Monroe first Baptist church rebuilding project receives help from Katrina victims
giving end of building assistance. But this summer, the church is on the receiving end. First Baptist Church of Monroe is building an addition due to attendance growth. The project is being aided by various groups around the country, including helpers from Hattiesburg, Miss., an area hit by Hurricane Katrina.
First Baptist has a history of helping with disaster relief. Several church members went down to help with the Katrina disaster, according to First Baptist’s associate pastor Robert Whitehead.
“They wanted to return the favor,” said Whitehead of the Mississippi team, who served June 5 through 11.
“This team pays their own way to come out, they cook their own meals, and bring lots of their own tools, all we had to do was provide the host homes for the workers,” said a member of First Baptist of the Mississippi group in June. “Many skilled men and women are on the job giving of their vacation and family time to get this project underway, the cost savings for us with their donated labor is tremendous.”
Those who came to help the Monroe church are affiliated with it through the Southern Baptist Association of churches in America, said Whitehead.
Other teams from across the country will be coming to help with the project as well. Most are friends or relatives of members of the church.
“I have a friend from Texas coming to help with landscaping, sheetrock, and different things,” said Whitehead. Most of the people coming to help are knowledgeable in different fields of construction, he said.
In addition to the Mississippi team, a group from Oklahoma also contributed to the building efforts in June.
The next team to help will be from Duncanville, Texas. They are scheduled to arrive on July 22 and will serve for a week.
The new addition to the church has been dubbed a “sanctuasium,” a combination sanctuary and gymnasium, according to Whitehead. The building will have the capacity to serve as a place for disaster relief, housing generators and providing refuge space. Since the church is located next to Valley General Hospital, it would be a convenient sanctuary for victims in case of a disaster, said Whitehead.
Church members have been contributing heavily to the cause, both with time and finances.
“Our superintendent is a general contractor taking a year off work to help,” said Whitehead.
The current church building seats 150, which requires three services. The goal is to fit the congregation into one service with the new addition.
“The building will probably be completed by Easter of next year,” said Whitehead.
The church hopes to open the new facility to the public, offering an area suitable for basketball and volleyball.
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