Project Details:
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Total Addition: 10,200 sq. ft., Total Renovation: 6,850 sq. ft.
- New worship stage
- New administrative offices
- New kitchen
- New gymnasium
- New signage and wayfinding inside and outside
- Renovation of Christian education rooms
- Renovation of children’s ministry space, including classrooms and open children’s worship space
- Special Needs ministry space, with sensory room, quiet room for those with sensitivities, and wheelchair accommodating restroom
Project Background:
In 2004 Chapelstreet Church, in Geneva, IL opened its doors in a new 50,000 square foot building located on a 22-acre green site in an affluent, fast-growing, family-friendly suburb about an hour west of Chicago. In the first phase of construction, Chapelstreet Church built a large gymnasium and stage, which serves as the worship center. They also built administrative offices for staff members, a large kitchen, two classrooms, thirteen preschool classrooms, and a large, dividable space for elementary and middle school programs with twelve smaller break-out rooms.
As Chapelstreet Church has strived to fulfill its mission of “Reaching, Connecting, Equipping, and Serving,” the congregation and its needs have grown. Chapelstreet Church commissioned Aspen Group to help repurpose the church’s original space and add additional square footage, creating space for even greater ministry impact.
In 2015 Aspen concluded construction on a new student ministry space, two new spaces to serve people with special needs, and a general renovation of the Christian education rooms.
Project Results:
One challenge that has plagued Chapelstreet Church Keslinger campus from the start has been how to create visual clarity so people know what to do and where to go when they enter the building. By adding clear, easy-to-follow signage outside and inside the church, visitors don’t get frustrated trying to navigate the large building.
Chapelstreet Church Keslinger campus also revamped its children’s ministry space, creating an open children’s worship and classroom area in the lower level of the church. Instead of small, non-descript classrooms, Aspen took down walls and created classroom alcoves that open into the large group worship space. All of the furnishings throughout this space are sized for children. Although the staff was hesitant at first, now they see the way it serves their ministry needs, and now teacher and student alike are happy with it.
In 2015 Chapelstreet Church invested in new ministry space devoted specifically to Masterpiece Ministry, the church’s outreach to families and individuals with special needs. Aspen also incorporated a “quiet room,” a small space with two chairs and soft lighting designed for children with sensitivities. These simple details provide a calming, peaceful environment. All of these facility details make it possible for Chapelstreet Church to provide ministry for children and youth with a wide array of needs and limitations including autism spectrum disorders, speech delays, physical impairments, neurological disorders, developmental delays, behavioral problems, emotional issues, cognitive impairments, and learning disabilities.
Chapelstreet Church’s special needs ministry has become an important outreach ministry for the church, providing service and specially designed space to an underserved population. “We want to be a church of influence and impact,” says former Lead Pastor Brian Coffey. “One of the ways we can do this is by reaching the local community better, while we offer worship, teaching, and a safe and healthy place for kids and parents.”
After an eight-year trusting relationship with Aspen Group, Chapelstreet Church is experiencing greater levels of ministry effectiveness with the help of well-designed, fresh space.
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