Facility undergoes renovations, hopes to renew faith with a welcoming message

A loss of members and the burden of dealing with the cost of the dilapidated building left the church located at 1001 East Robinson Road, North Tonawanda, without occupants for quite some time now.

But, all hope was not lost when Pastor Jim Armpriester found his way to North Tonawanda to apply his expertise in the revitalization of churches to the facility. Armpriester, known for his help in revitalizing churches in Ohio, Texas and Niagara Falls, saw a diamond in the rough as he was passing by the building one day.

From there, he was able to gain the support of the New York Assemblies of God; First Assembly of God Church in Niagara Falls; and Assembly of God Church in Binghamton in order to help get the church back up and running. He also gained the support of a man whose faith in the gospel might possibly be the key resource needed for revamping the church in North Tonawanda.

Pastor Chad Rieselman, of what is now known as Generation Church, found himself leaving the comfort of his family sheet metal business to answer a calling from the church and lend a helping hand to Assembly of God, Binghamton.

There, he was able to take part in a church that was thriving. He then chose to take the knowledge he gained from working with the church and apply his skills to a place where he was needed more.

In order to utilize those skills elsewhere, he soon got in contact with Armpriester, who felt Rieselman was the best man for the job in order to bring the North Tonawanda church back to life.

“When I first walked into the building it did not look like what it does now,” said Rieselman. “It was slowly falling apart and there were no resources to make the changes.”

Through the financial support of those resources stated above, Generation Church has been able to renovate the facility with new wall-to-wall carpeting, remove mildew damage, paint the entire facility from floor to ceiling, install high efficiency lighting and make small changes to the layout.

The actual structure of the building is not the only portion of the church that has received renovations and revitalization.

The message Rieselman hopes to send to the public is that Generation Church is an environment that is family friendly.

“We want to make the name Jesus famous in North Tonawanda,” said Rieselman. “We are basing our message on relationships in order to teach people to love Jesus and to love others.”

Rieselman noted the motto that the church stands behind is, “Your friends are here.”

“We are slowly moving forward with a whole new approach to church,” said Rieselman. “We don’t want people to be scared to come to church anymore. This is a kids and family friendly environment.”

This weekend, Generation Church will host Friends Day Summerfest 2012 from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18 and a sneak preview service at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 19 followed by more Summerfest events from noon to 4 p.m.

The event will have an abundance of food including hot dogs and hamburgers, sno cones, cotton candy and popcorn; pony rides; a petting zoo; and a bounce house. Residents will also have the opportunity to win a free Kindle Fire.

“We want to let people know we are here. If we get more people than we’re expecting, I will rejoice,” said Rieselman.

In addition the Penocostic church plans to provide the following opportunities:

• MOPS (Mother’s of pre-school students); while reaching out to single mother’s in the area

• Life groups; groups of 12 or more people who will meet outside of the Sunday meeting to share life together

Generation Church will hold weekly preview services at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 19 and Sunday, Aug. 26 and will officially open for regular services Sunday, Sept. 16 with both a 9 a.m. service and an 11 a.m. service.

For any questions, contact Rieselman at 243-9504; email ChadRieselman@gmail.com; or visit them on facebook at facebook.com/GenerationChurchNorthTonawnada.