Civic Center

Civic Center Process and Plans

What started it:

Late in 2022 while the Real Life set up crew was preparing for Sunday service one of our volunteers jokingly asked, "have you ever thought of making on offer on this building?" It was a funny question because they were sweating, as we often do, getting everything where it needs to be for church. For nearly eleven years we've started this process at 7am on Sunday mornings to be done by 8:30 when the band shows up to rehears and our other area volunteers show up to prep coffee, get set to welcome our guests and regulars and set up our kids ministry areas. So the question was taken as a joke and I (pastor Corey) jokingly replied, "No. And I don't have any plans to." Thinking it was an impossible option, I dismissed it quickly. Less than a week later I received a phone call late one evening from a completely different person who asked, "Have you ever thought about making an offer on the Civic Center?" Again my response was, "No... but I'm listening." I thought, if God is up to something I don't want to dismiss it just because it seems improbable, God accomplishes the improbable all the time.


So I met with the City Manager and asked if the City would entertain an offer on the Civic Center. He told me to bring him a number, which I did a couple weeks later.

What we've done so far:

Real Life Christian Church presented the City Manager with a letter of intent expressing our desire to purchase the Civic Center from the City for use as a permanent location. That letter included concessions and plans to continue to utilize the building for City staff functions, Chamber of Commerce events and other city/civic events as schedules allowed.


It is the intent of Real Life to continue to rent out the building for use within the community while also improving the venue through future aesthetic and functional renovations.


Real Life has rented the building nearly every Sunday for the past 11 years. Throughout that time we have been able to serve the citizens of El Dorado through community service projects and outreach programs. If the city intends to get out of the event planning business by selling the building, then Real Life believes our church would be the best option to take over that role within the community as stewards of the building while continuing to use it as a place of worship.

Plans for the future:

  • Exterior Renovations
  • Real Life understands that the civic center is one of the first buildings that visitors see when they enter the east side of town. For that reason, we intend to give the building a more modern design update.
  • New signage around the building with the possibility of expressing it's continued use a community center and not just a church - we're still working on what this might look like and how we would incorporate it.
  • Exterior paint
  • Parking updates
  • Fix the leaks in the design elements utilizing the columns in front of the entrance and update the lighting
  • fenced green space incorporating playground equipment


  • Interior Renovations
  • As current customers we've identified more than a few necessary updates that would need to take place over the next 3-7 years. Some of these could happen immediately and others will take additional investment from the church to implement but we want to include them so you know what we have planned.
  • Dedicated child care and entertainment space
  • Permanent and updated stage design
  • State of the art audio for main auditorium (much of which we already utilize on Sundays as part of what we set-up)
  • Improved speakers and acoustic treatment in main auditorium
  • Upgraded commercial kitchen - we will seek to obtain a certified commercial kitchen certificate
  • Cafe space near the front entrance (where the Chamber conference room currently exists)
  • Upgraded flooring
  • Integrated Recording and Video Services
  • Dedicated multipurpose space (roughly the same size as the current main auditorium) this means a wedding and reception could be held in different spaces and be set-up without having to tear anything down, or have tables in the auditorium during your wedding.
  • Kitchen access to both the auditorium and the multipurpose space as well as table and chair storage for both spaces.
  • Larger entrance, welcome space - expanding the current "corridor" into the breakout rooms
  • A conference room as well as the cafe space that could be rented for smaller meetings



Event Planning:

Real Life plans to continue with a rental policy that is consistent with the city's current policy and other event venues in our area. We also expect to have more space and updated space both technologically and aesthetically. Real Life sees renting the building as an opportunity to build relationships and minister to the people of our community and not just a revenue stream.

Contact us:

If you have further questions about the use of the building or our plans feel free to reach out at hello@reallifecc.us


If you are interested in more about our mission or ministries you can find that here on the website under the About Us tab of the main menu.