For Kensington's Rochester Congregation, Move to Lake Orion is Chance to Grow

It's a new era of sorts for the 1,800 members of Kensington Community Church in Rochester.

Starting with Easter weekend services Saturday, the church's Lake Orion campus, which meets at Lake Orion High School, will welcome the Rochester congregation. Since 2003, the nondenominational Christian church held services at ; this week, the Rochester congregation merges with the Lake Orion congregation into one Kensington Orion campus. 

The move is designed to provide more space — the Lake Orion auditorium holds 840 people, while the Rochester site seated 590. It's also designed to help the church save money for its next big adventure.

As early as this fall, Kensington will begin renovating a 72,000-square-foot warehouse on Lapeer Road in Orion Township. A capital campaign will be held to pay for the church, which will have a sanctuary, classrooms and lobby.

Becky Lee, co-campus director of the Orion site, did not know how much it will cost to build the church but said the purchase is in the process of being approved by the township.

Kensington, which also has branches in Birmingham, Clinton Township, Troy and Orlando, FL, has held services at Lake Orion High School since January 2009.

The last Rochester service was held last Sunday. While some families will travel to the Troy church, others will be encouraged to attend programs in Lake Orion, where there are 1,200 members.

“I think it’s going to be great,” Lee said. “It’s great to bring our two communities together. Ultimately, when we land in a permanent facility, that’s where we feel we will have a greater impact.”

With its own church, Kensington will be able to hold activities every day, including training classes and midweek services.

Despite the move, the church will continue activities in the Rochester area, such as the youth group, she said.

“We had a great working relationship with Rochester Community Schools, a great partnership with them,” Lee said. “Even though we’re not meeting in Rochester, we’ll stay rooted in the community.”

Starting next weekend, the Lake Orion church at 495 E. Scripps Rd., will have three Sunday services at 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and noon. (For Easter weekend, the church will have services at 3 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday and at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Sunday.)

Congregation members Victor and Vicki Obezil of Rochester Hills know what it’s like to switch locations. The couple started going to Kensington’s Troy church nine years ago and moved to the Rochester site when it opened. They plan to go to the Lake Orion campus.

“A lot of friends and families we had met moved to the Lake Orion campus,” Vicki Obezil said. “It’s a chance for us to get reunited with friends and families we haven’t seen for a long time, and it gives us a chance to meet new people.”

She enjoys the wide variety of volunteer opportunities that Kensington offers, such as the Compassion Ministry, which makes meals for people in crises, she said.

“At Kensington, we really try to reach out to bring new friends or co-workers, people who maybe have stopped going to church,” she added. “We continue to grow. It’s an exciting thing to be going through.”

The other co-campus director is Nancy Wurm. The senior pastor is Dave Wilson.

People who plan to attend an Easter service are asked to go to the church website at kensingtonchurch.org and download a free ticket; there are still tickets available for the services.