East Coast Christian Center in Viera has long been in the planning, starting out in a movie theater then moving to Viera High School.
Now, the church has expanded its presence in Brevard County with a new, 22,000 square-foot building with seating for about 600. The excitement has been building since construction started more than 18 months ago.
“Here today, we stand in a brand-new building, and I want to say thank you to everybody,” Matt Stallbaum, the pastor, said during a recent ribbon-cutting ceremony. “First, I want to say thank you to God. Obviously, God is our source of life. He is our source of love. He is the source and we are just the conduit of love for each other.”
Stallbaum went on to thank what he said was an incredible team, including the builders.
“This went up really quick,” he said. “It went up quicker than two years, way quicker.”
East Coast Christian Center has had a presence in Brevard County for about 30 years. It started its Viera campus in 2012 at the Rave Theater. It later moved to Viera High School, where it remained until the new building was completed.
The Viera campus, a modern building with simple lines and seating that can be moved to reconfigure the interior space, will have spaces for children and teens, a coffee bar and events. The church plans to eventually add a pre-school to the new site.
“Two years ago, you couldn’t stand where I’m standing now,” Stallbaum said, standing just outside the building. “Let me remind you that we had to bring in five feet of dirt to cover five acres of land to make this buildable.”
Stallbaum said the builders did an incredible job.
“I also want to thank the Viera Company and the Duda family because they have done an incredible job as well.”
The church has long been involved with the community.
In the past decade, its food pantry has given away nearly five million pounds of food to local families in need, while also partnering with global ministries such as World Compassion and Convoy of Hope to meet urgent needs of people worldwide.
Local events, fellowship groups and programs specifically for teens, young adults, business leaders and senior citizens are just a few of the ways that East Coast Christian Center helps the community.