God's path leads to new doors for The Sanctuary

The Sanctuary's Senior Pastor Chris Frank speaks to guests at the group's groundbreaking ceremony in May

Courtesy photo

LED BY FAITH

The whole thing is by faith - I mean truly. You know a farmer prays for rain, right, but they're gonna go work the fields. The people of the congregation have really stepped up and we've even had people outside the congregation see what God is doing and have said we're in support of this and they're praying for us.”

Chris Frank, Senior Pastor The Sanctuary of Fort Madison

LEE COUNTY – When a conversation with Pastor Chris Frank turns to plans for his congregation, he pivots quickly.
It’s not his plan, it’s God’s.
The plan now includes construction a 15,000 square foot worship center just north of Fort Madison’s Rodeo Park near the U.S. 61 bypass.
The First United Pentacostal Church of Fort Madison is now known as The Sanctuary of Fort Madison and space for the congregation has been an issue since he moved here in 2021. Since that time, Frank and the leadership of the church has been looking for places to move the growing membership to settle in.
The building that holds the congregation now is located just southeast of the Fort Madison Hy-Vee on 26th Street
“We just knew right away that we were going to need something bigger pretty soon,” Frank said.
“So I would say for three plus years now we’ve been busting at the seams consistently week in and week out.”
He said the church scoured the area looking for a new location including the James Block building that the city is currently marketing and the old Sears building, even looking at rebuilding on their current location. But however he added  parking space requirements would have used up more space than the building.
“We literally have tried to make just about everything work and then the door just kind of opened up to acquire these five acres of land,” he said.
He hopes to have the steel-framed building up by the winter with the exterior work done so construction crews can get inside during colder temperatures to do the inside work, and hopefully have the building open in 2027.
He said they acquired the land for the new location in 2025 and began moving dirt with a groundbreaking in May.
He said the decision to build over acquire has obviously pushed the cost of finding new digs, but that was the door God is opening for the church.
“The whole thing is by faith - I mean truly. You know a farmer prays for rain, right, but they're gonna go work the fields. The people of the congregation have really stepped up and we've even had people outside the congregation see what God is doing and have said we're in support of this and they're praying for us.”
Frank said the church is hoping to open the doors of the building to the community for events and will allow the church to move current outdoor events inside in the event of inclement weather.
He said involvement with the city and its residents is part of the reason for the new construction.
“We believe in this city. We believe in the region and we believe in the tri-state region and it's worth it,” he said.
The new facility will have a capacity of 350 people but Frank said services will remain consistent with the church’s current message. With new congregation facilities now including stages for performances, Frank said The Sanctuary will continue it’s mission of service.
“We're not going to pivot. Our intent is to be biblical year in and year out. Music is gonna be centered around Jesus and exalting God so whatever type of tunes come out it exalts the name of Jesus ,” he said.
"Our worship team does an incredible job and many people that come say the music blows them away, so we intend to carry over our current music ministry."
Frank is senior pastor for The Sanctuary and oversees the congregation with the support of his wife, Amanda, and two children, along with a leadership board.
"Our desire is for this building to become a lasting asset the region can enjoy; a beautiful and inviting location that brings people together and adds value to the community for years to come," Amanda Frank said.
Services are at 10 and 11 each Sunday at the current location.