Checking out The Chapel's new look

HURON TWP. — Bigger crowds necessitated a larger and overall better space where people can more comfortably convene. Leaders at The Chapel's Sandusky-area campus recently completed a major transformation of this now 40,000-square-foot worship center. It's the most noticeable makeover since the Galloway Road site debuted in 2002. Janotta & Herner served as the general contractor. "We have been experiencing great growth in our attendance on weekends over the past three years, so we were really feeling the constraints, especially on Sunday mornings, to have that welcoming environment we strive for," said Zach Wise, The Chapel's business and operations director. Wise underscored how, with these changes, "Everything we did, we wanted to provide enough space so people felt comfortable to attend." Despite the appearance looking different, leaders underscored that what they practice, preach and provide to its members at this non-denominational Christian church won't waver one bit. "Our mission is to move one step closer to God and each other through Christ — and, to do that, we feel strongly in investing by having the ability for people to come here and invite others here and bring in the next generation," Wise said. "With these renovations, that is going to continue in the future." Why the new look? In short, leaders pursued upgrades because of The Chapel's rapid rise in popularity. It's one of the most well-attended churches throughout north-central Ohio. "On a weekend, we typically have 1,300 people in attendance — and to try to do that across two services on a Sunday morning was becoming difficult with the parking and seating," Wise said. "We are also really invested in the next generation and saw a lot of youth and kids coming on Sundays as well, and we didn't have sufficient space for them to come together in small groups." As a result of all this, "We reviewed our facility, and we made renovations," Wise said. Among the most notable enhancements included crews: • Amplifying the library area • Accommodating space so the church can host student ministries, weddings, classes and other functions. • Adding 50 new parking spaces "We try to minimize any nuisance of getting into the building as much as possible," said Jay Halley, The Chapel's outreach and spiritual growth pastor. • Reconfiguring the worship center, where church services occur, which saw 150 new seats added; Noticeable then-and-now differences saw the removal of sidewalls and a new-look stage. The capacity now totals 750. "We want as many people to come as possible, and what we find is that if you are a new guest and come in, and it's not easy to find a seat or find a place to park, it's a unnecesary deterrant to experience what we do," Wise said. • Converting underused classroom space into areas to accommodate youth and children programming; This also involved adding a 50-by-50-foot addition to act as a teen and multipurpose room. In total, this represented an addition of 2,500 square feet to the building. "This is basically an entirely new room for our Chapel Kids program, which is fifth-graders and under, and the new addition that we put on doubles as a classroom space but also a student teen center," Wise said. At the teen center, "Sixth-graders through high school students utilize that space as well." Added The Chapel's engagement director Brittany Wadsworth: "The students now have two environments. This gives more flexibility within the space." Wise also noted where the costs for this work came from. The Chapel maintains a strict no-debt philosophy, "So all of this was supported through donations and our members and attendees," Wise said. "Our people understand that we are doing this to impact more people, and that, to continue to further our mission, it's why we took on all this work." Leaders at The Chapel welcome people to simply walk in for a Sunday service, which generally take place at 9 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. on Sundays. These services typically last no more than one hour.