First United Methodist Church of Duncan, Oklahoma felt the need to rehabilitate and refurbish their church. They were able to move forward by adding, remodeling and updating 60,000 square feet. The Construction Manager, Churches by Daniels helped the church stay on budget by making decisions based on what was best for First United Methodist.The church had a very successful capital campaign, and although they thought the challenge would be raising the money, on the contrary it ended up being the spending part. Churches by Daniels overviewed the spending. This gave the church “a very relaxed, secure, confident feeling [to] retain such control with the professionals in the background to tell you when to write the check,” said Butch Whitten, chairman of the building committee.Having skipped a couple of generations putting anything back into the facility, much of the interior office space was reconfigured. The whole project was done with “how can we work on the facility to enhance our ministries” in mind.
There was a 15-foot city sewer easement that ran right through the center of the church that was redirected around the church.
With the music ministry being a big part in their church a new music suite was built with a place for the bells, a place for the chimes, a place for the choir to practice and a place for the robes and all their gear. Also there is now an enlarged parlor and the office suites are more useful and functional.
There was a chapel that was too small to use, so the space was increased and the ceiling height was raised; now it is a beautiful and very functional Chapel, which now seats 60 and gives the church a great sense of pride. This new space can be used to host weddings, funerals and other special events.
There is an 11,000-square-foot multi-purpose room that they all enjoy as a gym and a fellowship hall.
The kitchen is next to the multi-purpose room and was doubled in size and made into a State of the Art full commercial kitchen. They have a kitchen staff that cooks lunch for the rest of the staff daily, dinner for the community and an Annual Thanksgiving Noodle Dinner. The kitchen and fellowship area is used for wedding receptions, church functions, and much more!
