Local Developers Donate 8.38-Acre Lot to Park Church in Salisbury

Salisbury, Md. — Park Seventh-day Adventist Church in Salisbury, Maryland, has received an 8.38-acre gift of land valued at $575,000 from a local development company owned by Palmer Gillis and Tony Gilkerson. The donated lot sits adjacent to the church’s existing campus, bringing the congregation’s total property to roughly 18 acres.

Greg Carlson, pastor of Park Church, said the gift grew out of relationships the congregation built through years of community outreach. “This opportunity came about through relationships built while serving our community,” Carlson said.

The Park church leaders and members have participated in different social activities, including support to organizations that serve people experiencing homelessness in Salisbury, work that connected the church with the mayor’s office, city and county councils, and other area churches and community organizations. Kathy Shubert, a Park Church member who works for the development company, learned through those connections that the property next to the church campus was available. A conversation between Shubert and the company’s owners set the gift in motion.

Gillis and Gilkerson decided to donate the property to the congregation after recognizing Park Church’s commitment to serving the community, Carlson said.

“We view this gift as more than additional acreage,” Carlson said. “It is an opportunity and a responsibility. Throughout our church’s history, God has opened doors in ways we could never have imagined, and this land donation is another example of His provision.”

Church leaders are still weighing how to use the new property. Possibilities include future ministry space, Pathfinder events, fellowship gatherings, and additional community outreach.

Park Church members thanked Gillis and Gilkerson for their generosity and for the confidence the gift reflects in the congregation’s mission. Church leaders are asking the congregation for prayer as they seek guidance on the best use of the property, and plan to share updates as decisions are made.

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.” — Ephesians 3:20

To learn more about the activities of Park Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Salisbury, click here. 

Submitted by Kathy Shubert