Seventh-day Adventist Church of Cape Coral held its grand opening May 16 after purchasing an El Dorado Parkway property near Cape Harbour in March.
Administrator Teresa Lucas said the church is now complete, thanks to the installation of both of its signs.
The five-acre site, located at 1813 El Dorado Parkway, already had a church building that seated approximately 200 people, an outbuilding for storage, a picnic pavilion and parking.
Seventh-day Adventist Church purchased the property from the Church of the Brethren, which had been trying to sell the land since 2008, after its congregation disbanded.
The building was built in 1992, after the Church of the Brethren purchased the property in 1991.
The property, which was originally put on the market with an asking price of $2,500,000, sold for $650,000.
“We are really excited to be here,” Lucas said. “God has moved in such an enormous way.”
She said between a donor and fund-raisers held by the church, they were able to raise enough money in 90 days for the down payment.
Before the congregation purchased the property, the group met at Gulf Middle School and First Congregational Community Church on Santa Barbara Boulevard for services.
Seventh-day Adventist Church began gathering in Cape Coral in May 2007 and has held services for approximately 100 members.
“We are grateful to have a place of worship we can call home,” the Rev. Roger Lucas said in a prepared statement.
The congregation holds services at the El Dorado property on Saturdays with a Bible study class at 9:30 a.m., followed by a worship service at 11 a.m.
A youth service is held at 6:30 p.m. Saturday and “A Place for Prayer” is held at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Memberships are not required to attend any of the church’s services.
“The heart of our mission is to help others realize the hope found in experiencing a personal relationship with Jesus and to nurture them in preparation for His return,” Lucas said in a prepared statement. “We promote Bible study, Christian growth in faith and prayer, healthy lifestyle choices and friendships built through helping others.”
Seventh-day Adventist Church offers a holistic approach to the body-mind-soul connection for its congregation in promoting optimal health through health education classes.
“We want to be an asset to our community,” she said. “So we plan to offer to the public a variety of religious and health seminars as a resource for people seeking to improve their spiritual and physical health.”
The worship services at Seventh-day Adventist Church are filled with song, prayer and Bible-centered messages of inspiration and practical value for every day life, Lucas said in the statement.
Seventh-day Adventist Church has more than 15 million members in 125,000 churches.
For more information, call Lucas at 217-0484 or visit: www.sdaccc.org.