ODPC Student Ministry Center

At Open Door Presbyterian Church, we have been tremendously blessed to experience and witness how God has changed lives through His grace in the past 30 years. As we hear testimonies during Joint Baptism services and stories during small groups, it is evident that God has been working in our church.

One significant way we have seen God’s blessing is through the growth of our Christian
Education Ministries. It wasn’t long ago when the original building, which houses our
Korean-speaking Congregation, seemed too big for us, yet in the past few years we have
struggled to find enough room for all our students. Little Lights (grades 1 through 3) and
Kids for Christ (grades 4 though 6) serve more than 400 students total and our Youth Group
(grades 7 through 12) has grown to 300 students.

After prayerful consideration and thought, God has provided the opportunity to build a new
building, the Student Ministry Center. The large multi-purpose worship room will be called
the “Pasture.” In Psalm 23, the green pasture is described as where the good shepherd
protects and guides the flock to a place where they are fed and find rest. We hope the same
for our students in this Pasture – a place where they may worship, learn, and find freedom in
Him.

The fellowship hall, located directly across from the Pasture, will be called “Living Tree
Café.” There were many encounters under a tree where people searched for truth (Judges
4:5) and encountered their Messiah (John 1:48-49). But most importantly, it was on a
wooden cross that our sins were forgiven through our Savior. A living tree is known by the
fruit it bears. Therefore, our prayer is that our students would bear fruit in their conversations
where they discuss the sermons, share their struggles, and bring non-believers to Christ.
Healthy trees also require deep roots, so we hope this space will be a safe place for our
students to grow their faith.

The second floor of the Student Ministry Center will be used for class gatherings and Bible
studies. Instead of having many small classrooms, we created six larger rooms, known as the
“Upper Rooms.” Each grade will have its own designated space the students can call their
own until they graduate from Youth Group. We are excited for the students, as we know
they’ll use their rooms to meet and study the Word, but will also see how God has changed
them throughout the years they meet there.

The completion of the building in February 2016 will also allow us to better utilize the
existing Youth Group room in the basement of our Main Building for our other CE ministries.
With Little Lights and Kids for Christ in desperate need of more classrooms, we will renovate
the current Youth Group space into additional classrooms.

We are so thankful that God has provided this opportunity and the financial means to build
this third building just for our Youth Group. But we need your help as we invest in our next
generation. The refinancing of our Main Building and financial commitments from our KC
and EC will cover the construction of the Student Ministry Center, about $2.5 million, but
not soft costs. So in the next nine months, our goal is to raise $650,000 to furnish the SMC,
as well as to renovate the current Youth Group room. We ask that you would prayerfully
consider committing to a financial pledge.

We pray that through the renovation of the basement and the construction of the new
Student Ministry Center, we would...