I t was about 3:30 in the middle of the night that the phone awakened me from my sleep. I assumed the caller was trying

Transcription

1 August 7, website: ridgeviewdanville.com Jesus Christ is the Same Yesterday and Today and Forever HEB 13:8 I t was about 3:30 in the middle of the night that the phone awakened me from my sleep. I assumed the caller was trying to tell me that the alarm at the church had gone off most likely another false alarm, I thought. But the lady finally got through to me that she was with the fire department and that trucks had been dispatched to the church because passers-by had reported seeing flames coming from the roof of the building. Suddenly, I was wide awake, dressed and on my way out the door. When I arrived, it was obvious that the situation was not good. Flames, lots of smoke and two hook and ladder trucks pouring thousands of gallons of water on the roof made that perfectly clear. But it wasn t until 5:00 AM, when the fire was out, that we realized the full extent of the damage. The sanctuary had been completely gutted. Other parts of the building had experienced water damage and everything smelled of smoke. Through the investigation that followed, it was determined that a 32,000 amp lightning strike had severed a 3 foot section of the one inch braided copper cable from the lightning rod, and sent it through the roof to the sanctuary floor. The electrical system had been disabled, which in turn disabled the alarm system. From 11:30 PM when the lightning struck, the sanctuary smoldered and burned, and was most likely fully engulfed by the time people saw the flames from the street. Of course, the question that came to mind was, Couldn t God have prevented this? The answer is, Absolutely! But I am convinced that this was not a case of God burning the church down because He was mad at us. There is no doubt, however, that God allowed it, and will use it to help Ridgeview recalculate and refocus on the mission that He has for us in the coming days. Continued on page 2...

2 Continued from page 1... I m sure that the early church must have asked if God could not have prevented the martyrdom of Stephen and the persecution of the church. Yes, He could have; but He didn t. Instead, God used the persecution of the early church to shift the strategy of the church beyond the confines of Jerusalem (through dispersion) and opened a new ministry and outreach to the Gentiles. Surely God will do the same today. He has our attention. It is time to think outside the box, because the box has burned down around us. This is not a tragedy, but an inconvenience. The building is not the church, we are. And as the Ridgeview Baptist Church, we are excited to see what new direction the Lord of the church is taking us. We know that we are His ambassadors, and that our ministry is beyond any building. We are also rejoicing in the numerous blessings that are obvious all along the way. We rejoice in the fact no one was hurt. We rejoice that even though the fire burned for several hours before it was discovered, it was contained to the sanctuary. The offices were spared and the Christian Education wing is still available for use, even during sanctuary renovation. We rejoice in the fact that where only five years ago, our insurance coverage was for $1 million, it was increased to $2 million, and then three years ago, increased yet again to million. How things would be different now, had God not given the church the foresight to increase the coverage as needed. We were so blessed that within 36 hours we worshipped together in the pavilion behind our church. The weather was beautiful. The atmosphere electric. The unity tangible. We praised God. We listened to His Word. We shared together in Communion. Even the newspaper was there for the entire service. More impressive, the newspaper report was not only upbeat and positive, but shared the morning message in detail with perfect accuracy. The day after the fire, while the fire department was still there, many local churches offered to share their facilities with us for worship. We have been blessed to take advantage of that offer in the case of three weddings that were put on the schedule before we realized we would not have a sanctuary. For our regular Sunday worship, we have been able to maintain our morning schedule. A local business offered us the use of their facility (what many will remember as Lakeside funeral home) free of charge for as long as we need it. Not only does this mean that we can continue to meet on Sunday mornings, but it accentuates the fact that the church is not the building. It is not the sanctuary that makes our meetings sacred; we are sacred because we have been redeemed and set apart for the Master s use in the world. This is also part of God s awakening our spirit to our calling and responsibility before Him. There is a new sense of life and ministry among the people. One more example will have suffice. Through a business contact with one of our members, it was brought to our attention that a lady had bought a church at auction, and wanting to change it into a residence, needed to find a place for the stained glass windows. We know just the place. God is so good. As far as the anticipated timeline, we will be out of the worship center for at least a year. Since the major laminated beams were compromised, the sanctuary will have to be pretty much completely dismantled, removed and replaced. That will take some time. We will certainly be able to upgrade and may add some improvements as reconstruction takes place. We hope to be moving back in around November of In the meantime, the ministry and work of Christ goes on. The church office has been moved to the education wing and is open. Educational activities continue to be available in the education wing as well. And Ridgeview church continues to take the love of Christ into the community, so that it is proclaimed, shared and felt. We know that you will continue to pray for the Lord s ministry through Ridgeview. And may He return for us soon. 2

3 After The Fire view from balcony view from narthex view from baptistry

4 Service at Pavilion 4

5 Temporary Facility 5 5

6 NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #518 DANVILLE, IL Ridgeview Baptist Church 3838 N Vermilion St Danville, IL RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED August 7, 2013 Continue to Pray for Us Reconstruction Begins Soon Temporary Office in CE Wing See the Newsletter in Color at Ice Cream Social August 18 6pm At the Pavilion I scream, you scream...we all scream for ice cream!! Please join us for Family Fun and enjoy some Custard Cup ice cream and other goodies!! Bring your entire family or a friend and enjoy some wonderful fellowship. There is a sign up sheet on the table at the Plaza and on the door entering the CE Wing, for donations of your favorite goodies. Hope to see you there!!! If you would be interested in helping with children s church on Sunday morning please contact Hope Garrett or the church office at