For over fifty years, Lakeside members have shared their lives together as they pursue the Lord, a Family of Believers seeking to be Gospel-driven and Mission-centered. Along with worship and mission, fellowship is integral to the fullness of church life. And central to that at Lakeside has been our fellowship center.

Brethren, we’ve come to a crossroads. Our current facilities do not allow sufficient space to gather together for fellowship events easily. As other churches have ceased having Wednesday night programming and stopped eating meals together, Lakeside has chosen not to give up this practice. Family Night suppers have grown by more than 50% in the last two years, and despite the use of our outdoor picnic tables (always problematic in inclement weather) and removing a wall to increase the space, we find ourselves hard-pressed to accommodate the crowd.

 In addition, besides in the fellowship center, we currently have adult Sunday school classes meeting in the pre-school and youth buildings. Needless to say, quality space is in short supply. Growth is good, and we are encouraged, but it’s time to take some steps to sustain our fellowship for years to come.

As Elder Jay McDaniel shared, we are introducing a campaign to build a new fellowship center at Lakeside! We’re calling this campaign “Building Fellowship.” This is not simply about brick and mortar but about investing in our fellowship together. This building will support much of the church's life, including where we eat meals, celebrate weddings, gather after funerals, and study God’s Word. It will also free up the current fellowship center to be converted into much-needed classroom space.

Our first fundraising goal is highly attainable but immediate. We need to raise $150,000 for site work and utilities. The total cost for this project is about $650,000. However, the session has released $500,000 in reserves to go towards this. Therefore, we ask you to consider making an immediate gift towards this $150,000 goal.

Let us be clear: $150,000 does not build the building. It just lays the foundation. This spring, we will return to the congregation with blueprints, cost estimates, and a vision for how to fund this building. Also, we ask that this gift be above regular tithes and offerings.

Not long ago, Lakeside celebrated its 50-year anniversary as a congregation and a witness to Christ here in Rankin County. As we said then, that was just the beginning. We believe that God would have Lakeside shine the gospel for generations to come! In light of this, thank you for considering giving towards Lakeside’s “Building Fellowship” Campaign!