Bed & Breakfast Breaks the Mission Mold

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.--With 22,000 square feet, 13 suites and three special event rooms, running The Mansion at Elfindale in Springfield, Mo., is no small undertaking--but one church has done it for more than a decade.

Non-denominational Cornerstone Church bought the 1880's mansion, plus 13 acres of the original property, in 1979 and performed a full restoration and renovation. Today, dozens of weddings take place at the chapel next door, and The Mansion's suites are popular among overnight guests. Conferences and other gatherings are also common, but The Mansion is considered a church mission, so no alcohol or tobacco use is allowed.

Surprisingly, the Christians who now lodge and celebrate at The Mansion are not its first religious occupants. In the early 1900's, original owner Cylmena Alice O'Day sold the property to a Catholic order of nuns from St. Louis. Although O'Day received offers of up to $259,000 for the house and surrounding grounds, she sold it to the Sisters of Visitation for only $30,000. They took up residence in 1906 and for nearly 60 years ran the St. d'Chantel Academy for girls. In that time, the Sisters built the adjacent chapel and three-story classroom building.

Although its serenity and beauty are major selling points, The Mansion's attractive location (only 35 miles from popular vacation destination Branson, Mo.) and reasonable rates ($85 for single occupancy to $135 for the luxurious tower suite) add to its appeal.

Learn more about The Mansion at Elfindale at www.gomansion.com or by calling (800) 443-0237.

Church-Owned Camp Puts Kids First

FLOYD COUNTY, Va.--Years of renting space for its summer youth activities, combined with the growing need for the service in the area, prompted Spirit Wind Ministries in Elliston, Va., to build its own summer camp.

Finished earlier this year, the Alpha Lodge was the first building to be completed on the 35 acres of land donated to Spirit Wind, a local non-profit, non-denominational camp and retreat ministry. Inside, the lodge features 14 guestrooms with double beds and individual restrooms, a large meeting area with videoconferencing, a commercial kitchen, and a dining room for up to 40 people.

But this is only the beginning, says Judy Smith, camp co-founder. Already, property has been leveled and trees cleared for a second dormitory, two freestanding cabins, a meeting building, dining hall, two pastors' cabins and an above-ground pool.

According to Smith, the spacious camp will welcome all kinds of Christian retreats, conferences and small meetings and church groups from all denominations nationwide. However, the dearest group is still children.

"We've been told that we're the most spiritually intense camp [around]," Smith recently told The Roanoke Times. "We want children to leave our camp knowing that Jesus is like a best friend, and we make no apologies for that being our mission."

Subs and Spirituality Served Daily

CONCORD, N.C.--If you can't bring people to the church, you can always bring the church to the people. One Concord, N.C. church did exactly that when it bought a 250,000-square-foot mall last year.

Two years into their three-year capital campaign and $9 million later, leaders at First Assembly Church call their new property The Village Shopping Center. Led by Senior Pastor Sam Farina, the church's worship services are still held across the street at the First Assembly Worship Center, but the sanctuary will eventually reside amidst Subway, Big Lots, Hallmark and other familiar commercial businesses at The Village. Ministry leaders will also occupy retail spaces in between, offering Christian counseling, prayer rooms, daycare and a free dental clinic.

Across the country, other churches are getting in on the act by renting mall storefronts. First Presbyterian Church of Mount Holly, N.J., for example, rents a 2,500-square-foot space in its local shopping center. Ministry volunteers from a variety of denominations are onhand six days a week for immediate, one-on-one counseling, and during the holidays to provide free gift-wrapping and a place where shoppers can hang their coats. Other churches, such as St. Therese Carmelit Chapel at Northshore Mall in Peabody, Mass., take it one step further and move their entire organizations onsite. The chapel schedules three Masses on weekdays as well as weekend liturgies.

But is this toeing the Biblical line of being in but not of the world? Leaders at First Assembly Church have been accused of it, but Senior Pastor Sam Farina says the benefits far outweigh the risks.

"We're looking at it as an opportunity God has given us to take money from a leased space to put back into ministry, into the community," he says. "[We want to] reach people with the Gospel through activities such as our Urban Center, which provides food and clothing to 40 people a day."