NORMAN — BridgeView United Methodist Church is a congregation full of individuals with big hearts, big dreams and, now, they have a big project.
BridgeView started as a United Methodist Church on the west side of Norman in 2000.
“We knew we wanted to have a Methodist Church on that side of Interstate-35,” said Jo Fowler, chair of the design committee for the church’s new building.
Ten years ago, the church found renting a space — even if they could have found one — was too expensive, which led the determined congregation to meet in the cafeteria of Truman Elementary School.
But the congregation grew and, in 2002, the church reached its 100-member mark. It was then that the “little church that could” was able to charter and officially become part of the United Methodist Church. That’s when the dream got even bigger.
In 2006, church members purchased 30 acres of land on Indian Hills Road, with hopes to open a new church by 2012.
So the church, now housed in a strip mall at 900 24TH Ave. NW, sits on a little more than 6,000 square feet. Phase one of the new facility will be 18,252 square feet.
“The space will be double. Parking will double. We are maxed out where we are right now,” the Rev. Allen Carson, pastor of BridgeView, said. “We raised our capital funds for the actual building this spring. We voted as a church Sunday to approve our site plan and our initial financing plan, and now the building committee begins phase two of the architectural plan with architects from Kaighn Associates.”
Groundbreaking on the property is planned for April or May, Carson said.
“I’m anxious to get it done before I go see Jesus,” Fowler laughed.
But on top of filling its big dream and having a big project, the church also has a big heart.
Carson hopes when the church gets in its new facility they can offer more worship times, reaching more people.
“One of the things we can’t do right now is offer a Wednesday evening program. I’d like to see us have a meal Wednesday night,” Carson said.
The church will be located in the Moore school district but will be in the city limits of Norman.
It’s something Carson hopes will bring more people together on Sunday mornings.
“We have a really good plan to start with. It gives us a feasibility to build and add to it as we move forward. It will be an exciting journey,” Carson said.
With every large project there is bound to be some bumps in the road, but Carson just chalks that up to divine intervention at it’s best.
“Things happen at the right time. There has been frustration, but there’s been some things that have been available that weren’t there a few years ago,” Carson said.
One of those things is the housing additions being built around the future home of BridgeView. Carson said the church won’t be responsible for utilities on the site, since many homes are being constructed in the area, developers will provide utility infrastructure, leaving the church to just pay hook-up fees.
Although the church won’t be officially open at it’s new site until 2012, Carson hopes to see new faces in his congregation.
“One of the gifts is that we are a very intergenerational church; we are very diverse. We have folks from every decade,” Carson said.
“One of the nice things about that intergenerational mix is that when you have people who have moved here for college and their extended family is away, within virtue, they can experience an extended family,” Carson said. “And for older adults who have had children and grandchildren that have moved away, they have children and grandchildren.”
Although the church might grow in the next few years, the congregation doesn’t plan on changing the fact that they all have big hearts.
“It means we can bring a lot more people to meet Jesus. And we’ll have a building that will look like a church,” Fowler said.
Shana Adkisson 366-3544 sadkisson@normantranscript.com
