By LYNDON ZAITZ Of the Keizertimes
The congregation of Keizer’s Faith Lutheran Church recently voted unanimously to disband, according to board president Diane McKillop.
A sale of the building to Crossroads Fellowship, a non-de- nominational church, is pending and should be finalized within weeks. The discussions of a sale have been underway since April.
A spokesperson from Faith Lutheran declined to reveal a sale price for the building at 4505 River Road N.
There has been a handful of Oregon Lutheran churches that closed over many decades.
Oregon Synod Bishop Lori Larson Caesar said when a church closes it is called ‘fully closure.’
“God doesn’t go away when a church closes,” said Caesar.
She said there is a lot of grief when a church closes its doors. Faith Lutheran pastors will aid its congregates in finding a new chur
Faith Lutheran first held ser- vices in 1950.
Faith Lutheran Church is home for the Keizer Community Food Bank.
Stephen Heleman, pastor of Crossroads Fellowship, said he discovered that Faith Lutheran Church was closing down.
“I reached out to (Faith Lutheran Church board president) Diane (McKillop) and said, ‘“We’re here in town. We’re new. We’d like to one day have a building here in town.’” That is when discussions about a sale began,” Heleman said.
Since its founding eight months ago, Crossroads Fellowship has been meeting at The Rec: Lanes.
Heleman said Crossroads was looking for a permanent home where it could hold ser- vices, do its ministries and “be a blessing to
community.”
He said that The Faith
Center will be the new name of the church.
The purchase of the building, at the corner of River Road and Cummings Lane, will allow Crossroads Fellowship to expand its ministry, specifically to
children and students who do not have a permanent space.
Currently Crossroads has two services on Sundays.
“We’re pretty much filled up,” Heleman said. “We can continue to reach more people and be more deliberate about partnering with other groups, ministries, organi- zations in the community, like the Keizer Community Food Bank.”
The food bank will remain in place at the site.
Other projects that Crossroads will take over from Faith Lutheran include Backpack Buddies, a partnership with Cummings Elementary School, that provides food for about 25 students. The pro- gram provides food for one kid for one weekend. Heleman, originally from Austin, Texas, has ministered his whole adult life. He came to Oregon to be a pastor at another church, before being offered the opportunity to help create and be the pastor at Crossroads.
It is a Heleman family affair at Crossroads. His wife, Emily, has been running the children’s min- istry; one of his sons oversees all technology and setup. Two of his daughters help in all areas includ- ing media and being part of the youth group.
Contact the publisher Lyndon Zaitz: [email protected] or 503-390-1051
