Northland Church
Northland Church Worship Center in Longwood now has the capability to spread its ministry worldwide after its recent expansion project. Designed as more of a distribution point than a destination, the worship center features a variety of cutting-edge technologies geared towards serving both the local and global needs of its parishioners.
The 161,000-square foot expansion features a 10,000-square foot foyer, complete with living room furniture that allows individuals to gather for meetings, business or relaxation. The center also boast a 4,500-square foot 
stage, 45 child and adult classrooms with audio/video capabilities, and the public Nature’s Table Cafe with seating for 100 people, according to Gary Moss, director of facilities for Northland, A Church Distributed, Inc., the projects owner.
While the expansion provides its members with an abundance of amenities, it’s most unique feature is the structure’s state-of-the-art technology with two-way inter-connectivity that provides virtually unlimited seating for worshippers on the Internet, according to Robert Andrescik, director of communications for Northland, A Church Distributed. “Up to 12 sites can worship at the same time in the new [expansion],” he said. “Hundreds, even thousands, of additional sites can also participate in interactive services online via live Webstream Worship.”
Each of the child and adult classrooms are connected to other rooms in the center and other parts of the globe, which ties into the worship center’s global perspective. “So, you can literally have a Bible study in Longwood connecting with believers at nearby…sites in Central Florida or far-away locations, such as Sri Lanka-and in real time,” said Andrescik.
The expansion contains a variety of construction materials, including 360 tons of steel to support the walls, the second floor and the roof; 14,000 seets of drywall; 3,200 cubic yards of concrete; 50 tons of reinforcing steel for the foundation and slabs; 5,500 amps of electrical power; and 370 tons of air conditioning via 37 HVAC units. In addition, a 20-ton bridge was constructed over the stage. Floor-to-ceiling windows were installed to maximize the use of natural light.
The greatest challenge is expanding the original church facility was in the creation of a building environment that was both unique and functional, since the general contractor constructed the expansion, and the church separately managed the decor and audiovisual equipment installations. “Coordinating these two separate
requirements with everyone working simultaneously was indeed a challange,” said Moss. According to him, this challenge was overcome through a series of meetings among church leaders, consultants and the architectural design team. Additionally, several churches across the country were visited to see some of the best ideas in practice. “Many public and private organizations have joked that nothings gets done by committee,” he said. “However, in our case, the establishment of an open dialogue through routine meetings with the key players achieved very positive results.”
Despite challenges, the expansion project was successful and Northland Church Worship Center can now provide its parishioners with a world-wide connection.