San Antonio church turns postal warehouse into place of worship
___By John Hall
___Staff Writer
___SAN ANTONIO--The sign on the building may have read "closed for business," but a Texas congregation only saw an opening for the work of God.
___That building, which had been used by the United States
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WHILE the exterior of Shearer Hills Baptist Church's new facility (below) bears some reminders of the building's past, the interior (above) does not.
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Postal Service among other commercial entities, is now the home of Shearer Hills Baptist Church. The church renovated the entire building, turning former business offices to staff offices and an empty warehouse that once housed mail and computers into a worship center, nursery, hospitality center and gymnasium.
___Overall, the $7.5 million project was not difficult to design, according to Flavio Sotomayor, who was the main architect for the renovation. He said little reconstruction of the office space was required because it already suited the needs of the staff. Workers did repaint and perform minor cosmetic work in that area to give it a fresher look. Some new plumbing also was installed for restroom facilities.
___The warehouse, however, provided the church and Sotomayor with the biggest challenge. Although it was essentially an empty metal room and therefore open to many possibilities, the roof was lower than Sotomayor would have preferred.
___"The worship center was the hardest part because it was an old metal building and we were limited by the height of the roof," he said. "We had to confront problems running wires, hanging speakers and with the acoustics."
___While Sotomayor, who has worked with several other churches in Texas, said he never had renovated an office building for a church, the church's pastor, Dowell Loftis, said he and his congregation are quite pleased with the effort and are reaping the benefits of the move.
___Loftis said the congregation decided to move into the once-commercial property for a variety of needs, all of which were filled by the new facilities. The church gained room to build more parking, better facilities and more visibility. The church's previous building was located in a residential neighborhood.
___The move also allowed the church to be closer to where members live as well as a growing sector of San Antonio.
___About 65,000 people now see Shearer Hills Baptist Church every weekday as they travel along the highway in front of the building. As a result, the weekly list of visitors has jumped from about half a page to three pages front and back.
___People are not just visiting either. Average attendance jumped from 400 to 500 in the first eight months after the church moved to the new location.
___But the pastor gives credit to the congregation for that growth as well. "Very seldom do people say we have the best preaching or best music. However, we are told all the time that we are the friendliest church. The people pulled together and in one direction. They just all got excited."
___Some visitors have told Loftis the renovated facilities have given the church advantages over other places of worship. For example, some people said they choose to worship at Shearer Hills because they can hear better because the acoustics were so well planned.
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The Baptist Standard
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