a church for the future
Sep 20, 2023
With Phase 1 completed in December of 2022, The Zootown Church Building Project has pushed into Phase 2: Auditorium / Community Center. Phase 2 is projected to finish by November 2023 with a possible opening date around the New Year. We are heavy in the fundraising season and would like to invite you to prayerfully consider partnering with us. It is our hope and dream that our building won’t just sit empty most the week, but will in fact become a space used by the church and community whenever their is a need for space. We hope to host concerts, graduations, proms, sporting events, weddings, and more as we invite our city into the building.
May 10, 2022
We’re excited to announce that we are moving ahead with our building plans! This process will include four phases. Phase 1 has been submitted to the city, and we hope to break ground this summer. In the weeks to come, we will be releasing more vision around these four phases.
Please take a moment to watch this video series on the vision of the Zootown Church Building project.
Phase 1: Lobby Expansion
“The lobby of a church is the heart of a church.”
We believe that a church’s lobby is where a lot of Sunday’s work takes place. This is the space where people pray, connect, cry, and meet with each other every Sunday. It is our hope that by expanding the lobby and creating a focal point for fellowship and entry into our church, we will increase the feeling of connectivity within our church. Phase 1 has been approved by the Zootown Board and plans have been submitted to the city. We hope to have this part of the building project completed by Christmas 2022.
Phase 2: Auditorium / Community Center
“If you build it, they will come.”
Phase 2 will be our Auditorium / Community Event Center. Our mission is to be “a church for Missoula.” We believe that this can happen both on Sundays and during the week. We want to create a space that can be used not only for Sunday morning church services, but also be used by the community as a concert hall, a school stage, an auction warehouse, a blood drive center, and whatever else the community might need during the week.
Phase 3: Kids In The Zoo
Phase 3 will be to take our existing auditorium and build out our Kids In The Zoo ministry all on one floor. This build will include multiple classrooms with their own private bathrooms, a small KITZ / Youth auditorium space, and a much needed KITZ lobby design that is connected to our main lobby. This will allow families to feel even more connected with the rest of our church on a Sunday morning. We can’t wait to share all the vision we have for KITZ with you in the months to come!
Phase 4: Staff / Church Office
The final stage of the Zootown Church Building Project will be the staff / church offices. This is a pretty exciting phase for us staff members as we continue to create spaces that allow us to connect, grow and learn from each other and strengthen our pursuits of God’s plans for His people and church in Missoula, MT.