Jeff Hajny

    The Hillcrest Evangelical Free Church will be moving within the next year.
     The church is in the process of closing the deal to purchase the old Wal-Mart building on Hwy. 15 in Seward.
     "We considered many options," Buidling Design Committee Chairman Ben Ford said. "Our main choices were to expand our current land, buy new land and create a new building from scratch, or modify an existing building.
     "Our current site didn't offer too many opportunities for expansion. We had to think long term, not short term and needed more land."
     Ford said some of the disadvantages to trying to expand the current location are that it is a small patch of land so only minimal work can be done. A disadvantage of starting from scratch is the cost.
     The committee has been working on this purchase since June and will be closing the deal on Friday, April 8. A date to move into the new building has not been set yet.
     Ford said the members of the committee are still in the "design process" of the new building and will hopefully be able to move in following the closing date.
     "We will be moving from a 12,000-square-foot building to a 43,000-square-foot one," he said. "Needless to say, we're looking for some expansion."
     One of the expansion plans for the new building is a sanctuary which will seat at least 500 people.
     "Every week we have a packed house," Ford said. "We need a little more room if we want to expand our audience."
     Various businesses and churches throughout the area are looking at purchasing the current church building, but nothing has been set in stone yet.
     No specific dates for the move have been set, but members of the committee are hoping to make it as soon as possible.
     "We're really excited," Ford said. "We've been getting a lot of interest in this from members of the church and from members of the community. We've gotten a really positive response."