New fellowship hall going up at WH First Christian Church

By Editor | June 25, 2025 |

Members of the White Hall First Christian Church officially broke ground on Monday, June 16 just west of the church at what is now a parking lot. Left to right: David Schutz, Brad Schutz, Doug Early, Bob Dean, Steve Dean and Tollie Evans. (Submitted photo)

By Carmen Ensinger

Members of the White Hall First Christian Church, located on the corner of Main and Bridgeport streets, broke ground for a new fellowship/recreation hall on Monday, June 16 – something the congregation had been praying about for a long, long time.
Anna Gansz, a member of the Building Committee said this project is something that they have been discussing for the last three years.
“This has been on the table for at least the last three years,” she said. “The board just kind of started throwing out ideas. Honestly, when it was first brought to the table, we discussed the possibility of a church-based daycare because there is a need for daycare in this area. But, with all the rules and regulations, plus staffing issues, that was put on the backburner.”
But the project itself wasn’t. Church members continued to discuss the possibility of what such a facility could be used for in the community.
“We prayed on it for a very long time just trying to see what kind of activities we could do to bring the community together and how it would positively impact our community,” Gansz said. “So, we have Jeremy Sharrow, who leads the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at the school and we have kind of partnered with him and came up with some ideas.”
Gansz said the building will be big enough to have a portable basketball hoop that they will be able to wheel out of the storage room so they can hopefully interest more youth in the area in sports.
However, sports is just the tip of the iceberg for its uses. The building will be 100 feet by 45 feet, big enough to hold 200 people.
“We hope to use it for anything that the community needs, such as baby or bridal showers, receptions and bereavement dinners, which we host many of,” Gansz said. “It is also going to allow our free third Tuesday meal to grow.”
Gansz is referring to the free meal that is held every third Tuesday of the month at 5 p.m. at the church.
“It was put on the heart of Jim and Sue Vinyard to start a free community meal for everyone,” Gansz. “It is growing so this facility will allow us to be able to hold more people for this event.”
It will also allow the church to provide for many other future programs as well as its already established programs.
“One thing that both Carrollton and Greenfield have that we would like to establish up here is Awana – which would bring another opportunity for youth to come in and learn scripture,” Gansz said. “We have also talked about our seniors coming together for fellowship or to play games or something like that. Plus, our church has several men’s and women’s groups that meet.”
Coming up with the uses for the building was easy – the finances – not so much. This is where the power of prayer comes in.
“The trustees and building committee have met numerous times and we just prayed on it for years,” Gansz said. “Because we are like, if its not financially possible, God will tell us and if it is His will, he will show us the way. We are very, very happy that there are so many people who have said they want to help with donations and things like that.”
Next came finding the location. There were two options – west of the church where the parking lot currently is or to the north, which is vacant.
“The area to the north wouldn’t have worked with the neighbor’s property line and our AC units located on that side plus it wouldn’t have been big enough,” Gansz said. “So, we voted on the west side. There used to be a house there, which the church bought and tore down and made into a parking lot. My mom actually walked the area and found that there is enough parking on the street and the bank parking lot on Sunday morning.”
In addition to the large dining/recreation room, it will also have a large kitchen, two offices, a storage area, maintenance area and restrooms, all ADA compliant.
They are expecting the entire project to be completed in December.
“We are hoping to have it open in time for the celebration of the birth of Christ,” Gansz said. “We are also installing a new marquee in front of the church and we hope to have that done in time for the Lions Fourth of July parade.”
Pastor Chad Hoesman echoed Gansz’s sentiments.
“We are very excited to start on our new building,” he said. “We look forward to all the many uses this fellowship/recreation hall will provide for our church and community.”