Emmanuel Christian breaks ground on new building

Emmanuel Christian Academy has been serving the Wiregrass for four decades, and like a lot of 41-year-olds, it’s getting bigger around the middle.

Middle school, that is. The school broke ground on a new middle school building Thursday, which will allow Emmanuel to accommodate its growing enrollment.

Emmanuel’s current enrollment is 440 students, up 30 from the previous year. Registration for next year has begun and 20 new families have already applied.

“Right now we’re using every room in the school,” Principal Mark Redmond said. “There’s not a spare room in there.”

Elliot Carey, a 16-year-old junior, said the school’s Christian theme drew his family to the school.

“You can come here and have plenty of opportunity to worship God however you want,” he said.

Seth Redmond, an Emmanuel teacher, said the new building would house five classrooms for about 125 students and a music room. The school’s current music room will be converted into a weight room.

The new building will cost about $300,000 and should be complete within a year. Redmond said the school will only have to finance the building for 3-5 years.

“It’s the only debt our school has,” he said.

The ground breaking for the new building was held after the school’s annual heritage festival. The heritage festival gives Emmanuel students the opportunity to celebrate their roots.

Walter Simms, a member of Emmanuel’s board of directors, said the school is popular because it provides affordable education in a good environment.

“Emmanuel is different in that we have so much diversity in our school,” Simms said. “...Emmanuel, in my opinion, is the best school in the Wiregrass.”