The First Baptist Church of Hope held its Ribbon Cutting Ceremony this morning to celebrate the new children's wing, Kingdom Kids, and the new youth wing, the E.P.I.C. Student Ministry Area. Many locals were in attendance to admire the renovated and revitalized building which holds these wings full of colorful rooms and murals. One of the most notable aspects when entering the children's wing on the first floor would be the stones painted on the walls; each stone holds the name of a church or worship center in the surrounding area. Pastor Daniel Bramlett said FBC wanted to represent all of the churches in the new children's wing because this gathering place for the community's youth, as well as the church itself, isn't limited to the FBC congregation, but open and welcome to all. "This building isn't what's important; it's the people that matter," Bramlett said. "This new children's wing came from the hearts and minds of everybody here, and I love that attitude. It's not just about us; that's why it's called Kingdom Kids. We want to represent all the different churches and people of the community." FBC often opens their rooms for community functions or to partner with other organizations such as UALR who comes twice a week for foster child screenings. They plan to continue and grow these types of events with the opening of the new wings.

Upstairs, the E.P.I.C. Student Ministry Area holds a sizable gathering area with a stage, games, snack bar, selfie room, and more. Youth Pastor Rusty Beck also shared the church's mission to include all youth in the community by describing the new after-school program. This area is open to teens, 9th through 12th grade, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 3:30pm to 5:00pm so they can come hang out, play games, do homework with the free wifi, and more. Beck shared with those in attendance today his joy in how this project came to be. "It's exciting to see how the Lord has worked this out," Beck said. "This was funded entirely by donations; nothing came from the church budget. It's been awesome to see how God has provided for this." Beck said more events for the community's youth are in the works.

To learn more about First Baptist Church of Hope and their programs visit their website HERE or their Facebook page HERE.