The Meadow Glade Church in Battle Ground, Wash., held an open house on Sabbath, Nov. 19, to celebrate the completion of a four-year, $5.1 million renovation that added 19,000 square feet to the existing structure of the church. The morning worship with Don Livesay, Oregon Conference president, was followed by a luncheon, tours of the facility, and a concert by the Joedy Melashenko Trio.

Sam Elie, Meadow Glade associate pastor, was honored during the worship for his 16 years of service at the church. Former pastors Ralph Martin (during the 70s) and Ken Crawford (1995–2004) were on hand to celebrate as well. Crawford was the senior pastor during the early stages of the project and left to become the Alaska Conference president just as the pastoral staff was moving into the new office complex in the renovation.

Rick Bowes, senior pastor who began his ministry at Meadow Glade in March 2005, shepherds a congregation of more than 1,000 with a team of four other pastors.

“Our church family is friendly, energetic and diverse,” says Bowes. “We’re especially pleased to have many young families in our congregation, attracted to us because of our two nearby schools, Meadow Glade Elementary and Columbia Adventist Academy. The remodeling of our building is due largely to the fact that we want to provide classrooms and fellowship space for all the small-group activities and ministries of the church. We’re also hoping to open up our facilities for community use.”

The Meadow Glade Church, formally chartered on March 31, 1906, with 13 recorded members, will celebrate its centennial in March 2006 with a full weekend of activities.

Meadow Glade also operates an Adventist Community Service center in an adjacent building, open Mondays and Thursdays from 9:30–2:30 for food and clothing distribution.