When a tornado passed over Liberty Baptist Church in April, stripping shingles off the roof and pulling the steeple from its perch, church officials and members praised God for sparing the children and adults who were there for its daycare program.

On Saturday, the church celebrated another example of God’s blessings: the completion of a new 15,000-square-foot, $1.9 million multi-purpose family life center.

The new building is intended as a place where the church can continue its mission of community outreach by expanding its AWANA Clubs and launching an Upward sports program. It also can serve as a shelter location in case of another natural disaster, and it will be a place where church functions can take place in comfort.

The opening marks a high point for the church, whose founding members began meeting in 1977 at the Coca-Cola plant and in the Nansemond Heating and Cooling building before finally getting their own building. The new facility will be a blessing both to the church and to its surrounding community, and it represents a physical culmination of the hopes and dreams of those founding members, who, in the words of charter member Sherry Price, “wanted to be a lighthouse in the neighborhood for God’s work.”

That work calls for Christians to go out and teach others about Jesus Christ. Sometimes the mission requires sending representatives throughout the world to spread the word. And sometimes it means finding ways to bring people into the church here at home. By providing such a useful community resource, Liberty is helping to assure that Christ’s mission is accomplished right here in Suffolk, as well as in the world at large.