Correction: CrossFit Instinct is moving into the old First Baptist Church building on South Grand Avenue. The business' name was wrong in a headline in a previous version of this article.

CrossFit Instinct is more than doubling its footprint.

First Baptist Church has a more financially manageable physical space for its shrinking congregation.

It’s the proverbial win-win for both parties.

Billed as "a lifestyle gym," CrossFit looks to be the cornerstone tenant of the old First Baptist Church building at 301 South Grand Ave. W. in Springfield by the middle of the year. It is currently located in Fairhills Mall in the 1900 block of West Monroe Street.

Meanwhile, First Baptist leadership and church members are waiting to wrest control of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah Witnesses at 4150 Sandhill Road, on the city’s far north side.

As they wait for the keys to the kingdom — as it were — church members were back for services Sunday at Pizza Ranch, a restaurant on Lejune Drive.

There’s a little biblical perspective to that matter.

“Abraham was told to leave,” said the Rev. John Snyder, “and go to a home that God would show him later. That’s exactly where we are.”

“You walk by faith and not by sight,” added Wendy Link, one of the church’s trustees. “You try to live by obedience, by what the Lord tells you and that’s what we did.”

Members of the 170-year-old congregation, the oldest continually operating Baptist church in Springfield, closed on the sale of the South Grand building Jan. 17.

Church leadership believed it had struck a deal for the former Kingdom Hall, but as movers were loading large items on trucks on Jan. 19, the other party’s legal team asked for an extension on the closing date.

With the delay, First Baptist couldn't get into their new digs, meaning the church has several storage facilities rented all over the city.

A renegotiated deal, and sale price of $160,000 as of Wednesday, means the church hopes to have services in its new home next Sunday. Church members say the hall is practically "move-in ready."

For a second straight Sunday, though, church members were sitting through a service with smells of pizza and fried chicken from the Pizza Ranch buffet wafting in the air.

“We have a contract and a closing date, but we are in the interim,” admitted Snyder, the church’s associate pastor. “We’re all packed up in boxes.

“Transition means two things, and two opposite things, that we’re feeling right now. There’s good and bad in moves, in life changes, for individuals as well as churches. We’re feeling exhausted, but at the same time we're feeling excited about where we will end up. You’d like life to go on smoothly and not have any surprises, but that’s not the way life is.

“We’ve always liked the (building on Sandhill). We're all positive about the closing."

“It’s an uncomfortable feeling when things are uncertain,” allowed Link, who has been going to the church for about seven years. “God opened the door. We remained obedient. There was a moment of frustration and the door was opened."

This will be at least the fifth home for the church, which dates from Abraham Lincoln's time in Springfield and was once known as the German Baptist Church. It conducted services in German all the way up to World War I, when such a notion, said Snyder, became unpopular.

The church also has been through different name changes and adopted the current moniker after going to court, said Snyder, to prove it was the oldest continually operating the Baptist church in the city. It is now affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, which is the world's largest Baptist denomination with about 15 million members and the second-largest Christian denomination in the United States after the Catholic Church.

This move was a matter of practicality, said Snyder. The former Jehovah's Witnesses hall "is the perfect size for us," he said. "Looking at the utilities, it looks a whole lot more reasonable. (Despite being so far north), we still have a Springfield address and residential areas around (the church).

"It's good to be in a place where people need to be reached."

"It will be a great blessing and joy if young families start coming (around to services)," said Link, noting the church currently has about 30 members. "We want to be in an area of fertile ground."

Alicia Colbert, a church member, said First Baptist donated furniture and other supplies from the church to about 15 organizations and buildings around the community. A baptistry, she said, was one of the last pieces removed from the the church, which dates from 1970.

'Wellness community'

Molly Hahn, who owns and operates CrossFit Instinct with her husband, Tim, said the idea is to share the South Grand Avenue space with like-minded businesses. That includes Dr. Craig Backs, a local physician whose Center for Prevention will offer screening services there.

"We're envisioning an entire wellness community of businesses that coincides with what we believe in," including chiropractic services, massage services and a yoga studio, Molly Hahn said.

"This is what we've dreamed of ever since we opened (in 2010), and we can't believe it's happening. It's everything we wanted and hoped for."

CrossFit will occupy about 10,000 square-feet at the new location, with multiple workout rooms, classrooms, locker rooms, showers, offices and a kitchen. Zinn Construction of Springfield is working on extensive renovations to building, which was recently purchased by Phil Zinn for $250,000.

Hahn said the gym has clients run outside as part of the training, so "we feel comfortable having people run around (the South Grand Avenue) neighborhood."

Hahn admitted that "it never dawned on us to look at a church (as a possibility). It fit the bill for us."

As for First Baptist, "I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for us," said Link.

Contact Steven Spearie: 788-1524, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/stevenspearie.