By CHRISTINE BOATWRIGHT / Staff Writer

WILTON – Wilton Baptist Church Pastor Greg Sellers said his church made a “positive move” after tearing down the church’s sanctuary Jan. 23.

The 90-year-old brick building was “beyond repair,” and the congregation abandoned the structure more than a year ago. Church services currently are held in the church’s newer fellowship hall facility.

Sellers said church leadership voted to demolish the sanctuary in January 2012.

“We had a lot of issues with the building. It’s an old building. There were a lot of issues with wiring, rotten structures and rotten stairways,” Sellers said. “The baptistry didn’t hold water, it leaked.

“Bringing things up to code and usage, safe usage, was more expensive than it was worth,” he added. “Without being able to fix a lot of brick structure, the concrete was starting to crumble up. There was no way to repair those things. We decided it was time to take a step of faith forward and build a new building.”

Sellers said his church will kick off a campaign to fund the new building, but he plans to hire an architectural firm to design the future sanctuary.

“It’ll be a process,” Sellers said. “The next step would be to have it designed architecturally. Once we do that, we’ll have a better idea as far as our next step, as far as how much it’s going to cost.”

Tentatively, Sellers said the new sanctuary will have additional Sunday school space, more seating capacity, a balcony and a fiberglass baptistry. He also hopes to have an elevator to assist attendees in accessing the church’s fellowship hall.

“It is a completely positive move we’re making. It’s not a negative thing to us,” Sellers said. “The old building was beyond repair. We feel that God has prepared a way for us.”

Wilton Baptist Church is located at 212 Selma Street in Wilton. For more information, visit Wiltonbaptist.com.