The bad news: Christ Community Church in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, needed to find a new meeting location when the church’s landlord chose not to renew its lease. The good news: Pastor Jeff Turner says the location change creates new opportunities for ministry.
“I’m not one who thinks that location solves all the problems,” Turner says. “But we were very constricted in our old location, and it was only going to get worse. The city closed off access from a main road to the road that leads to our church. It was increasingly difficult to find the church.”
Drug use and increased crime was also prevalent in the neighborhood, he says.
In July, the church moved to its new location—about 3 miles south of Sioux Falls, 5 miles west of Harrisburg and 5 miles east of Tea.
“Being surrounded by the communities as we are now opens up a lot of opportunities for us,” Turner says. “Our goal is to gain an understanding of what some of the needs are in those areas and how we can help address them. There is an elementary school about one and a half miles north of the church. We are looking at how we can minister there as well.”
CCC shares a building with a non-denominational church, NewDay Church. CCC has moved its Sunday-morning service from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. to accommodate the NewDay congregation’s 9:30 a.m. service.
CCC is contributing its sanctuary chairs for both congregations to use.
“They have been so welcoming and supportive of us being there,” Turner says. “There is plenty of outdoor space for all kinds of activities. There’s even a fire pit to have a small bonfire. We are working on sound and lighting and getting the livestream up and running.”
The new location also has a kitchen, something CCC did not have in its old location.
Turner says the congregation has considered moving for the past two years, but rent and land expenses were prohibitive.
“We wanted to move the church to northwest Sioux Falls where there are very few churches, but it was way too expensive even though it seemed good to us,” he says. “God has opened the door in a place that was not on our radar at all.”
Janae Rempel Shafer is the Christian Leader associate editor. She joined the CL staff in September 2017 with six years of experience as a professional journalist. Shafer is an award-winning writer, having received three 2016 Kansas Press Association Awards of Excellence and an Evangelical Press Association Higher Goals award in 2022. Shafer graduated from Tabor College in 2010 with a bachelor of arts in Communications/Journalism and Biblical/Religious Studies. She and her husband, Austin, attend Ridgepoint Church in Wichita, Kansas.