Lake Tomahawk Bible Church to christen new building this weekend

Members of the Lake Tomahawk Bible Church will be able to attend services in their own new building, located at 6706 State Highway 47, this weekend.

On Saturday, the church will celebrate its new home with a free concert by the Judson University Choir, a private Christian college in Elgin, Ill. 

Ron Sauer makes a temporary door during the construction of a new church on Tuesday, Oct. 31, in Lake Tomahawk.
(Photo by Trevor Greene/Lakeland Times)

Then, on Sunday, the first official service will be held at 9:30 a.m. The Judson University Choir will be part of the service as well. 

The new building was built in the community by the community. As the congregation began to outgrow its old building, members of the church, as well as other community members, banded together to create a new space big enough to support its membership. 

According to one of the church’s elder’s, Josh Calhoun, the Lake Tomahawk Bible Church’s old home on Rainbow Road was sold to another parish. While construction was underway in 2019, the church held its services in the town’s community center.

The Lake Tomahawk Bible Church was founded in 1950 and almost 65 years later, the 14 acres the new church was built on was purchased.

“We’re a pretty small church,” Calhoun said. “We had about probably 100 people in attendance at the height when we needed to buy a new building, but our pastor left to do something else. So we’ve been without a pastor for several years.”

In addition to Calhoun, church chairman Tym Sauter and Steve Simmermaker are elders who have filled in to preach until a new pastor is found. Guest speakers make appearances, too. 

“So we’ve been looking for a pastor for several years, but when we did the building, we kind of focused on finishing the building and getting into the building to get occupancy before we call a pastor to the Lake Tomahawk Bible Church,” Calhoun explained. “ … The big thing is we’ve done this all pretty much within house and we’re doing it debt-free.”

Calhoun explained that some aspects of the church’s new home were hired-out, like construction of the steel-frame, walls and roof. “And everything else, from putting the windows in … the interior walls, the layout, everything,” he said. 

One of the elders has a master’s degree with regard to construction and served as the general contractor, he added.

Calhoun noted that many have volunteered their time since 2019 for the project to come to fruition, and not just members of the church, but the community as a whole. 

One example of that help was the capital campaign the church held. There was a matching donor whose contribution helped in purchasing interior pieces, Calhoun explained.

He said the church building has a maximum capacity of about 300 people. 

Outside of the church’s new home, Calhoun explained how the Lake Tomahawk Bible Church is independent. He said it’s active in the community, and tries to help the community in various ways. 

“But our main goal is we really want to teach the Bible and teach people that God loves them and wants a relationship with them through his son, Jesus Christ,” he said. 

Speaking about this weekend’s opening, Calhoun said there are about 45 college students in the Judson University Choir.  Not only will they, along with their director and a pianist, lead the worship Sunday, but will also perform a free concert Saturday night “kind of as a celebration of us moving into the new building.”

Everyone is welcome to participate this weekend, and if people are always welcome to attend services at the church, according to Calhoun. If a person would want to become a member, he said the only requirement is they would have to give the elders a testimony “of how you came to know the Lord.”

“I’m one of the teachers and so we would call that expository Bible teaching, which is like verse by verse, line by line of the Bible,” Calhoun said. “What does it say? What does it mean? How do I apply it to my life? And that’s kind of how we roll.”

Calhoun explained the church’s services are a mix between traditional and contemporary. 

“One of our mottos is love, teach, serve, reach,” he said. “ … (it) kind of encapsulates what we want to do and be a light in the community. And we are totally welcoming. We want people to come and explore the building and explore what the Christian life means. … We really want to serve the community, we really want people to come to know Jesus. And we’re gonna teach the Bible without apology.”

Trevor Greene may be reached via email at [email protected].