Grace Baptist Church of Millersville is settling into its new home and preparing to explore new possibilities.

On Dec. 10, 2025, the church closed on the building and property at 242 Bender Road, Millersville, and held its first service there four days later. "That was a very busy week," pastor Joel DeVinney said. "We closed on Wednesday and moved Thursday, Friday, Saturday and had a service Sunday."

Grace Baptist sold its property at 121 Walnut Hill Road, Millersville, to Aaron's Acres. "Aaron's Acres is a public organization that serves children and young adults with various disabilities," DeVinney said. "I think they had been looking for a property for a couple of years, and (the Bender Road) property has been for sale for a couple of years, too. When we looked at it and decided it would be great for us and listed our building, Aaron's Acres was interested in purchasing our property. So we got a new home, and they got a home."

He noted that church members are thrilled. "The church was very enthusiastic about the move," DeVinney said. "We were at Walnut Hill Road for all 51 years of our existence. The past several years, we have talked about our need for more space, and every time a plan came forward, it was very expensive. We had a plan to expand the auditorium, but it would have cost $7 (million) to $8 million. And it was dependent on us getting water and sewer, public water and sewer, which we did not have on Walnut Hill Road. ... When this property came available and it was cheaper than our expansion plans and available immediately, the congregation was very excited about the possibility."

Grace Baptist is finding that bigger is better in this case. "(The new building is) twice the square footage of our former building," said DeVinney. "Its (increased) size was primarily our concern. It's not just the size of the building, but it sits on 20 acres of land, and it is right next door to a new development where they are going to start building homes. There'll be 200 or so new houses right next door in the next several years."

Grace Baptist can now accommodate more congregants. "The auditorium (where services are held) seats almost twice as many people exactly," said DeVinney. We have 330 chairs in there right now. Our previous one had 170 seats. (The new location) has twice the number of classrooms, and they're larger." The pastor said 300 people attended the Christmas Eve service.

Grace Baptist holds a service Sundays at 10 a.m., following Sunday school which starts at 9 a.m. "We moved from two services to one, and that's been great," DeVinney said. "We all worship together, which is something that's important to us. We have enjoyed that very much."

Grace Baptist will install a sizable playground, and the church is considering more ways to make use of the additional land.

In addition to Sunday school and services, Grace Baptist participates in the Bible2School program. "We host students from LeTort Elementary," said DeVinney. "We're much closer (now), so it makes that transportation a lot easier."

Awana, a program for children ages 3 through eighth grade, takes place Wednesdays starting at 6:30 p.m.

"Since we just moved in, we're thinking about how else we might use the building in our location to serve the community," said DeVinney. "We look forward to getting to know our neighbors better and being a positive member of the community, and we look forward to welcoming the new people who will move in at the development there."