Substance Church purchased an existing 104,000 square foot former hi-tech medical device assembly plant and site for their new main church campus in Spring Lake Park, MN. Portions of the building were re-usable as they were. Other spaces had a high level of finish but were not configured for use as a church. The challenge was to design the new main worship and lobby space essentially within the footprint of the existing building so that existing parking lots could be left intact.

About 30,000 square feet of the front corner of the existing building was demolished and the two new main spaces along with a new main entrance were constructed in that location.

Placing the new construction here gave the building a new look and a powerful presence that impacts both the site and surrounding neighborhood and gives visibility from nearby major highways.

The lobby is designed as a gathering space in its own right with generous natural light as well as fully controllable LED lighting. The lobby contains a baptistery, a lighted trellis, an information booth, and a full cafe with seating and serving areas. Accessed directly off the lobby is a fully secured early childhood suite with large classrooms, its own check-in and a highly visible activity space as part of the remodeled existing building. Other spaces remodeled and built into the existing space include a youth center, and additional classrooms. 

The worship space is set up in a performing arts center format with a full proscenium stage and fly gallery. A little over half of the worship center’s 1250 seats are movable chairs on a flat floor with the remaining set up as stadium seating around the back perimeter. Stage and house lighting are completely integrated LED fixtures mounted and serviced from both grids and catwalks. The stage contains a video wall that can be flown vertically to allow for a variety of stage uses.