The Chapel's Port Clinton campus opens worship center

PORT CLINTON — Church-goers at one of the area's newest churches can now worship in a cozier space. On Mother's Day, the Chapel's Port Clinton campus debuted its new 7,500-square-foot worship center. It sits in front of the former Grace Baptist Church at 4650 Port Clinton Eastern Road.More than 600 people attended the grand opening May 12. Between its two services, the church averages about 350 people each Sunday."It was a great day," pastor Ryan Morter said. "You could see the excitement on people's faces when they walked in."As the Chapel merged with Grace Baptist Church last year, church leaders knew they wanted to construct a space similar to those at its Sandusky and Norwalk campuses.The old sanctuary in the former Grace Baptist Church seats about 190 people and was built in 1987.Musicians at the Chapel's Port Clinton campus perform during the one of the first services in the church's new worship center May 12."(A new worship center) was in our sights the entire time we talked," Morter said.The construction project broke ground last summer, taking less than a year to complete. The new worship center includes a 300-seat sanctuary with a larger stage, a larger lobby, new bathrooms and technology. Perhaps the best part: no more payments are needed."We were able to build it debt-free because of the generosity of our church," Morter said.Though using a new building, the church's mission to bring people closer to God won't change."People are more comfortable now," Morter said. "With the old one, there were a lot of barriers with the gravel parking and a side door entrance. Now we can complete our mission more than before."The Port Clinton campus's services are 9 and 11 a.m. Sundays.The entrance to the Chapel Port Clinton campus's new worship center. Reach reporter Caitlin Nearhood at nearhood@sanduskyregister.com, follow her on Twitter @CaitlinNearhood and on Facebook.com/CaitliNearhoodThe Chapel's Port Clinton campus opened a new 7,500 square foot worship center May 12.