Warner Robins church turns to Go Fund Me page for expansion

There were days when Pastor Jason Comer would carve out his congregation's sanctuary space by hanging long, black sheets from ceiling to floor inside a former Goody's clothing store.

Back then, the space at the Houston County Galleria mall was much too large.

Now, nearly four and a half years -- and one move -- later, Comer's Centerpoint Church doesn't have enough room.

In response, Comer and company have created a page on GoFundMe, an online fundraising site, to try to expand Centerpoint's worship space.

The goal is to raise $300,000.

The decision to create the GoFundMe page -- as opposed to traditional fundraising efforts by churches -- came after Comer had a conversation with Centerpoint's board and staff.

"We felt like it would allow anyone that shares our vision of the church to give easily, even if they don't attend," he said. "Someone can share a GoFundMe page online and that can reach thousands of people that might want to help. Whereas, if you share the need in a church service, you are sharing the need with hundreds of people. It multiplies the reach."

The "Making Room" funding page has garnered 21 donations and raised $3,300 in nearly two months since its creation.

Centerpoint is Comer's masterstroke -- a testament to his journey.

He came from a ministry family. By the time he was 16, Comer was teaching Sunday School classes.

While taking business courses at Jacksonville State University and online ministry courses, he became seriously involved with church volunteering.

In time, Comer became a full-time youth pastor at his dad's church, River of Life, in Gadsden, Alabama.

He moved to Macon in 2002, where he took a job as a youth pastor at Christ Chapel SportsTowne in north Macon.

"I just wanted to make a difference," he said. "I just wanted my life to count."

After nine years at Christ Chapel, Comer felt the call again.

This time, he felt moved to start a new church.

"(My wife and I) felt like God was leading us in a new direction. So we started checking around for areas that we might start a church, and things started to come together from there," Comer said.

Centerpoint held its first service Sept. 11, 2011, inside the old Goody's store, with 133 people in attendance.

The church rented the space in the mornings.

Each Sunday, Comer and his launch team -- 30 people who had helped start the church -- got there at 7 a.m. to set up the stage and prepare for the service. After service ended, it took two or three hours to tear everything down and put it back in storage.

"We did that for about a year," Comer said.

Then the lease ran out.

Comer thought the church was ready for a permanent facility.

He found property on Feagin Mill Road in Warner Robins to move the church. But the building there was incomplete.

The pastor and about 40 church volunteers worked for three weeks to get the building ready by painting and laying the flooring.

"In order for it to be functional, we had to finish the interior of the back area," Comer said. "We had to do that before we could even move in."

Now, Centerpoint members are worried that they're outgrowing their Feagin Mill Road property. The church already holds two Sunday services and sends some to the church's overflow room, where they stream the live service, Comer said.

The church plans to change the main entrance, widen the foyer, add parking and expand the worship area to hold 100 more people.

This time, they'll hire builders, Comer said.

Melissa Strout, a close friend of Comer's and a Centerpoint member from its inception, donated $500 to the fund about a month ago.

Strout said she donated because Centerpoint is a special place and she wants more people to be served by the nondenominational church.

"This church is our heart and passion," she said. "We have seen just how God moves and how he has just opened doors and been a part of everything that has happened at this church."

Comer said he hopes to start construction sometime this summer.

The renovation will take two to three months. If they don't reach the $300,000 goal, the church will finance the rest.

The added space will not only make a practical difference -- but an eternal difference, Comer said.

"Every single week, we give people an opportunity to follow Christ," he said. "We are seeing people being baptized all the time. We are seeing people raise their hands every Sunday to make decisions for Christ."

This story was originally published March 27, 2016 at 9:17 PM with the headline "Warner Robins church turns to Go Fund Me page for expansion ."