It’s exciting times for the former Whitehorse Baptist Church, as a new building is being planned and it has a new name.

On April 8, the church officially changed its name to Mountainview Church.

Lead Pastor Jeremy Norton said that name was chosen in part because the church will be moving to a new location on Mountainview Drive at Range Road sometime in the next few years.

Members of the congregation were able to submit names.

There were several suggestions, Norton told the Star last week.

Church leadership narrowed down the possibilities to three, and put it up for a vote to all members.

Norton explained that the person who submitted the name Mountainview Church did that because of the new location and the Bible verse Michael 4 verse 1 and 2 resonated with this person.

The verse references a lord in the mountains and people coming from all over to see.

“It’s a little bit Mountainview Drive and a little bit Bible,” Norton said.

As for why the church will be moving in the future, Norton said the current structure is old. It was built in the 1960s. The current building is a traditional A-frame structure. Also people at that time may not have had as many cars so parking is an issue.

“Our parking has alway been a bit of a problem,” he said.

Norton said the space in the building has been concern. The children’s space in the current building is small, and he feels that is not good for them.

The design for the new church has not been finalized at this point. Designs and concepts are being developed.

Norton said some of the features on the wish list would be a bigger parking lot, a larger auditorium, a more expansive, vibrant children’s area and a youth space.

There has been talk of an improved kitchen space. Norton did not know if the new kitchen will be commercial but it would be an improvement. This should help the church feed people and host events.

“I don’t know exactly (planning),” he said. “It is still at the beginning stages.”

The church did a feasibility study in 2005 regarding moving to a new location.

From there, leadership searched for suitable land. The Mountainview Drive property came up and the church made a bid.

Norton said this happened before he started with the church in 2014. He estimated the church submitted its bid sometime in 2013.

Since then, the lot has remained undeveloped. Norton said it will be a few years before the move.

The church is growing, he added. He sees new people attending the two Sunday services at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. every week.

Some have not gone to church in years – and are staying.

Everyone is welcome at Mountainview. Norton said both believers and non-believers are encouraged to come and check it out.

“We’re excited to have everyone,” he said.

April 8 also marked the soft launch of the Northern Collective Church. This church meets at Mountainview’s current location at 2 p.m. on Sundays.