LAYTON-- The Layton Hills Baptist Church, 1332 N. Hill Field Road, is celebrating its 40th year in the city with an ambitious expansion and renovation of its property just east of the Layton Hills Mall.
According to the Rev. Mark A. Tate, the Southern Baptist Church is in the final stages of a parking lot expansion that will more than double the space available, going from the old 60 spaces to a new 147-space paved parking lot."We've had some growth," Tate said. "Hill Field and Layton and growing. . . . This gives us some breathing space."
He said the church has had the property since 1959 and found the four-decade anniversary was a good time to spruce up the property.
Some more landscaping and lawn is being added to the church's 2.8-acre site, and because of the extra development, the city has required the church to also construct a storm water retention pond at the front of its property. The Rev. Tate said the pond is designed to handle water runoff from those 100-year storms.
Besides the exterior work, the church is also doing some inside remodeling of its Fellowship Hall, mostly painting, adding a dropped ceiling and installing new floor covering.
The Rev. Tate said church leaders hope to have a special dedication for its new facilities in November. He's been pastor of the church since May 1997.
Even with the expansion of its parking and the addition of more floor space -- 1,500 square feet last summer -- the Layton Hills Baptist Church is going to have to look at expanding its meeting schedule to include new Sunday services by sometime early next year.
The church's auditorium seats 230 but is nearing capacity for a single Sunday service.
The Rev. Tate said that probably means the church will expand to a 9 a.m. worship service on Sunday, followed by a 10 a.m. Sunday school and then another 11 a.m. worship service. Currently, the church has Sunday school at 10 a.m. and worship services at 11 a.m.
Layton Hills serves members from all over the area but primarily from Layton and Hill Air Force Base. Layton also has a second Southern Baptist church with Mountain View Baptist Church, 2585 E. 3000 North, off U-193. There's also a Bilingual Baptist Church, 288 W. Golden Ave., Layton.
The church also has started the New Hope Fellowship in Syracuse this past spring. That congregation meets in Syracuse City Hall and is growing at a surprising rate, according to the Rev. Tate.
For more information on Layton Hills Baptist church, call 544-2426.