A church, the Rev. Randy Lovelace said, is about the people, not the building.

But after seven years of moving around, Redeemer Church found a house of worship to accommodate the booming growth of the congregation.

Redeemer held its 10 a.m. service this past Sunday in their first church building – the former Trinity Episcopal Church, which for 91 years had been the only black Episcopal Church in Montclair. Trinity closed in February, 2007 due to dwindling membership and finances.

"For us, it was really God’s provision," Lovelace said.

The Redeemer congregation purchased the North Willow Street church and neighboring rectory from the Episcopal Diocese of Newark for $1.1 million in June, Lovelace said.

The Diocese had owned the properties since the 1930s, when the church building served as an armory, said Canon R. Carter Echols of the Newark Diocese.

"The physical structure has emotional attachment for us, but what is more important is the possibility for our members to have life-giving ministry," Echols said.

Another Montclair congregation, Petra Baptist Church, had been renting the space from the Newark Diocese since 2004. Petra will continue to rent space from Redeemer.

"We have a great relationship with Petra," Lovelace said. "We also knew Petra was trying to buy the church building … Once we knew that they were unable to buy it, we stepped in," he said. "It is our belief and prayer and hope that Petra, too, will be able to purchase its own building. But until that time we are working with them."

Redeemer Montclair, a Presbyterian Church, launched its first worship service in Montclair on Sept. 16, 2001.

Five people attended.

The congregation has since grown to nearly 200 members.

"This past Sunday, it was our seventh anniversary where we remembered what God has done in providing us with a building," Lovelace said.

More than 170 people attended the service, during which Lovelace preached from Second Chronicles in the Bible.

Lovelace told a crowd of jubilant worshippers: "God’s presence in our lives is not based on a building any longer, but through Christ, the church is a living, breathing people, not a building. The building is a means to an end but not an end in of itself."

The crowd responded, "Praise God," from the pews, and smiled through song, despite not having air conditioning in a 250-seat sanctuary far from final renovations.

"I’ve never heard people singing so loud as they did," Lovelace said. "It was truly one of the brightest moments in all of my ministry."

Lovelace, 38, a former assistant pastor in a Florida Presbyterian church, moved to Montclair to help establish a daughter church of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, of the national Presbyterian denomination Presbyterian Church in America.

Services were first held in a warehouse that was once the former home of Luna Stage on Oak Place.

The number of members skyrocketed within the first few months, though the congregation remained there for five years.

Lovelace then expanded Sunday worship to two services.

"We realized that was not the best thing for building community and we sought to lease a larger space so we could have one service."

For the past two years, the congregation rented space from Senior Care Adult Daycare Center on Walnut Street.

Since the purchase of the North Willow Street church, the sanctuary’s murals have come down and the ceilings have been painted white. The pews are being re-stained and the congregation is "working with an architect on how to best use the building, but no final decisions have been made," Lovelace said.

"We should use this building and the gift of this building not only to serve one in another in love but to serve this community in love."

There was never any doubt that the congregation wanted to stay in Montclair, the pastor said.

"We have a lot of people coming from New York City and we thought it fit best with the personality of the church to serve a very diverse and progressive community," Lovelace said.

The makeup of the congregation is mostly young families. It is also diverse, comprising Caucasians and African-Americans, as well as members of Chinese, Korean and Taiwanese descent, Lovelace said.

"We really are committed to living out the gospel to serve the needs of Montclair, not just ‘Upper’ or central, but all of Montclair," Lovelace said.

"We are in the center of Montclair, in a church building that needed to be renewed."

Contact Tanya Drobness at drobness@montclairtimes.com.