Local News - February 2003

Church celebrates a firm — and debt-free — foundation

By JACOB RUDOLPH, Staff Writer

February 26, 2003 - DENVER — A leap of faith.

That is what the Denver Wesleyan Church congregation says it took to construct their new building.

“It’s nothing short of a miracle,” Ann Allen, church treasurer, said.

The miracle, however, is not necessarily the building, with its much-needed classrooms, nursery and restroom facilities, but the fact that it was built debt-free — paid for as it was erected.

The N.C. 16 church, built in the early 1990s, was in desperate need of an addition, Pastor Johnny Houser said. The classrooms and nursery had been crammed inside a trailer next to the sanctuary for years, and the single-occupancy restroom at the front of the church was burdensome, he explained.

However inadequate the facilities were, for the small congregation to assume more debt — in addition to the sanctuary and parsonage mortgages — would have been financially disastrous, Houser said.

“As the church began to grow, it was obvious we needed more room,” Houser said. “But one of the things I felt we needed to do was not go into debt.”

After much prayer for guidance, Houser pitched his idea to the church’s building committee in January 2000.

Building a $154,000 ell without borrowing money would take “a leap of faith,” he told the committee.

Soon after that presentation, the entire congregation stood behind Houser and readied to jump.

“It was not something that I had seen done before, everyone was used to just taking out a large loan,” Allen said. “We decided that if (Houser) had that much courage and faith, we’d support him.”

The committee decided it would not break ground until the sanctuary mortgage was paid and $25,000 was raised for the new building. In March 2001, the building began.

Amazingly, money was raised faster than the addition could be built, Houser said. And donations came from both within and outside the church.

“We raised $90,000 pretty quickly,” Houser said. “We had a lot of people in the community stop and ask us what we were doing. When they found out we were building it debt free, some of them even donated money.”

The building was constructed as the money came in. The church saved about $75,000, because the handy-work of the congregation provided most of the labor, Houser said.

The money it saved also allowed the church to hire an assistant pastor — J.V. Allen — a blessing in its own right, Houser said.

The building process was “the gift of God,” laborer and building committee head Paul Finch said.

“It was truly a group effort, from the women who cooked the meals for us, to the men who drove nails and carried the lumber,” Finch said.

The congregation worked on Saturdays and in their free time–some people helped wire the building, some laid brick, others painted walls. Everyone chipped in to do their part, Houser said.

By last December’s dedication ceremony, Denver Wesleyan Church had expanded by 3,200 square feet and grown closer by a year and a half worth of community effort.

“Just coming in and out on Sundays, you don’t learn that much about each other,” Houser said. “Working together has strengthened our church community.”

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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