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Epiphany Lutheran has big plans in Washington Twp.

Design for initial building on Epiphany Lutheran Church's new Washington Twp. Site at southwest corner of Sheehan and Social Row roads.

Submitted Design for initial building on Epiphany Lutheran Church's new Washington Twp. Site at southwest corner of Sheehan and Social Row roads.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Submitted It will be used for indoor aerobics and double as worship space.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Phase 1 site plan for recreational fields to be constructed on Ephiphany Lutheran Church's new 16.5-acre Washington Twp. second campus site at southwest corner of Sheehan and Social Row roads.

Submitted Phase 1 site plan for recreational fields to be constructed on Ephiphany Lutheran Church's new 16.5-acre Washington Twp. second campus site at southwest corner of Sheehan and Social Row roads.

ENLARGE PHOTO

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By Katherine Ullmer , Staff Writer Updated 4:17 PM Tuesday, May 12, 2009

CENTERVILLE — Epiphany Lutheran Church plans to expand its outreach ministry by building a second campus on 16.5 acres of land it bought at the southwest corner of Sheehan and Social Row roads in Washington Twp..

The church plans to begin a three-year, $3 million capital campaign fund in the fall, John Bradosky, the church’s senior pastor, said Tuesday, May 12.

Bradosky said the 3,000-member church is landlocked at its current site at 6430 Far Hills Ave. in Centerville. Rather than move to a larger site, he said it’s more economical to have a second campus to focus on a children’s ministry and sports and recreation.

He said the demographics of growth show expansion in the southern part of Centerville and Springboro in Warren County. The church bought the land for $1.1 million from The Oberer Development Co. The church has a temporary second campus on Ohio 741 across from Wright Brothers airport in leased space housing The Leather Gallery, Bradosky said. That campus had about 220 parishioners on Easter Sunday and usually has 120 in the congregation, he said. Todd Kornahrens is the pastor at the current second campus, he said.

The initial phase of construction would include eight soccer fields, four sand volleyball courts, a softball field and a playground space, Bradosky said.

They also plan to build a 7,500-square-foot multi-purpose building as finances allow to accommodate indoor aerobics and double as a worship space. The church will be able to hold meetings, train coaches and do other sports and recreation in it as well, he said.

The next phase will include a larger building that will be a permanent worship structure, a large gym and a pre-school and child care facility.

“We’re still in the research and development phase for that,” Bradosky said. The McKnight Group, an architectural firm out of Columbus, is doing the design work, he said.

Plans for the first phase are ready to go before the township for its review, Bradosky said.

Jo Scott, deputy administrator for Washington Twp. said they held preliminary discussions with Epiphany representatives several months ago about their plans but no plans have been submitted. The church has its first stage zoning approval for a church and pre-school on the property, but needs to get approval of more detailed plans.

Friday is the deadline for filing to get on the June 16 township zoning commission agenda. Then it goes to the township trustees for final approval.

Scott said she doesn’t see any problem getting approval as “they’ve got plenty of property there to work with.”

The church bought two properties, one that allowed for a church/daycare, and one that was going to be a park, so the recreational use the church plans is in keeping with the land’s intended use, she said.

Bradosky said the architect will meet Friday’s deadline.

If all goes well, the church hopes to start preparing the land in the next few months.

Bradosky said he hopes to work with Washington Twp. and the city and township recreation people to provide local residents access to the fields.

“We want this to be a blessing to the community,” he said. “It’s a way for the church to reach out to the community. It’s not just people coming to a traditional church, but it will be a place where the community would be gathering anyway and a way to share the gospel.

“Everything will be funded as one congregation, though we will have two campuses,” Bradosky said. “We’ve been developing this idea and concept for some time. We didn’t want to desert our current location. We just wanted to branch out and expand our outreach.”

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