ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
An anonymous donor recently made an important project happen for the students of Fellowship Baptist Academy in the form of a new playground area.
As Fellowship Baptist Church Pastor Tyler Prater tells it, the project had been on the minds of many for a long time.
“Our church has had Fellowship Baptist Academy for more than 40 years now. Just a few years ago, our student body was only about 25 children, and since then, we've experienced some rapid growth in our school as we've done some revitalizing and restructuring, and today, we have nearly 200 students,” Tyler said. “We had a playground already built for the school grounds, but when you experience that type of growth, a bigger space is needed. That was already on our radar, and then about a year ago, one of our church members came to me with a donation check and told me to use it for the children and the school. After talking to our trustees and Sid [Prater], this came to the top of the list, and that's what we chose to do.”
“And then when Tyler came to me, he asked me what I thought would be a good project, and the playground was already on my mind, so we came together pretty quickly with that,” Sid added.
Construction on the playground began shortly after the end of the 2024-25 school year, and both Praters agreed there is a lot of excitement about the project’s completion.
“As soon as the 2024-25 school year was over, we immediately began working on tearing down the old playground and start construction. We did have to wait for some dirt work to be done before we could expand everything, and that didn't happen until about early July,” Sid said. “In just a little less than two months, we were able to get everything completed. I'm really excited with how everything came together and how nice everything looks. I didn't really have a vision when we first started, but what we did exceeds anything I thought, and that's amazing.”
“I'm absolutely ecstatic, I think it makes a statement to our church families and our students' families how much we care about the future. Seeing 200 students standing in front of the playground when we cut the ribbon on it Wednesday was almost overwhelming,” Tyler said. “It makes me really proud to pastor a church that cares so much about the next generation – and not just the children and families who attend the church, but for the many others in the community who will come and play.”
When everything finished coming together, both Praters said there was a big feeling of relief.
“We've been getting smaller things together even up to the past couple weeks. The biggest thing was the mulch, and the night after we got that rubber mulch down, it was a huge sigh of relief since we'd been battling the weather somewhat,” Sid said. “When we got that done, there was a lot of relief and excitement and happiness. The children had been asking for weeks when everything would be finished, and we had to explain to them how we were still waiting on some things, but we're so happy and relieved they now get to go on the playground and enjoy it all.”
“A project like this really reflects on the sacrificial nature of our church family. There were multiple evenings when there were more than 30 people working on the project, and we had multiple contractors who donated equipment and some time and expertise,” Tyler added. “There were so many people who bent over backwards so we could get this done by the time school got started. As a pastor, I felt so much gratitude for everyone who just went all in with this project for the children.”
And the students were particularly excited for the new playground, Sid said.
“When they saw everything for the first time, they were cheering and hollering and excited,” Sid said with a chuckle. “I could hear everything from my office inside and it got loud enough that I thought someone might actually be hurt, but it was just the children laughing and having fun playing. I've had so many of the students stop me in the hallways to say 'Thank you' and how much fun the playground is, so they absolutely love it.”
Overall, Tyler said, the playground is a project that should last for years to come.
“I want the community to know we exist primarily to help people find and follow Jesus, and a playground, while it sounds simple, is a means to that end,” Tyler said. “It's a means to be able to minister to and serve families and children not just today, but for years to come. I hope those same children, one day, will understand who Jesus is and what He's done to save them.”
