Grace Baptist Church Unveils New Student Ministry Center Designed by Studio Four Design

Local church celebrates the opening of new 24,000 square foot student ministry center, designed by Knoxville-based architectural and design firm

The new Grace Baptist Church student ministry center, designed by Studio Four Design and built by Merit Construction, features a 700 seat auditorium, a lobby with a café, a large game room, staff offices, meeting rooms and quiet spaces for studying and small group fellowship. Photos courtesy of Merit Construction.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. December 20, 2016 – Grace Baptist Church, a Knoxville-based church with the goal of changing lives that change the world, celebrated the opening of their new 24,000 square foot student ministry center, designed by worship facility specialists and top architecture and design firm Studio Four Design, this past Sunday, December 18.

The new facility, which was built by Merit Construction, features a 700 seat auditorium, a lobby with a café, a large game room, staff offices, meeting rooms and quiet spaces for studying and small group fellowship.

“The theme behind this new student center is ‘a third place,’” said Bobby Thompson, student pastor at Grace Baptist Church. “Students spend time at home and they spend time at school, and after these two places, nearly all of them have a third place that they spend time at. We want this building to be that third place.”

The previous student ministry took place in a shared space, however about two and a half years ago, the leadership at Grace Baptist Church felt like it was time to make the move to a dedicated facility because they had student services that were reaching max capacity. With the help of Studio Four Design, they dreamed up visions of what they wanted the new space to look and feel like, and began building concepts.

“Studio Four was very resourceful and instrumental in the creative process,” said Thompson. “They’re very knowledgeable, and I can ask questions – even ones that don’t have to do with architecture or design – and they’ll answer them. They sat down with me and asked about our vision and what we wanted to accomplish. We took that conversation and together we designed each space in the new center intentionally.”

“When adding to your campus, it’s so important that you discover what aligns with your goals as a church,” said Stacy Cox, president of Studio Four Design. “When we began working with Bobby and the rest of the leadership at Grace, we knew that first and foremost we wanted an auditorium that would handle the amount of students that they currently have while also keeping an eye on growth in the future. Once we knew that, and the theme of ‘a third place,’ we were able to work together to come up with some really interesting concepts that encourage students to spend time at the center.”

For more information about Grace Baptist Church and the new student ministry center, visit http://www.gracebc.org/.

For more information about Studio Four Design, visit http://studiofourdesign.com.

About Grace Baptist Church

Founded in 1916, Grace Baptist Church’s goal is to change lives that change the world. They believe that this can only be achieved by sharing Christ with others through “Developing Disciples Who Develop Disciples.” Grace offers two services on Sunday morning, along with bible studies and other activities throughout the week. To find out more, call 865-691-8886 or visit http://www.gracebc.org/.

About Studio Four Design Inc.

Since 2002, Studio Four Design has served as a premiere architectural and interior design firm to the Greater Knoxville Area. Their guiding principal is Design Matters and their goal is to go beyond expectations to provide design solutions that positively impact their client’s lives and organizations. Their team has worked on a variety of projects over the last decade that includes: churches, educational facilities, restaurants, retail buildings, athletic venues and much more. Studio Four Design takes pride and dedication in all of their projects they serve. To find out more, call 865-523-5001 or visit http://studiofourdesign.com.