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I Bought a Church This Morning

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  • #16
    We don't have access to it for a couple more weeks while paperwork goes through the system... but, yeah, we're aware that we're going to need to spend some money, but so far, our total investment in the property and TWO buildings is well under $3,000.

    I figure we can throw another in 5 or 6,000 to get it in really good shape.

    I met the Pastor this morning - GREAT guy, and very grateful. We donated our old sign, as we were getting a new LED sign.
    The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

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    • #17
      So, an update..... the "Church" used to be one of those old drive-thru gas stations on a corner - the "office" part was in the back, and you would drive under a covered area to the gas pumps to fill up your tank.

      SO, instead of a GAS station "filling station" - it will be a SPIRITUAL "filling station"!

      We're still all in for just under $3,000, but I took 3 of my men with me yesterday to scope it out and start forming a plan of action. The "drive thru" part has long ago been "walled in" to be part of the cinder block building, and there's a fairly large area in the back that would serve well as a worship area, if we take out one wall, and move the nice looking glass doors to be the main entrance.

      Right now, the "main entrance" is on the side street, and has the appearance of an East Texas Bar. The side of the building facing First Baptist Church has a garage door that will be removed, and that's where we'll put the big 8' glass doors - much more appealing than the "ugly bar" side.

      We still don't have "clear title", but that should happen in the next couple days, so we have a work day planned for Nov 14 to tear out some walls, and start framing the main entrance area.

      I know it looks like a mess right now, but the folks who are going to be worshiping there are so thrilled that they'll have a "home" to have Church in. I'll add some pictures in a few minutes....

      Oh, and just to show how good God is ---- the guy who will probably head this up as project manager is Jim - the guy who only 4 months ago was just a few heartbeats from death, and has had a liver transplant!
      The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

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      • #18
        Here is a picture from across the street, with First Baptist Church over to the right -- there's a welding shop over to the far left. The building with the cars in front is the one we will tackle first. It has plenty of room in back for about 40-50 people to "have Church". The small yellowish building under the trees is EVENTUALLY where the worship center will be, but it's not in as good a shape as the other building, so we'll tackle the other one (the white one with the cars in front) first. First Baptist Church owns the vacant lot I'm standing in, so that can be parking.

        church - across the street view.jpg

        This is the CURRENT "main entrance" that looks like an East Texas Bar.... we will remove the ironwork, fix up those windows, and the Church Sign that my Church donated will be welded to those poles you see just by that vehicle's headlamp. First Baptist Church is in the background.

        church - east texas bar.jpg

        This is the "garage door" side where we will remove the garage door, and frame out an opening for the 8' glass doors - this will be the main entrance. We'll build a canopy or cover over the entrance. That's JIM - the guy who was a dead man 4 months ago - in the blue shirt, ball cap and sunglasses. He's excited about getting this underway. Pastor Charles has his back to us.

        church - garage door.jpg

        These are the glass doors that will become the main entrance -- that wall will be removed, so there will be one big open area for worship.

        church - glass doors.jpg

        I have a meeting NEXT Thursday (not this week) with the association of 88 Churches of which our Church is a member, and of which I am President. (I'll get to give a pitch on other Churches helping out with funds or manpower or items.)

        God is SO good!
        The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

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        • #19
          In the East Texas I'm familiar with, there are no bars (but there are "clubs" where you can buy drinks as long as you become a member first ).
          Enter the Church and wash away your sins. For here there is a hospital and not a court of law. Do not be ashamed to enter the Church; be ashamed when you sin, but not when you repent. – St. John Chrysostom

          Veritas vos Liberabit<>< Learn Greek <>< Look here for an Orthodox Church in America<><Ancient Faith Radio
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          I recommend you do not try too hard and ...research as little as possible. Such weighty things give me a headache. - Shunyadragon, Baha'i apologist

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          • #20
            Originally posted by One Bad Pig View Post
            In the East Texas I'm familiar with, there are no bars (but there are "clubs" where you can buy drinks as long as you become a member first ).
            That's particularly true of Smith County - a "dry" county. Many of these dry counties have adjacent "wet" counties, where alcohol is freely sold, and the highways connecting such counties are often called things like "massacre mile", and such.

            But, yes, in Smith County, you can buy a "membership" to these "clubs", for like $1.00, which allows you to purchase booze.
            The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

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            • #21
              Mikewhitney just asked me in shoutbox a couple minutes ago about "that Church", and it just so happens that I met with our area Director of Missions just this past Thursday, and asked him for a report. He said the congregation has already grown to 60-80 in regular attendance, and even though the Pastor is African-American, the congregation is remarkably diverse. They're having a great time, they've had a half dozen professions of faith in the last couple months, and they have about 12 people to Baptize, which they will do soon.

              Praise be to God
              The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

              Comment


              • #22
                That's a cool story. I hope God continues to bless you, your family, and this church.
                I am become death...

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                • #23
                  Went and visited with Pastor Charles this afternoon.... got some pictures, but will post with "before" and "after" soon - by tomorrow evening. Pastor Charles is doing great, very optimistic about Church's future.
                  The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    OK, looked back through the thread and realized I already have the "before" pictures here..... So here are some from yesterday afternoon....

                    Here's a shot from across the street.... That area to the left was full of mud, dead tree limbs, dead leaves, etc...

                    TNLWC small.jpg

                    Our Church got a new Church Sign, and we donated our old one to Pastor Charles' church.

                    TNLWC from across street - small.jpg

                    TNLWC from back small.jpg

                    TNLWC from behind pulpit small.jpg

                    Below is a pic of my friend, Pastor Charles -- he owns and runs a vehicle detail shop just one block away, and I grabbed him yesterday and we walked over to the Church building. He is very grateful for all the help their congregation has been getting from our Church, and others.

                    TNLWC Pastor Charles small.jpg
                    Last edited by Cow Poke; 08-24-2016, 06:53 AM.
                    The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      And now his church is famous all around the world on tweb!

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        We still have some work to do, so I'll be taking a work crew up there over the next couple weeks doing some more electrical, sheet rock, and flooring stuff.

                        Last time I headed up there (about an hour and a half away) I asked my Church for $2500 for materials, and they gave me a check for $3000 for Charles' church AND approval to spend what I needed in materials. Their people are always willing to do the grunt work, like moving, lifting, cleaning up, sweeping, carrying stuff to the dumpster.... That's what makes it fun - we're not just "doing stuff for them", we're doing stuff WITH them.


                        ETA: But they nave brand new CENTRAL AIR, which is an absolute necessity in Texas!
                        The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Originally posted by rogue06 View Post
                          After being abandoned for 10 years it will require a lot of work but still looks to be in relatively good shape. Have you had an electrician check it out?
                          Electrician had to totally replace the service panel, breakers, etc, and do some wiring changes - it now meets code.
                          The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Oh, and I found out in my meeting last Thursday that we had, indeed, finally acquired the deed, and have officially transferred it to the Trinity New Life congregation. They are absolutely thrilled to own a building - such as it is - debt free!
                            The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              THIS ^^^ is the Church in action!
                              "What has the Church gained if it is popular, but there is no conviction, no repentance, no power?" - A.W. Tozer

                              "... there are two parties in Washington, the stupid party and the evil party, who occasionally get together and do something both stupid and evil, and this is called bipartisanship." - Everett Dirksen

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                              • #30
                                Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
                                OK, more accurately, I bought a Church BUILDING.

                                I told my wife (who loves "I Bought a Zoo") that I didn't buy a Zoo, but I did buy a Church!

                                We became aware that there was an old Catholic Church in a nearby town that had been abandoned by the Catholic Diocese of New Orleans about 10 years ago. It's a small building, about 1500 sq ft, on a small lot, but it went up for public auction.

                                I didn't know about it at that time, and there were no bids.

                                Meanwhile, in that same town, a new Church (body) had formed - an African-American pastor friend of mine and about 10 or 12 members. They had been meeting in the Chamber of Commerce, but can only do that for another couple of months.

                                We found out that the Catholic Church building had back taxes of $2,008. My Pastor friend went to the county office and found out that the county would sell that building for $1.00 and back taxes. So, when he called me, I told him "Let's go ahead and buy it, and I'll stand good for it". (I, of course, had in mind that my Church would bail me out )

                                Last night in our Business Meeting, I let my Church know that I had purchased a Church Building for an African-American congregation, and they laughed and thought it was great. They were thrilled to "bail me out", and wanted to know what else they could do to help.

                                This could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship!!!!
                                OK, we've been working on this all week - a BRAND NEW development.

                                About a year ago, a team from our Church went to help with some remodeling at - let's call it "Grace Community" - because they were quickly outgrowing their space, and needed to "rearrange" some things, expand the auditorium, create a place for babies and toddlers, etc.... We (several churches along with our Association) spent about $2,500, along with a lot of donated materials, lots of "sweat equity" and had a joyous time with Grace Community's people and our people working together.

                                About a month ago, I was contacted again - they filled up THAT space, too!

                                We had been doing some praying and some exploring, and we discovered that there was another congregation in town (one of those dying liberal denominations) that had a bigger church building, and a smaller congregation. A "swap" of buildings would be great, but would it be practical?

                                Up til just a few months ago, the answer (from the other congregation) was a resounding "NO". Then they had a few deaths in their membership (honest, I didn't have anything to do with that) and a couple of their people left to attend another church, and they realized they could no longer afford the upkeep of the building.

                                Over the past few weeks, we've been in negotiations, doing the legal homework, talking to both sides, and have pretty much agreed that each congregation will buy the other congregation's building for $1.00. (Don't know about elsewhere, but it's not a transaction in Texas unless money changes hands)

                                It looks like all the legal stuff will be done over the next few weeks, but meanwhile, both congregations have agreed to "visit" the other congregation's building on Sundays, pending the legalities.

                                Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow!!!!
                                The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                                Comment

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