Faith Baptist Church celebrates upgraded gym

WASHINGTON — Faith Baptist Church on the west side of Washington held an Alive After Five Tuesday night to spread word of its newly upgraded gym space, which has transformed from a concrete room to a wood-floor pickleball and basketball court.

Pastor Jon Rees said the multipurpose room, slightly smaller than a middle school basketball court, would be used for the Wednesday youth groups and other church functions, but would also be available for community use.

“The impetus was looking for ways to open up our facility to the community,” he said. “If people want to be able to reserve it for basketball or pickleball, or reserve for potentially other events, we can talk about that … we’re going to open it up on a consistent basis, at least for the winter months.”

The court is available every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday afternoon from 1-4 p.m., according to the church website. Rees said other times could be reserved by contacting the church in advance.

It’s the second Baptist church this year to complete a major gym facility, joined by Marion Avenue Baptist Church which recently opened its own massive multipurpose building close to downtown.

Rees said it was a follow-up to widespread pushes by the churches to build community.

“The church was, in the ‘80s and ‘90s experiencing some growth, they wanted to have a place where the church could gather for potlucks and games and things like that,” he said. “We’re excited for people to come and get some exercise when the weather gets a little colder.”

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