Five years ago, Vineyard Church of Toledo bought 18 acres in Springfield Township with plans to build a church on the property. In the meantime, it held its Sunday morning services at Springfield High School.

The economic downturn put construction plans on hold, however, and a phone call last November inspired Vineyard's pastors to re-evaluate their building project entirely.

Josh Heaston, Christian emphasis director for the YMCA of Greater Toledo, called the Rev. Bill Herzog and his wife, Barb, who co-pastor Vineyard, and asked if they would consider partnering with the Y by sharing a building in Perrysburg.

The 19,000-square-foot facility had been the site of Bridgeway Church, which disbanded, and was purchased by the Witzler-Shank Funeral Home next door for $400,000 and available for lease.

"From our perspective, it was a win-win situation," Mrs. Herzog said. "When we saw the building, it was the same setup we would have had if we built a new one."

The Y will use the former Nazarene church for child care and after-school programs from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, while Vineyard will use it on weeknights and weekends.

Sunday, Vineyard will hold its first Sunday worship service in the new location, 210 East South Boundary, at 10 a.m.

"We just never felt the freedom to go and raise the money to build, and with the economy the way it is right now I'm glad we don't have a huge mortgage over our head," Mr. Herzog said. "When we went to see the building in Perrysburg, there was a stirring in our hearts. Everything we were going to build was right there."

Having a building to call home carries a number of benefits for Vineyard, he said, especially the sound and music teams who have been carrying two trailer-loads of equipment into Springfield High, setting up for services, then taking everything down and hauling it out every Sunday.

"Now [music pastor] Dave Chumchal will have to roll out the soundboard and plug it in, but the speakers and instruments will stay on the stage all week," Mr. Herzog said.

"We'll have to set up the chairs every weekend, but there will be a lot less pressure and stress on everyone."

Jody Alexander, vice president of the YMCA of Greater Toledo, said having the facility will allow the Y to consolidate its Perrysburg child-care services, now held in two churches, as well as hold programs and activities that will alleviate the overloaded YMCA at Fort Meigs.

"Our building at Fort Meigs is open from 4 a.m. to midnight. We are jam-packed," she said. "We often have requests for groups that want to come in, and we wanted to expand the existing programs but just didn't have the space to do that. Having an additional building with extra classroom space, we now can add programs."

Ms. Alexander added that the Y's child care and other programs "wrap very nicely" around the church's activities. She said there is a growing trend among YMCAs around the country to partner with churches by sharing facilities.

"It would have been very difficult for either the church or us to use this building if we didn't have each other," she said. "It's 19,000 square feet and that's pretty doggone large for a child care center. Pooling resources makes sense."

Mr. Heaston said that over the last four years, Toledo-area YMCA officials have been making an effort to focus on the letter "C" in YMCA, for Young Men's Christian Association.

"There's no better way in my mind than to partner with the local church," he said. "Instead of reinventing the wheel, partnering makes sense. We can share budgets and light bills instead of putting that money into brick and mortar."

Mr. Herzog said the new partnership lowers the church's costs compared to what it paid when renting space at the school.

"It will free up some money for us to be more generous to the Y and to other ministries around town," he said.

The new site is the fifth location for Vineyard Church since it was founded in 1994 in the Herzogs' living room with a dozen people. The church is affiliated with the nationwide Vineyard movement, which emphasizes service to the community, a casual atmosphere, and charismatic worship and music.

The congregation moved into a building on Central Avenue and Douglas Road in 1995, and less than two years later moved into "The Barn," the former Hickory Farms headquarters on Reynolds Road.

Church attendance grew to about 300 when the leadership decided to buy the property in Springfield Township in 2004 and begin meeting at the high school.

The Herzogs said attendance has dropped over the last five years to about 250, but the new facility's multipurpose room - a combined gym and auditorium - can seat about 500.

Vineyard has offices in the Perrysburg building full-time and Mrs. Herzog said the church is considering selling the 18 acres it owns on Hill Avenue.

- David Yonke

First Published January 31, 2009, 10:35 a.m.