220 ton chapel relocated as People's Church undergoes expansion

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A northeast Fresno megachurch is in the middle of a major expansion, one which involves moving an entire chapel.

The 220 ton, 8,000 square foot G.L. Johnson Chapel has been secured on steel beams and eight dollies, holy rollers if you will.

Starting on Monday, the chapel will be moved 340 feet to a new location as People's Church undergoes a facelift with the chapel entrance to face Cedar Avenue.

Lead Pastor Dale Oquist said, "The idea of moving a building like this is dramatic for us, but the wonderful thing is it's no big deal to them, so it's very exciting. This is really an exciting day. It's a historic day for us as we are positioning ourselves for the next decade or two."

Oquist explained it was cheaper to move the chapel than to build a new one but this one was named in honor of a late reverend who helped spur tremendous growth at the Peoples Church. Oquist said, "To keep the same building that they built in his honor, in Pastor G.L. Johnson's honor, was very important to us. We were thrilled to know that we could move it."

The sun broke out after the recent rains to keep the project moving.

The congregation is putting a great deal of faith in Dinuba House Movers and Quiring General in handling the move of their chapel. This is all part of a 20 million dollar expansion plan.

Oquist said, "Approximately where the chapel is right now, which will be somewhat our front door, will be the children's area and there will be an extended lobby that will be part of it."

A two-story children's center to educate the young was expected to be complete in 1 1/2 years.

The new site for the chapel is being prepared, and the move should be complete by the end of the week.