Church Sign for Maranatha Bible Church

"We gave serious thought to getting an actual stone sign," says Dustin Mizell, youth pastor at Maranatha Bible Church in sunny southeast Florida. "But it didn't make any sense to go that route. Not only was it cost prohibitive, it would have eaten up a lot of my time."

Dustin ought to know. When he's not organizing retreats or planning concerts for the young people of his church, Dustin is an architect by day.

"Just to draw it up an engineer would have charged us an easy thousand dollars. We are a small church, so that's a lot of money," exclaims Dustin. "Besides, pulling permits for an actual stone sign is no picnic. Take it from someone who knows."

Maranatha Bible Church undertook a facade renovation of their main chapel in early 2006. Because of his background, the other members of the flock looked to Dustin to spearhead the project.

"We decided to go for a classic look; something with clean lines and traditional appeal." Dustin continues, "Yet we didn't want the new look to make a statement; rather, we wanted a church facade which would still look timeless in thirty years."

A new facade meant a new sign.

"Our old marquis sign didn't owe us a thing. It had served us well for many years," Dustin nostalgically laments. "But it wasn't going to match the front of our building once the project was complete."

Maranatha's congregation looked to architect Dustin for their solution. The architect looked to Stewart Church Signs for his solution. Stewart's Cornerstone line of products was a sensible alternative to pricey stonework signage.

Recalls Dustin, "Stewart Church Signs' sign consultant worked with me to help marry one of their Cornerstone signs to our striking new building facade. We required a precise color match and a particular thickness as I insisted on a very permanent look. The architect switch inside me is never in the 'off' position."

"It all happened very quickly and everyone connected with the church is very pleased with the result," Dustin touts. "The front of our property now matches what goes on inside our church."

Dustin Mizell, Youth Pastor
Maranatha Bible Church
Lantana, FL