From Fitness to Faith: Growing Church Takes Over Former Gym

Grace Fellowship Church, originally started in Latham over 20 years ago by pastor Dr. Rex Keener, has already seen plenty of success as it filled both its Latham campus and later an added campus in Halfmoon. 

Now, as the church looks to spread its mission even further through the Capital Region, it is adding campuses in both Saratoga and Greenbush. 

The new Saratoga campus will be taking over the space that was formerly High Rock Sports and Fitness, located at 165 High Rock Avenue. 

“It’s exactly what we’ve been looking for,” said Mike Adams, who will head the campus as pastor. “We’re currently in the process of renovating it from a fitness center into a meeting space. We’ll primarily use the space on Sundays as a worship facility, but we also have plans to use it throughout the week for various community and church-specific events.”

Adams said that the new campus is still a part of one church, but will be specific to Saratoga.

“We describe Grace as ‘one church that meets in multiple locations,’” Adams said. “That being said, we want our Saratoga campus to be culturally distinct to Saratoga. Our hope is to genuinely become involved in Saratoga’s community and be a truly positive influence in this city that is so rich in culture and diversity.”

The new church expects to find its attendees and members with the help of the foundation laid by the Latham and Halfmoon campuses. Even though the new campuses will most likely take some members from the already existing churches, Adams said the church “has strategically planned for these campuses and the impact on attendance is welcome as we hope to bring our church’s mission into a more localized context for many in our congregation.”

As the Saratoga campus will open with the goal of maintaining the church’s mission of “making more and better disciples,” Adams said an integral part of the new campus’ goal is to serve in the community.

“In Saratoga, our goal is to not only carry these essentials with us into the city, but also recognize that if we are to truly make a positive impact we must become a part of the community,” Adams said. “That means that we will sharply focus on community involvement and service with the critical goal of not only relating to the Saratoga community, but also serving Saratoga in a variety of ways.  We want to be an active participant in the city.”

Adams, who recently relocated to Saratoga Springs from Boston with his wife and two children, said he has been “amazed at how welcoming this community is.” 

“I’ve already had the pleasure of meeting with business leaders, clergy, Skidmore College students, city officials, and many local families, and I’m thrilled to be a part of this dynamic community,” Adams said.

Members of Grace Fellowship come together for worship every Sunday morning at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., with a Saturday evening service at the Latham campus at 5 p.m. 

“Dr. Rex Keener is our founding and senior pastor, and he preaches for most of the weekend services,” Adams said. “We record our weekend sermon on Saturday night and distribute it for playback at our campuses on Sunday morning. Apart from the sermon, the rest of the Sunday worship services are live. We primarily worship on Sunday mornings, but we have many other opportunities to come together and to learn and grow.”

The “non-denominational, evangelical church that preaches the message of the gospel as outlined in the Bible,” also offers small groups, service projects, adult classes, men’s and women’s groups and opportunities for children and teenagers. 

Adams said the “hope and expectation is to hold our first worship service at the very beginning of 2014.”

“What better way to start the New Year than with a new church opening its doors?”