, and we hope this can become a platform to reach out to more people.”
