As local churches expand to meet growing demands, one church in The Woodlands is just happy to have a place to call home.

Unity of the Woodlands, an all-faiths, Christian-based church, finally secured a place for its congregation of several hundred worshipers. In July 2017, the church finally moved into two new buildings on 5-acres of land near Gosling Road and Creekside Forest Drive.

But, as the Rev. Jerry Roberts said, the excitement of the new location was quickly doused by Hurricane Harvey, which led to severe flooding of their fellowship hall and sanctuary building.

“We’re a small church and have never had our own facility. We were in hotels, a business park, offices,” Roberts said. “In July 2017, it was the first time we were in the new facilities. Five weeks later, our fellowship hall and church flooded from Harvey. We had to renovate it all after Harvey.”

On March 18, church officials and hundreds of congregants celebrated the re-opening of their spiritual home, hosting a ribbon cutting ceremony with numerous public officials, leaders of other religious faiths and others to celebrate moving back into the two buildings.

“It is really exciting. We finally have our first sanctuary (open). It was a very happy event, especially after Harvey,” Roberts said. “We finally have a home and we’re happy.”

As the township’s population grows, so does the need for additional space for parishioners — a trend that has led to at least seven different church projects ranging from expansions to additions and renovations. Here are some of the stories of the churches and the projects under way.

Trinity Episcopal Church adds building

The need for space for a growing community of parishioners as well as the desire to create a learning center for children ranging in age from infants to preschool has led church leaders at Trinity Episcopal Church in The Woodlands to embark on an expansion project which is expected to be open by late 2018.

Steve Isphording, project manager for the new children’s building at Trinity, said the 1,200 parishioners at the church needed a new and renovated space for various activities, the learning center and continued community outreach.

“(The new building) has got 8,600 square feet and is a one-story building. There are five classrooms on one side and then a nursery center for infants to preschool age,” Isphording said. “It will also have a great room that is about 1,100 square feet where you can have all kinds of events.”

Once the new building is finished, Isphording said church officials are preparing to open a licensed day care facility in the new structure that would be open to not only church attendees, but anyone in the community. The project has an estimated cost of between $2.2 and $2.6 million. The space where the new building is being erected was formerly occupied by another out-dated structure Isphording described as the church’s atrium.

Scott Frnka, a senior warden at the Trinity Episcopal Church, said the capital fundraising campaign for the project began in 2014. Frnka also said the new building was needed, in part, to the growing number of parishioners at Trinity, estimated at 1,200 currently.

“This building is obviously an extension of the church and the primary hope is to provide a safe place for the children,” Frnka said. “One of our hallmarks is the outreach we do to the community. This is a great thing for the community as a whole.”

The Trinity Episcopal Church has a vibrant history in The Woodlands, Isphording said, noting that the church is the only house of worship in the township for the Episcopalian faith. Episcopalians are of the Christian faith and the church is part of the Anglican Communion. The church has deep roots in England, and was founded by King Henry the VIII.

“We’re kind of in the middle of the road between the Roman Catholic Church and other mainstream Protestant groups,” Isphording added.

The new building on the site of the church was approved as required by the township’s Development Standards Committee, which Isphording said was easier because the church had a “good architect.”

“(The DSC) wasn’t too bad,” he said. “There were a few things (they required), but they were really cooperative.”

Need for space leads to United Methodist expansion

One of the largest churches in The Woodlands is the The Woodlands United Methodist Church, located near Hughes Landing at the the intersection of Lake Woodlands Drive and Lakefront Circle.

According to Lisa Fenley, the church’s creative services administrative director, the reason church officials have embarked on a three-year, $30 million project for the expansion and new church is simple: the church is bursting at the seams with families, congregants, people seeking ministry discipleship and more than a half-dozen outside groups that utilize the facilities for various reasons.

“We’ve run out of room,” Fenley said. “We are seeking more discipleship space. Our re-engagement ministry is our marriage ministry. When they meet every week, they’re taking up all our room. Dr. (Ed) Robb wants a seven-day a week church, and we’ve basically run out of room.”

Dr. Ed Robb, the leading pastor at United Methodist, has been leading the capital campaign to help raise funds for the project, Fenley said. The REACH campaign to begin raising the $30 million officially began on April 8 and will continue its first phase through mid-May. Once the intial donation period ends, the church plans to move into a pledge campaign, she added.

Robb’s statement to parishioners explained why the church needs to expand and also asked for donations. Robb began by saying he and his wife arrived at the church more than 40 years ago and noted it has continued to grow during that time.

“Almost four decades and more than 13,000 members later, The Woodlands UMC is alive in the most vibrant and dynamic ways,” Robb wrote. “It’s become a spiritual home for so many people through the years. The REACH campaign is not about building more buildings, it’s about building more community.”

Fenley said the expansion and renovations projects include a second, completely new campus in Woodforest, additions to the main campus near Hughes Landing, renovation of the current gymnasium and relocation of the gym to the existing Methodist school building.

“We have a gymnasium in the building…we’re going to completely renovate that and make it into a children’s center. There are some security aspects we need to put in place,” Fenley noted. “The existing gym will be moved to the school grounds. We’ll be breaking ground (on the projects) in the fall with a timeframe of completion within three years.”

Hit by Harvey, Unity church finally moves into new home

As The Rev. Jerry Roberts says, “We finally have a home and we’re happy.”

The open-minded church that is Christian-based but accepts, welcomes and respects people of all religious faiths is finally renovated and open after Harvey flooding devastated their new home in late August 2017.

“The church has been in existence 20 years. We’re a small church and we’ve never had our own facility,” Roberts explained. “We purchased some land on Gosling Road, it had a standing house and we renovated that to create a fellowship hall.”

Unity’s two buildings include the fellowship hall, which contains a kitchen, offices and classrooms, and the sanctuary building, which holds more than 200 worshipers. Roberts said the sanctuary project has been going on for several years, and he added the recent re-opening of the facilities and celebratory ribbon cutting were special because leaders of many other churches and faiths attended the event in support.

“They all offered a blessing,” Roberts said of the other religious groups. “That was really great.”

Lord of Life Lutheran also expanding

Less than a city block from Trinity Episcopal Church is another Woodlands-area house of worship that is seeing congregation growth and the need for more room: Lord of Life Lutheran Church in the Village of Panther Creek.

Anne Spaulding, chairperson of communications for the capital campaign for Lord of Life, said the first phase of their renovations and small expansion — a welcome center for parishioners — was finished last fall. A fundraising campaign has reached $1.9 million in donations, nearly to the original goal of $2 million, she added.

The welcome center helps connect people to the church’s free trade store, Hands of Faith Fair Trade Store, Spaulding said.

Other projects in the renovation and expansion include newly remodeled bathrooms, a renovated and refurbished kitchen and the replacement of carpet throughout the church.

“This is sort of the first project of the capital campaign, which is a three year campaign. We have a fellowship hall and we’re just outgrowing it,” she said. “We felt we needed to be more welcoming (to church members). (The welcome center) Is where people are gathering now; it’s now where we have coffee and donuts on Sunday mornings. It is a great space.”

With about 1,400 members, Spaulding said the Lord of Life Lutheran Church needed some updates to both enhance ministries the church hosts as well as more room and nice amenities for parishioners.

“(The new areas) Are really beautiful and a great ministry for our church,” Spaulding said. “We’re one of the largest churches in our synod. Our congregation was growing and we’re getting younger families.”

St. Anthony of Padua project has created controversy

The ongoing expansion and renovations at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church over the past two years has lofty ambitions and generated controversy.

The wide-ranging effort, with an initial price tag estimated between $16.8 million and $22 million, has led to frustrations between the church and local residents, with a few small protests taking place outside the church as well as empassioned debate at township DSC meetings.

The church, at the intersection of Bay Branch Drive and Kuykendahl Road, has added additional parking spots, built a new multisport athletics field, a 350-seat chapel, a new food pantry and a children’s playground. The church also has added additional lights to the exterior of the building.

Church officials are currently acting on an eight-item game plan from The Woodlands Township Development Standards Committee, which aims to remedy some of the issues both the township and local residents have been frustrated with. While there is no timeline on progress, church officials expect to begin re-planting trees and shrubs in a forest buffer zone between the church and the Laurelhurst neighborhood.