The Ridge Community Church holds Easter Sunday grand opening

GREENFIELD (WITI) -- The Ridge Community Church held a grand opening celebration for its new facility in Greenfield on this Easter Sunday. The church opened a permanent location on Highway 100 -- in the former Walmart building.

The Ridge Community Church is a non-traditional church in an unorthodox building. Founder and lead pastor Mark Weigt converted the former Walmart store into a spacious and inviting place of worship.

"We'll be able to do other things in this building because it`s not a church building -- for the community and with the community and things like that," Weigt said.

On Easter Sunday, the congregation got to see the new facility's capabilities, such as special areas for a youth center and Ridge kids, and rooms for Bible studies. The move was mostly spurred by the growing congregation.

"It`s amazing seeing how many people are in the auditorium  now is just mind-blowing I can`t believe we went from a few people 30 or so to what`s in there now," church member Tracy Anderson said.

Since opening in 2006 at its temporary home inside the Marcus Ridge Theaters, and later moving to Whitnall High School, membership has grown exponentially. The church now has about 500 members.

"It`s a testament to Mark and all the people here and all the people who connect with people. It`s about relationships. It`s about caring about people," Building Team Leader Jim Purcell said.

The congregation embraces Weigt's message of unity, and the church's larger space can aid in the church's mission of helping people find and follow God.

"Our church specifically tries to help people who don`t like church to like church and feel comfortable and feel like I can actually learn about God. Everything we do is focused on that particular person," Weigt said.

The Ridge Community Church is non-denominational and plays a big role in the Greenfield community. The church will host outreach and recovery programs for the community at the new building.