Eight years ago, Evangel Church in Columbus, Georgia, set out to make their campus a gift to the community.
Originally named Evangel Temple, Evangel Church was approaching its 95th year as a congregation in 2016. The church’s leadership team convened to reflect on the impact they wished to have on their community. With an attendance of about 1,500 at that time and approaching their 100th anniversary as a church, Evangel’s leaders knew they wanted to be good stewards of their people and resources.
“We started asking the question: If we have to close our doors next Sunday, would anybody notice besides the people who call this church home?” explains Pastor Mike McGarvey. “We realized we had some needs that we wanted to address.”
Ultimately, Evangel’s leadership decided to utilize the church’s centrally located, 17-acre property to make a memorable impression on Columbus. Although the city had invested in economic development in its downtown district and other surrounding areas, McGarvey describes Evangel’s location as a “forgotten space.” The leadership team wanted to become the initial investors in that part of town.
Their multipronged vision was ambitious and extensive. It involved leveraging the church’s high level of visibility to the community—due to its location near the highway—to draw in more people of all ages, including families. To do this, Evangel needed to make its vibrant kids’ ministry a major, and visible, part of its facility.
Public parks in the local area were worn and unsafe. In response, Evangel’s team created a safe, accessible public playground for the community. They began dreaming, brainstorming and vision casting. The team wanted to give their campus as a gift to their city, where church and community members alike could feel welcome.
“This project took the story of what God was doing inside the church and put it front and center for our city to see,” McGarvey observes.
PlainJoe: A Storyland Studio came alongside Evangel to solidify this vision, and built out a big idea: Milltown Square, inspired by Columbus’ industrial history—where railway and river converged and cotton mills blossomed. Milltown Square represents the redemption of that history, just as Evangel Church set out to redeem the part of town it occupies—and create a premier third space for local families.
Accessible for All
When Evangel’sl current building was constructed in 1973, there was no site work done. Dramatic elevation changes on the property meant different areas of Evangel’s campus were on different levels, and not fully accessible to individuals with disabilities. Once they entered the building through the main entrance, people using wheelchairs or walkers could only access the main hallway by going through the sanctuary and exiting the side door. If a church service was going on during this time, it created an uncomfortable situation. Restrooms in the building were also not ADA-compliant.
To accomplish their goals, Evangel’s leaders would need to embark on extensive renovations. They would need to add to the existing campus, which had been built in phases over many decades. They master planned Milltown Square, taking into account the church’s vision for an accessible community hub, in addition to the unique and complex topography of the church’s property.
“The project was built on a hill,” explains Matt Molsberry, principal architect at PlainJoe. “The difference from the very top of the property to the very bottom is 40 to 50 feet. They picked the flattest spot they could [for their sanctuary], but when you expand a building from the top, the only way to expand is to do so at lower levels as it goes downhill.”
The contractors worked to make Evangel’s entire campus accessible by building gentle slopes and ramps throughout the campus. Now, it’s possible to navigate the entire facility without having to climb a staircase. In the past, this was not the case.
“The slopes are so gentle now that everybody can move along the same path,” McGarvey says. “If you’re bringing your grandma in a wheelchair, you don’t have to use a handicap ramp off to the side. Instead, the whole hallway slopes upward.”
Creating a Community Space
Another part of revitalizing Evangel’s campus involved making it more visible to the surrounding community. The church is uniquely positioned on a major frontage road that parallels the highway in front of the campus. Redeveloping their monument sign with the new name and visual brand helped draw more attention from people passing by.
Phase one of campus development was to expand the youth building, called the Refinery. From there, the team developed Milltown Square as a community connection space in front of the existing worship center.
As a part of phase two, they created a wraparound, 270-degree glass atrium that fit over the top of the existing building, giving Evangel a large, new lobby area where members and visitors could gather and connect. It also created multiple entrances that allowed members and visitors to enter the building from anywhere in the parking lot.
Adjacent to the lobby are the new kids’ building, called Explorers’ Landing, and a full-service coffee shop. These open up into a welcoming courtyard that ushers visitors and members alike into the new lobby. The outdoor playground is positioned in front of the building to help Evangel attract visitors from around the community, and they added an indoor playground for flexibility.
Explorers’ Landing is a fun and exciting place for kids of all ages and abilities. McGarvey championed a spirit of inclusivity as we dreamed up the space. It was important to Evangel’s leadership that the kids’ ministry areas were inclusive for all kinds of kids.
The team crafted the story behind Explorers’ Landing with Columbus’ industrial history and proximity to the Chattahoochee River in mind. Like the Refinery and other areas of campus, its graphics and theming uphold the Milltown Square big idea and carry through a sense of exploration.
“Explorers’ Landing is all about embarking on this adventure of faith,” says Johnny Davis, senior creative director at PlainJoe. “The lower floor is below [a mock] river, so you’re underwater, exploring with the fish, turtles and wildlife. As you move upstairs, you’re ascending from the riverbank to the summit of a mountain. There’s a sense of growth as you head from kindergarten to fifth grade.”
Doing Life Together
Evangel Church’s comprehensive transformation took eight years to complete. Since spring 2024, the church has seen exponential growth.
“Lots of people come in knowing the park and the coffee shop are at a church,” McGarvey notes. “They’ll come in on Sunday and hear the service going on, and they’ll decide to stay for service. Next time, they’ll bring their families because they know how much we value the kids, and how much our space is geared toward them.”
According to McGarvey, the campus is now busy seven days a week. On nice days, families come to play at the outdoor playground; when the weather is bad, they go to the indoor playground instead. The coffee shop serves locals daily, enjoying plenty of regular traffic to and from campus. Finally, the facility is now open to some of the local public schools, who use it for events such as concerts and graduation ceremonies.
Evangel’s kids’ ministry has grown by 60 percent since the new spaces opened, and adult attendance has gotten a 20 to 25 percent bump. According to McGarvey, the first three months of 2024 saw almost as many visiting families (173) as the entire year in 2022 (183). He says that the shared value of nurturing kids has been a major key to success.
“Everybody wants the best for their kids,” McGarvey points out. “We created a space where they want to be, not just on Sundays, but seven days a week.”
Learn more about Evangel Church at Evangel.live.