BUCHANAN — Pastor Greg Nasstrom looked at seven properties for Connect Church Michiana in seven years. During the eighth, he found it: 4720 Niles-Buchanan Road, in Redbud Square.

In January, on the day he finalized paperwork to own the property, the building he borrowed to host services at was closed by its owner, the city of Niles.

So, Nasstrom and the congregation prepared to move.

“You have to wait, but you just can’t wait,” he said. “You have to wait with expectation, and you have to wait with dependence.”

It has taken Nasstrom, his volunteer team and contracted businesses five months to renovate the former storage space in a retail strip mall. In the meantime, the congregation has been in a state of transition.

Much of the help Connect Church received in moving has come from unexpected donations.

“If you have any doubt about God being real, explain this,” he said, gesturing to the renovated space set to open to the public this Saturday.

What was once “hideous” yellow walls and orange carpet are now fresh shades of grey and blue, colors that match his ministry that were chosen by one of Nasstrom’s sons, a graphic designer.

More than 40 new chairs are stacked in the corner of the room. They were donated by 12 people, some from the congregation, some not.

A stage sits in front of the chairs for services to be hosted and music to be sung and played from. One woman donated the entire stage and the walls built around it. Nasstrom said he did not know who she was until she made the donation.

“People came out of the woodwork to give,” he said. “We had no money. Look what we have now.”

Two of Nasstrom’s sons donated two moveable, mounted televisions at the corners of the stage walls. His sons also helped install a sound booth and video station. The site will be where Connect Church will run its Facebook Live videos of services, which have garnered upwards of 100 viewers in the past.

Zion Church Builders of Mattawan worked around their schedule to donate their time and create new bathrooms for the property, one from scratch. Nasstrom estimates the cost would have been $15,000 otherwise.

Outlines of future mountains were drawn on the wall of smaller back room. Eventually the space will have a chalkboard wall, a TV and other items for children to utilize in a space of their own.

Nasstrom said the wait to find the right place to move to was long, but the wait was worth it. His faith helped him through.

“It’s hard to hear, but you have to trust that He knows,” he said, referring to God.

Communities came together to help the community-oriented church settle. Connect Church is a ministry of Blue Roof Church of St. Joseph. According to its website, Blue Roof strives to be culturally diverse in its congregation and its staff so it can reflect the community it is found in and serves.

Now with all inspections finished and paperwork finalized, Connect Church plans to open to the public with a launch weekend starting at 6 p.m. this Saturday. Blue Roof Church lead pastor Dan Miller will bless the building, Nasstrom will give a short speech and the audience will be able to eat cake, cupcakes and other desserts.

The next morning, at 10 a.m., it will host its first service.

“There are a lot of people who struggle to understand or believe God, that he’s out there,” he said. “That’s perfectly understandable. This church is a very low-pressure church. We’re not heavy-handed. It’s relationships.”