Pastor Paul Koval, in front of Springs Christian Fellowship, used a bucket loader to construct a BMX track in front of his church in Morada. The track will be ready to use on Sept. 21 and is being constructed to help get teens active and outside. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)

'We'll go from Genesis to Revelation in nine holes'

Morada church putting in BMX track, mini-golf

Springs Christian Fellowship isn't your average church. It has a most unorthodox pastor who, while theologically conservative, enjoys having fun.

On a recent afternoon, Pastor Paul Koval was wearing a short gray beard and tall straw hat, driving a tractor on dirt in front of the church on Foppiano Lane in southern Morada. By Sept. 21, Koval plans to have a mini-BMX bicycle track ready to go for a special youth event that day, featuring Free Methodist churches from the Bay Area to Reno and from Oroville to Bakersfield.

Koval, who has been the church's pastor for three years, has a youthful exuberance for what he is doing. He has already constructed a five-hole miniature golf course and plans to have the final four holes completed by next spring. Not only that, the church has a small dodgeball field, plus a pool table, air hockey and two Foosball tables inside.

The idea, he said, is to get young people away from a life of video games and into more participatory activities, especially outdoors.

The lighted BMX track, which is under construction, complete with undulating hills, will be about 450 feet long with four bicycle lanes measuring a combined 9 feet wide.

"This will be very cool," Koval said with a broad grin.

Wearing a yellow straw hat to shield the hot sun, Koval was nevertheless dripping with sweat after a few hours on the tractor.

A plaster giraffe sits next to one of the holes at Springs Christian Fellowship's new mini- golf course in Morada. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)

The BMX track will be privately run by the church's youth group, but anyone is welcome to visit the church, Koval said.

And if you haven't heard of the church, it may be because it changed its name about six months ago. The church was known as Free Methodist Church, but Koval wanted a name to reflect the reality that church-goers often aren't tied to a particular faith anymore. The word "springs" reflects the church's offering of spiritual refreshment, he said.

The congregation ranges from professional executives to the homeless, drug addicts and people with criminal records. The church is also the chaplaincy to the Teen Triumph Group Home for troubled youth in Stockton.

Koval decided to add more recreation activities at Springs Christian Fellowship because many young people were disappointed that the public BMX track and miniature golf course in Stockton have closed down in recent years.

Many children and teens come to the church after school to participate in recreational activities, and they're not limited to church members, Koval said.

The miniature golf course won't be without its Bible lesson, yet it will be sprinkled with humor.

"We'll go from Genesis to Revelation in nine holes," he said, still grinning.

Each hole will have a theme. And yes, the first hole will delve into Genesis and the earth's creation. Eventually, it will have statues of Adam and Eve, plus some animals. Koval has a long way to go, since the first hole currently just a giraffe.

The second through fifth holes have different challenges, but there are no obstacles yet for the golfer.

Koval hopes to have the first five holes completed by the third annual Hallelujah Carnival, to be held on Halloween afternoon.

"I'm a kid at heart," Koval said.

In the future, the church will have two rock-climbing walls, one for smaller children and a more challenging one for older ones.

When it rains, they'll remove the chairs from the sanctuary and put a basketball court and other games there. They've been known to play Nerf ball in the sanctuary.

"It's a sanctuary when we're in there honoring God," Koval said, explaining why it's perfectly all right to enjoy recreation in addition to worshipping.

The church used to have pews, but Koval had them replaced with individual chairs so they can be moved.

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.