In 1889, Temecula constructed its first school building: a classic one-room, frontier-style schoolhouse. This humble building served the families of Temecula for over 25 years until the community outgrew it. In 1915, a group of Temecula residents, led by a woman named Freda Knott, envisioned a higher use for the building. They converted that schoolhouse into a church chapel and instituted many programs focused on helping children mature in their relationship with Jesus. Few could have imagined the lasting fruit of their labors.
Since 1915, “the chapel that Freda built” has been in constant use. As of 2022, it has been 107 years! That’s at least five generations of Biblical discipleship, Vacation Bible Schools, AWANA programs, and so much more.
Imagine the stories that little chapel could tell if those walls could talk! And it’s all because a group of God’s followers was faithful. Freda and her friends invested in the kingdom of God. In short, they started a legacy. One that would far surpass their generation, their children’s generation, and even their grandchildren’s and great-grandchildren’s generations!
In 2015, Reliance Church was passed the baton of Freda’s legacy when we moved onto our new church property on Santiago road. Not only did we immediately begin using “the chapel that Freda built” for a multitude of ministry programs, but we made plans to expand the campus and our ministry operations there. Once again, a small group of Temecula residents was at work building a legacy.
The legacy of Reliance Church is not the buildings we build but rather the people we build. Toward that end, the buildings we build are like a family car. It’s not the car that is important, but the family you put in the car. The car simply serves as the vehicle that helps get your family safely and efficiently to their destination. Likewise, Reliance Church is a family of believers united in Christ and dedicated to making disciples, and our buildings serve as vehicles in that process.
In June of 2018, we completed the construction of Phase 1. This included a new sanctuary building, four portable classroom buildings, and some minor improvements to our chapel building, all integrated into a working campus. The completion of Phase 1 provided our church family with a functional base of operations from which to make disciples and plant churches.
Now we have the opportunity to launch phase 2.
The Plan
Phase 2
Phase 2 is a new Children’s Ministry building. It replaces our temporary B modular building (which is roughly 5,700 square feet) with a new two-story, 10,500 square foot building, specifically designed for the Reliance Kids ministry. This new building will provide us with eight new classrooms and new office spaces, and it will also incorporate enhanced educational technology in our classrooms. Phase 2 will not only greatly expand the capacity of the B Building, enabling us to minister to more children numerically, but it will also expand the overall available classroom space of our campus in general. This expanded capacity will provide more opportunities for discipleship and training not only for Reliance Kids but for other ministries and departments as well.
Click the Give Online button below and select the “Legacy – Building Fund” designation to give towards financing Phase 2 of our building project. To setup a recurring gift, select “Regularly” under the “Frequency” option.