From right to left, church leader Charlie Smith, Mayor Art Devlin, Deputy Mayor Jackie Kelly, Pastor Jim Koenig, High Peaks Church Pastor Bruce McCully and church elder Bob Appleton cut the ribbon at the Lake Placid Baptist Church’s newly named and renovated Community Room. (Provided photo — Jonathan Zaharek)

LAKE PLACID — The Lake Placid Baptist Church has renamed and rededicated its “Community Room,” which was recently renovated as part of the church’s efforts to provide useful services to the community.

In recent years, the church has hosted dozens of events in the space, which serves as a much-needed affordable option for local residents, Pastor Jim Koenig said.

“Jeremiah 21:7 says, ‘Pray for the welfare of your community because in its welfare, you will find your own,'” Koenig said.

He added that the church has always had an emphasis on outreach, recently hosting 1,000 people for a pancake breakfast during Ironman weekend. This value comes from the church’s origin, having begun with a group of Southern Baptists who came to help with the 1980 Olympics.

“They didn’t realize what they were really going to leave was a legacy of a church,” he said. “Our DNA has always been about being involved in our community.”

About two years ago, the church received a “windfall,” and as they prayed about how to use the money, they decided it would be best utilized for their most used room. Koenig said that since the coronavirus pandemic, they’ve seen an uptick in interest in the room for birthday parties, banquets, showers and more.

The gymnasium was built more than 20 years ago. As would be expected of any room that age, Koenig said a facelift was needed. Some of these changes included upgrading the heating system, repainting the walls, redoing the flooring on the stage, installing a permanent basketball net and improving the acoustics with sound panels.

All of these changes were designed to make the room more comfortable and useful for both the church and the many people who make use of the space. This year, the church is already expecting to host over 60 birthday parties there — with the option of a bounce house — Koenig said.

The event space can be reserved for four hours, with a recommended donation of $140 to cover the room and cost of cleaning. A form to reserve the room is on the church’s website at lakeplacidchurch.com.

In the past, the room had mainly been referred to as a gymnasium, but Koenig said people naturally started to refer to it as “The Community Room.” At a ribbon cutting last Saturday, July 19, that name was made official.