GameTime and Sinclair Recreation Help Bring Park Experience Inside a Michigan Church

GameTime and Sinclair Recreation recently completed the installation of a unique outdoor playground at a Holland, Michigan church. What makes it so unique is that it was installed inside the church.

Engedi Church is in a neighborhood that is underserved by parks and playgrounds, there is no park within seven square miles. Moreover, during the cold Michigan winter, opportunities for active, outdoor play are limited for local families. The Engedi community decided to do
something about that.

“We want to bless the neighborhood, and be a place where kids can come inside and play any time of the year. This playground will help us give back to the Holland community, including those who wouldn’t go to a church on Sundays,” said Jenni Sandstedt, pastor of Engedi Kids. “During the week, mothers’ groups, families, anyone can come play!”

The indoor playground was the idea of Rich Sinclair. Rich is the Vice President of Sinclair Recreation, the exclusive GameTime representative in Michigan and Indiana. “We saw this beautiful worship space the Church had created. There were trees painted on the walls, kites installed in the ceilings…it looked just like a real park. We designed the same kind of playground we would put in a park and made some slight adjustments to make it work indoors.”

To make the playground work inside the church building, Sinclair’s team mounted the playground posts to the floor surface and covered the floor with rubber playground tiles. The result is a beautiful, new playground that encourages the children of Engedi Church, as well as the surrounding neighborhoods to enjoy a day at the park, no matter the weather outside.

“We even plan to use the playground during our worship gatherings on Sunday,” said Sandstedt. “The musicians will use it as a stage and children can play on it after the service. We want families to use the space as much as possible.”