Religious leaders have said many times that a church is more about the people who belong to it than the building they use.

Although the truth of that statement is hard to argue, one other fact remains just as concrete – having a nice building certainly doesn’t hurt.

After going nearly six years without a place to call home, folks at Peak United Methodist Church have recently discovered the joys of having their own building.

Peak UMC moved into the former Prince of Peace Episcopal Church structure at 1200 N. Salem St. in January and have been reaping the benefits ever since.

“A church is not a building,” said Pastor Tim Catlett. “A church is a group of people who care for each other and care for God. At the same time, we felt for us to reach the community effectively a building was needed. So this became a tool for us to be administering better.

“We see the building as a chance to (become) who we think God has called us to be. There is some freshness and excitement and it’s been a lot of fun. This just gives us a chance to engage with the community in new ways.”

Not only does Peak UMC now have a place for a nursery, children’s programs and youth groups but it has already grown from 80 to nearly 160 members.

“We’ve been here for five weeks and we’ve nearly doubled,” said Catlett. “It’s a surprise in some ways because this was intended to be a soft entry with our big launch beginning in April. But at the same time this is what we’ve kind of been preparing for. So it’s been encouraging to see and the excitement and energy has been contagious.”

The church was first formed in 2004 as result of overcrowding at Apex UMC. Initially named Acts UMC, church members met for years at Salem Middle School before spending the last year holding services back at Apex UMC.

During all of those years the idea was always to one day have their own place to gather and worship. When the former church on Salem St. became available it seemed like a perfect fit.

“Having a presence on (Salem Street) has helped,” said church music director Al Bethune. “We’ve had people who saw the sign and just stopped in. This (building) allows for our own identity to emerge. At (Apex UMC) it was difficult for us to be seen. We were kind of buried inside the bigger church.” The ties between the two churches remain very strong. Apex UMC has played an important role in helping Peak UMC get started.

“Instead of being an independent church we are looking at this as being a campus of Apex UMC,” said Bethune. “When we opened the doors here we weren’t really prepared to offer a nursery and child care. But we had trained people (at Apex UMC) that could come over here and help us. They had the experience and helped us get things going.”

The two churches co-run a marriage enrichment program and Apex UMC is able to use Peak UMC for Bible study and other group meetings.

“Their campus is pretty maxed out,” said Bethune. “If they needed to use this facility during the week for meetings we can help them out.”

Peak UMC remains committed to helping the community through various outreach programs. The church works with Habitat for Humanity and Western Wake Crisis Ministry and established its own bicycle ministry for needy children.

Church members are also involved with service projects in Aulander, NC as well as in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Having a building should only add to the ways that Peak UMC serves those in need.

“It’s been a really exciting time,” said Catlett. “We’re excited to watch what God is doing and what the people around here have been doing to serve and care for folks.”

For more information visit www peakumc org.