"Are these the only screws we have around here?"

"I'd have to look around. If you can't find any, I will send someone to get some," said Darrin Spencer, walking the halls of his construction site.

The space, once the cafeteria for the headquarters of clothing distributor London Fog, is getting a face-lift with a unique twist.

Spencer is not your average construction supervisor. And his crewmembers are not your average construction workers.

Pastor Darrin Spencer, founder of Life House Church Of Sykesville, and his congregation who come from all walks of life are working together to make a big move.

"I've done a little bit of electrical, a little bit of HVAC, a little bit of stuff here and there but nothing like this," said Spencer. "This is where my job much as a pastor is very similar to that of a carpenter. I'm connecting people who have skills and pointing them in the right direction based on where I see things going."

The Life House Church Of Sykesville opened its doors in May 2008 and is currently located between F&S Cycles and Terry's Tag and Title off of Dickenson Road in Sykesville. The move signals new change for the church that cannot add to its membership due to space constraints.

"It's going to allow us to grow because where we are now on a Sunday we get up and let someone else sit down because it's really tight," said Janet Kelly, member of the congregation. "This gives us space and lets people know that if they come there's going to be enough room for you."  

With the new building, Life House Church is doubling their space but not their bill for renovations. The church spent $10,000 on renovations to their current location but only plans on spending $15,000 on the larger, new space that required a significantly more work in gutting and refinishing.

"It's almost ridiculous. It should have been about a $25,000 budget but I'm chomping at the bit to stay under that," said Spencer. "It has been wonderful to have all of these volunteers, the people in the church giving their skills their trades to bringing our new space to life."

And while plans have been in the works for a quite some time, the building permit wasn't approved until Oct. 20, meaning "church work nights" started becoming a habit for the congregation.

"It's hard to put into words the feelings I had the day that I got the building permit. I texted that picture to everybody so now they then knew they can go to work."

And with hard work and a dedicated workforce, Pastor Spencer has high hopes that the project will be done in a total of two months for a move-in date of Dec. 24 – Christmas Eve.

"We're all feeling it I think but you know this place has come a long way very quickly," said Spencer.

"It was not too long ago that it was looking pretty bad," said Kyle Brady, member of the congregation.

It has only been a month since construction started and with new floors, a stage in place, and painted windows and walls, a lot has already been accomplished.

"It's just amazing the things that they have done here in such little time," said Kelly. "I'm excited I just can't wait for the day that we open up and can really come in and serve the community."

And when the candles are lit on Christmas Eve, the congregation will see the unique transformation come to life.

"This once was a place that served physical food and now we're making this a place that serves spiritual food," said Spencer.