House of God plans to build learning center focused on Christ and STEAM

The Rev. Jamie Sanks wants to help children get a fair chance in life.

He says an education center being planned by his church will help do that.

“I am super excited to see God’s hand moving in this area,” Sanks said. “We want to make sure kids are not only college ready and career ready but Christ ready.”

Sanks is pastor at The House of God which is getting ready to build the Bright Destiny Learning Center behind the church at 7230 Flat Rock Road in Midland.

“We are blessed to have 6.3 acres of land and now we are going to enhance it and use it for a great purpose,” he said.

The center will be introducing children to Christ and will be offering a S.T.E.A.M. (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) program.

“It is what children need to be successful in the future,” Sanks said.

He said the programs will be elite.

Sanks said the church building was built by African-American slaves in the 1800s and used as a hospital for the confederacy.

“It will not be affected,” the pastor said.

The House of God was formed in 2007 and has been at this location since 2008. It is a mission church of Edgewood Baptist Church in Columbus. It is multiracial, multiethnic and nondenominational.

The center gets its name from Bright Destiny, Inc., a nonprofit organization that serves to provide spiritual, material, academic and financial support to the Christian education of church leadership and of people of all ages, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Sanks is president.

The center will be a Christian-based educational center focusing on enriching children in the early stages of life through middle school and is considered a launching pad for a K-12 school.

It will initially provide a full-day preschool for children 2-3 years of age and full-day Pre-K for children 4 years of age. There will also be before-school and after-school programs for children ages 5-13.

Sanks said this will take place in a safe environment full of the latest technology learning aids.

“This is not meant as competition for the public schools but to enhance the learning,” said Sanks’ wife Chenita Sanks who teaches in the Muscogee County School District.

“We will be tutoring the students and monitoring their progress. We will test to find each student’s strengths and weakness and create a program for them. We will prepare them for the jobs of the future,” she said.

Architect of the $4.5 million project is Harlan Price of Architectural Innovations Design Group. He has worked on many similar projects. The building will be two floors, 18,700 square feet. It is being built by Jonathan Layfield of H.J. Layfield Inc.

“There will 12 classrooms, three other special rooms, a chapel and a library,” Price said.

A development team has been formed for the project. One member is former state representative Jed Harris, now in the insurance and real estate business.

“I am a member of St. Luke but I got involved because I see this Bright Destiny Education Center as something important and relevant to the growth of the economy in this area,” Harris said.

Sanks would like to see the center become a reality by the end of 2018.

“First, we have to get the money,” he said.

He said a foundation has anonymously offered a $300,000 matching grant.

“Thank God,” he said.

A Renew, Restore and Rebuild Banquet will be held Edgewood Baptist Church Sept. 28 at 6:30 p.m. to benefit Bright Destiny Inc.

The keynote speaker will be Chad Barrett, the lead pastor at Element City Church in Houston, Texas.

Sanks said Barrett’s message will be about pushing you further than you think you can go, in order to reach the summit.

Tickets are $30 and will be available at the door. To reserve a seat or to receive more information, call 706-399-6732 or email Chenita Sanks at casanks4brightdestiny@gmail.com.

To find out more about Bright Destiny Inc. visit https://www.brightdestinyinc.org.

“This center has been part of our vision from the beginning,” said Sanks.

He referred to Matthew 28:19-20: “Therefore go and make disciples of the all nations , baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

This story was originally published September 24, 2017 at 2:35 PM with the headline "House of God plans to build learning center focused on Christ and STEAM."