First Family Breaks Ground for Children's Building

Nearly 60 children, along with Generations Pastor Rick Blevins; Senior Pastor Pete Tackett; and members of the Project Development Team, Rick Jones, Mark Cashion, and Larry Cook participate in the groundbreaking ceremony for the new elementary children’s building. Photo by Deb Lokey

Pastor Pete speaks to the crowd gathered for the ceremony. Photo by Don Brogan

"Jesus said ‘let the little children come to me,'" First Baptist Church’s Senior Pastor Pete Tackett said. "I’m glad we’re a church that wants to help children come to Jesus."

Tackett, speaking at the Dec. 7 groundbreaking ceremony for First Baptist’s new elementary children’s addition, said that when children come to know Jesus at an early age they are often spared a lifetime of hurt from wrong choices. He also praised the church’s commitment to reach the young families of Columbia.

"We’re not only investing in reaching young families, we are also investing in Maury County," he continued, noting dozens of local area subcontractors will be employed in the building project.

John, a First Family preschooler, has fun at the ceremony. Photo by Deb Lokey

The nearly 10,000 square ft. space will provide seven new children’s classrooms; a state-of-the-art, secure check-in station for parents of preschoolers and children; plus a large activities area which will be used for weekly, age-appropriate worship services and special events.

In a prayer of dedication for the new venture, Generations Pastor Rick Blevins asked God to bless the economic and building process. "People say this is the worst time to begin a [project like this]," Blevins prayed. "But where You lead, You also provide."

He also prayed for protection for the construction workers and that they will realize they are working on more than a building; they’re "building the Kingdom of God" through this project.

The new children’s building is one part of a larger emphasis the 152-year old congregation has adopted to reach the community with the love of Christ. The church’s Kingdom Initiative is a three-part strategy to expand the Kingdom of God through: local ministry partnerships, new church ministries, and expanding existing facilities.

Download floorplan (1.01MB PDF) >>

First Baptist ministers to approximately 200 preschoolers and children each week and averages 1,100 in worship attendance. The church moved to its current location in February 2001 and completed a fellowship and youth ministry addition in 2003.

Hardaway Construction in Nashville is the designer, general contractor, and builder for the new $1.8M project which is scheduled to be completed by September 2009.