Long Branch Church Gets Multi-Million Dollar Expansion

After just celebrating its 125th anniversary, Second Baptist Church in Long Branch is about to unveil its multi-million dollar expansion.

The church, located at 93 Liberty St., will have the grand opening of its new 10,000 sq. foot facility on Saturday at 3:45 p.m.

Second Baptist Church Treasurer Chanta Jackson said the the project was originally supposed to be completed much sooner, but took over four years to complete because of the "downturn in the economy and other factors."

The new facility will be located directly next to the original and will feature a 750-foot sanctuary, a 300-seat dining room, a state-of-the-art kitchen facility, office space and six classrooms including a computer lab.

The original church features a sanctuary, educational rooms and offices.

"Our goal was to increase our ministry, and in order to do so, we needed more space," Jackson said.

Jackson said the church's coffers and a loan from TD Bank. She declined to say how much money the expansion will cost, but described it as a "multi-million dollar project."