ºBy Serenity Pusher
BUILDING BLACK
COLUMBIA
Bible Way Church of Atlas Road’s Youth Development Center purpose became a reality by providing youth and families with a safe space in the community for resources, educational support, and extracurriculars.
The center cost approximately $4.5 million to complete. Funding was secured through a combination of donations and offerings from church members, with First Citizens Bank serving as the financial partner to support the construction of the facility.
Nicole Holland, communications consultant for Bible Way Church, said Pastor Darrell Jackson Sr. envisioned the church campus as a place where the community could gather— not just for worship, but for access to a variety of resources, as well as educational and extracurricular activities. Over the years, he had worked to enhance the facilities on the church campus with the goal of creating something similar to the Youth Development Center.
“We had a children’s church, but it was in a smaller location. We had the first Office of Youth Development, which is now where the Communication Center sits,” said Holland. “Each time we enhanced it, he said, ‘Yes, that’s good—but we still need more. We need
more computers; we need more space. We need it to be Wi-Fi connected, and we need to speak to the future generation.’”
“He has been on a mission to enhance the youth facility, and that old—or rather, the current building they opened last year—is the result of that vision.”
Darrell Jackson Jr., chief operating officer of Bible Way Church, said the church heard
feedback from both parents and youth in the congregation.
“So we decided to collaborate with them on the design and the build of it, and work with a great team of people like Construction Dynamics and Nate Spells to get what you see today,” he said.
Jackson Jr. shared that Pastor Darrell Jackson Sr. and Nathaniel Spells Sr., Presi-
dent and CEO of Construction Dynamics, had known each other and collaborated on various projects for many years. For this project, both Spells Sr. and his son, Nathaniel Spells Jr., Vice President of Operations at Construction Dynamics, worked alongside Pastor Jackson and Jackson Jr. It marked the first time the two father-son duos had the opportunity to work together as the leaders of their organizations on a shared initiative.
Spells Jr. said the Youth Development Center is significant because it was the first major project he was involved with.
“Originally, they wanted us to be part of their sanctuary, but we had just finished Brookland, and my dad was just physically and mentally worn out from getting that project done,” he said. “Fast forward, now, this opportunity was presented to us a couple years ago, and that’s how we got this and because those relationships between the Jacksons, we were able to in the trust they had in us, for us to build this facility.”
Spells Jr. said the Jacksons came to the Construction Dynamics team with a specific budget for the project and asked what could be done with it. Because Construction Dynamics had completed other religious facility projects, the company had a stock of extra materials. It had also built a relationship with McAbee Architects Inc., which has designed more than
500 religious facilities known for using quality materials.
The center became the third project Spells Jr. worked on with McAbee Architects Inc. When he brought the budget to the architects, they saw what the church was doing for the community and chose to support the effort by discounting their services.
During meetings with church leaders, Construction Dynamics and the owners of McAbee Architects Inc. created a plan to design the building, select materials, and
price the construction to fit the budget.
The development plan was carried out smoothly, but the team ran into a few issues that required working with the city to secure a water meter for the red tape zone.
“Every time I walk through here, my heart is full because there are kids here right now. Just seeing what this building is doing for the community — I absolutely love it. That’s the passion I have. I have a passion for this,” Spells Jr. said.
