A Pentecostal Church With a Park at Its Back Door
Praise Assembly sits on North Glenstone Avenue in Springfield, Missouri, a few blocks north of Interstate 44. The Pentecostal congregation is best known in the region not for a sanctuary program or a media ministry but for a 40-acre expanse of green space behind its building that anyone in the neighborhood can walk into from dawn to dusk. The church's signature outreach is Northeast Community Park, a free public recreation area that Praise Assembly conceived, financed, and continues to operate with a rotating crew of church members and outside volunteers. On Sunday, September 8, 2024, Mayor Ken McClure proclaimed Northeast Community Park Day in Springfield after more than 1,200 people turned out for the ribbon-cutting.
The church and the park share a single address: 3535 N. Glenstone Ave, Springfield, MO 65803. Anyone driving past sees a fairly ordinary church building. Out back, where a field once lay behind the sanctuary, there are now nearly a mile of concrete walking paths, fenced pickleball and basketball courts, a sand volleyball court, a soccer field, a horseshoe pit, gardens with native grasses, and a large community pavilion with electricity and lights. Construction began on Phase 3 - a fully accessible playground known inside the project as the Heart of the Park - in early 2026, with a projected opening in late May.
The Vision Behind the Park
Praise Assembly frames the park in plain language. Its stated mission is that the Northeast Community Park exists to provide a safe, inviting, and open space for the community to gather, grow, and get to know each other. Four values sit underneath that mission: Connection (neighbors are better together and need a space for that), Nature (fresh air, soft grass, and a place to play make happy, healthy people), Movement (the less we move, the less we can), and Accessibility (no one should be unable to play with family and friends).
The bigger vision is geographic. The church wants to improve and move Northeast Springfield from the inside, out, with the hope that mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being will rise along with property values. In a 2023 statement the congregation described itself as aiming to be a vital part of its community. The pastor at the time the park was planned and built, Alan Beauchamp, often returns to the same phrase: the park is a place for neighbors to know their neighbors.
From a Field to a Park, in Phases
The park's development has unfolded in three visible phases. The groundbreaking took place in February 2023. Phases 1 and 2 opened together at the public grand opening in September 2024, representing a combined investment of $3.85 million - $850,000 of that in property and improvements on the books. Phase 3, the inclusive playground, broke ground in March 2026 and is the final piece of the original master plan.
Phase 1 focused on the bones of the park. Crews poured 3,987 linear feet of concrete walking paths covering 20,185 square feet - enough for four soccer fields laid side by side, or a lot of hopscotch. The paths were built as three loops: a one-mile outer loop for longer walks and runs, a half-mile middle loop, and a tenth-mile inner loop for quick stretches. A $57,000 grant from the Missouri Department of Conservation covered half the cost of those paths. Phase 1 also produced the Community Pavilion, the structure that now anchors most of the park's group events.
Phase 2 added the recreation side. Two purpose-built pickleball courts went in, with regulation nets, clearly painted kitchens, and benches on each side. (Walk-in players note: these are the only public pickleball courts north of I-44, and they are not converted tennis courts.) A basketball court, a sand volleyball court, a soccer field, and a horseshoe pit joined them, along with the bulk of the landscaping and the entrance signage.
Walking the Paths
The walking paths are the park's most-used feature. Regular walkers describe it as a place where you trade traffic noise for the sound of breeze through young trees. The smooth concrete is friendly to strollers, walkers, and recumbent trikes, and it is wide enough for cyclists to share with pedestrians. Volunteers have planted native flowers along the edges - coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, and coreopsis - and dedicated memorial benches sit at intervals where walkers can pause, read an inscription, and rest. Additional benches are available for dedication through the church office.
A maintenance crew handles the day-to-day. Church member Stephanie Peters oversees landscaping and grounds for both the church property and the park. She manages a water-tank-equipped UTV that volunteers drive from planting bed to planting bed, a routine the congregation writes about often. Volunteer Ken Dahlager handles mowing, edging, and other groundskeeping, and additional help is always welcome; the church has put out repeated calls for anyone able to give an hour or two for watering, weeding, or trail upkeep.
The Community Pavilion
The Community Pavilion sits near the center of the park. It has benches, electricity, and lights, so it works for daytime picnics and evening events alike. The pavilion has become the park's social hub. Moms gather there while their children play, walkers cool off under its roof, and several local schools and organizations have begun reserving it for their own events.
The pavilion is reservable for a $50 donation, which secures up to four hours; afterward it is first-come, first-served. The reservation system is handled through a dedicated scheduling link tied to the church.
Sports Courts and Open Play
The sports side of the park is laid out for casual and serious play alike. Pickleball players can reserve Court B for an hour with a $5 donation. The basketball court is reservable the same way, as is the sand volleyball court. The soccer field and horseshoe pit remain open for drop-in use. During the grand opening weekend, all three courts filled up at once, with food trucks lined along the parking lot and a bike rodeo running for younger children.
One unexpected regular is Casey Wilson of K9 Defend Training Center, who has used the pavilion and grounds for American Politiehond Association dog sport trials. The first APA trial in the Midwest was held at the park, drawing competitors from Missouri, Texas, Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Wisconsin, and California.
The Heart of the Park: An Accessible Playground
Phase 3 is the part of the project that most clearly expresses the church's stated value of accessibility. Praise Assembly broke ground on a fully accessible, inclusive playground in March 2026, and the project is now fully funded. The total budget for the playground is $246,400.
The design is called the Heart of the Park. It includes ADA-accessible ramps that wind up to massive decks topped with hexagonal roof structures, a Boulder Climber, a Rock Hole Climber, and an Overhead Octagon Straight Rung Ladder. Four slides cap the structure. At ground level, interactive play panels, a xylophone, and double conga bongo drums invite sensory play. Swings include both belt seats and adaptive seats for children who need them. Beneath it all is pour-in-place rubber surfacing covering about 4,500 square feet, the soft, durable foundation that makes the playground truly accessible to wheelchairs and mobility devices.
Funding came in pieces large and small. The Community Foundation of the Ozarks contributed a $10,000 Everyone Outdoors Grant. The Nick Hostler Foundation, established to honor the legacy of Nick Hostler and to promote opportunities for people of all abilities to be active, engaged, and included, gave $8,000 to fully fund the goal. Mark Kay Hostler of the foundation said the playground aligns succinctly with the foundation's mission of inclusion and acceptance. Park Development Director Joe Sardo describes the project simply: this playground is about more than equipment - it's about belonging. Construction began with the groundbreaking in March 2026, and the park team is targeting a late-May opening.
Park Development Director Joe Sardo has been the public face of the playground campaign. He speaks often about the area's longstanding reputation as a play desert - a place identified by the Greene County Health Department as lacking basic recreational space for children - and frames the playground as a direct response. The hope is that families across the region will find a barrier-free place to play.
Trees, Gardens, and Conservation
The park's environmental work runs alongside its recreation work. In April 2025, Praise Assembly partnered with the Missouri Department of Conservation to plant 100 trees in a single Arbor Day event, drawing volunteers of all ages for a morning of digging, watering, and a free photo booth. In April 2026, the Missouri Department of Conservation returned with a tree-maintenance investment that supports ongoing care for nearly 100 trees across the park's 40 acres.
Stephanie Peters has led the landscaping effort. Five zones of approximately 3,000 square feet each are being planted with native warm-season grasses like Big Bluestem and June Grass, along with towering sunflowers that can reach 12 feet. A separate instructional garden near the center of the park uses mulched paths and labeled plantings to introduce visitors to grasses such as River Oats, Eastern Gammagrass, and Fowl Manna Grass. A rock-covered creek bed manages stormwater runoff during heavy rains. The Missouri Department of Conservation provided a $1,600 grant for native plantings at the park's four entrances, and Brookline Arena Compost, Dap Backhoe and Hauling, Kerburg Roofing, and an anonymous $10,000 donor have contributed materials and labor to the landscaping program.
Christmas Stroll in the Park
The Christmas Stroll in the Park has become the church's signature seasonal event. Held on a December evening from 5 to 7 p.m., it transforms the walking paths into a winter walk with a live nativity scene, carolers, an inflatable winter wonderland for children, a Christmas train ride reminiscent of the Polar Express, and pictures with Santa. Hot cocoa, cookies, and s'mores roasted over an open fire keep visitors warm. The evening closes with a community countdown and the lighting of a large Christmas tree on the pavilion lawn. The stroll started in 2023, the year after the pavilion opened, and has drawn families from across north Springfield each year since.
Awards and Recognition
In September 2024, the North Springfield Betterment Association presented Praise Assembly with its Commercial Betterment Award, given to organizations that have contributed significantly to the improvement of North Springfield through property enhancement or new development. Pastor Alan Beauchamp accepted the award alongside Joe Sardo, Vince Crunk, and Stefan Bunch. Jon Mooney, Assistant Director of the Greene County Health Department, spoke at the ceremony and recalled the health department's early efforts to find a suitable playground site for north Springfield. Mindy McDonald, Director of Advancement and Marketing at Victory Mission, called the park a gem for the North Springfield community and said it is leading the charge for placemaking in the city.
The opening was covered by the Springfield News-Leader, KSMU (the local NPR station), and KY3. Pastor Beauchamp used the opening-day platform to repeat the church's purpose plainly: We want to see neighbors knowing their neighbors in northeast Springfield. That's what this park is about.
Who Runs the Park
Joe Sardo is the Park Development Director and has been the operational lead from the earliest construction phases through the playground campaign. Stephanie Peters handles landscaping and grounds for both the church and the park. Barbara Carlson, a longtime volunteer gardener, has tended the pavilion flower beds twice a week since spring 2023, working five-hour stretches on Mondays and Thursdays. Volunteer writer John Kennedy has produced a long-running journal of the park's progress, titled "A Walk in the Park," that documents everything from the first grass plantings to the Christmas Stroll.
The wider volunteer team has grown well beyond the church. Joe Sardo has noted that several of the regular volunteers are not affiliated with Praise Assembly at all - some come from other churches, some are neighborhood residents, and others are simply people who use the walking trails. The park has hosted Serve Days that draw 25 volunteers at a time and create roughly 100 hours of focused work in a single morning.
Visiting the Park
Northeast Community Park is open to the public from dawn to dusk, every day, free of charge. The main address is 3535 N. Glenstone Ave, Springfield, MO 65803. The pavilion, pickleball Court B, the basketball court, and the sand volleyball court can be reserved through dedicated scheduling links; the suggested donations are $50 for up to four hours at the pavilion and $5 per hour per court. Walking paths, the soccer field, and the horseshoe pit are first-come, first-served. Parking is on the church lot, though the lot is periodically resurfaced; during those windows, signs direct visitors to nearby street parking.
The church office can be reached at 417-833-3000 for questions about reservations, bench dedications, donations to the accessible playground, or volunteer opportunities. Giving to the playground is handled through the church's online giving portal.
A Park That Reflects the Church
Praise Assembly is, at its core, a neighborhood Pentecostal congregation that decided the most faithful thing it could do with the field behind its building was to turn it over to the city. The walking paths, the courts, the pavilion, the gardens, and the accessible playground are all the product of that decision - a long, multi-phase project that has relied on the church's members, outside volunteers, foundation grants, state agency support, and local businesses working side by side. In the words the church returns to again and again, the Northeast Community Park exists to provide a safe, inviting, and open space for the community to gather, grow, and get to know each other.