The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

This image is what the proposed new gymnasium and classrooms would look like at Community Christian School in Orange. The proposed $3.5 million project would have 13 classrooms, lockers, showers, weight room, and math and science labs. Image courtesy of Long Architecture

Community Christian School is growing and its leadership is looking to the future to benefit not only its students, but the community as a whole.

Community Christian School, located at 3400 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Orange, recently announced plans for the construction of a multi-purpose gymnasium. Although it would benefit students of the private school greatly, it is not intended to be solely for school or church use.

"Our heart is to provide this opportunity for the community and increase our ministry opportunities," said Pastor Daniel Rose of Community Church of Orange. "The gymnasium would not only allow us to give our children a complete educational opportunity, but it would allow us to reach out to so many others in the community."

Rose stated the gym could be utilized by local residents for a variety of community activities, such as a summer basketball league and even Little Dribblers. Community groups and civic organizations looking for meeting space could potentially use the gym as well.

"God has called us to this community, whether that's having a child bounce a basketball or a meeting for financial counseling," Rose explained.

According to Rose, the gymnasium will be a $3.5 million multi-purpose project which will include typical gymnasium facilities such as the gym itself, locker rooms and showers. It will also include a weight room to be utilized by school athletes.

The new facility will be approximately 2,000 square feet and will serve educational purposes as well, such as 13 new classrooms, a science lab and math lab to allow students to obtain the best education possible.

"In order to remain competitive educationally in areas of science and math, we need these labs for our students," he said. "It requires a huge committment from the church and the community.

"Our first fundraiser went really well," Rose continued. "We've already had $2 million in pledges. These people have given because they care about the kids and the community. We have three students in our junior class, which has 17 students, who have the possibility of being considered as National Merit Scholars. That's a big deal. Our students always do well with scholarships and this is an exciting possibility for these students and the school."

Rose believes it is the responsibility of not only his church, but all churches, to reach out to the community and welcome all to "God's Kingdom."

"The Willow Creek apartments are being built next door, and we've already had meetings with them," Rose said. "We want them to be involved too. Our primary purpose is to bring glory to God, and we can do that by being good neighbors."

According to Rose, Community Christian School has been on a growth increase for the past four years. Although there is no timetable for construction, he would like to begin shortly after reaching approximately 75 percent of the fundraising goal.

"We will reach out to alumni and others in the community for support, but most of it will come from the body of the church and school," Rose added with a laugh. "But if anyone else wants to help, that's fine too.

"Our main hope is that this building has a lot more than just people from the church in it, when it's finally ready for use," he continued. "If it's only church members, then we have failed."