By Cecile Favron
After 22 years in a building on the western edge of Terrace, the Skeena Valley Baptist Church congregation has put the structure up for sale and wants to move into town.
“It is not really a great location – it is in an industrial area,” said Pastor Eric Neilsen of the church located on Griffith Ave. which is off of Hwy16 just past the Wild Duck Motel heading west out of Terrace.
“Some [of our congregation] don’t have transportation and this makes in easier for them,” explained Neilsen of the planned move closer to central Terrace.
The move is also intended to bring the church closer to the community enabling it to run more activities, including a food program and an addiction recover center.
“We want to get more involved in the community and it is easier to do that from downtown,” said Neilsen.
The congregation’s current building was built in the 1960s by the Seventh Day Adventist Church and the Skeena Valley Baptists moved there in 1993 when the Seventh Day Adventists moved to a new building across from Northwest Community College.
The Skeena Valley Baptist Church dates back to 1990 through Mercer Moye and the first years were spent in a rented hall.
Neilsen expects the congregation will be renting space before being able to move into another permanent building.
The asking price for the current 1900 square-foot, two-floor church building and the 0.8 acre property is $299,000.
The planned move is the latest one in a series for Terrace churches. Christ Lutheran Church sold its building on the corner of Sparks and Park last year and the Lutheran Mission Church moved from a rented space on Agar when that building was sold last year to another rental location downtown.
As well, St. Matthew’s Anglican Church has put its office building up for sale.