The last couple of years have not been kind to our area, and our church in particular, but God remains faithful to His promises. 2020 came and first COVID, then Hurricane Laura devastated the area; the church received significant damage, but when preliminary cleanup and roof repairs were completed, the congregation began once again to have services in the building, though it was still mostly gutted.
Over the course of the next year, repairs began to be made; August 2021 came around, and the repairs were on the verge of being completed – paint was going on, flooring was ready to go down, and the congregation was making plans to move back into the sanctuary by the end of the month, almost to the day of the first anniversary of Hurricane Laura.
But God had other plans…
In the wee hours of the morning on August 7, 2021, a police officer on patrol passed by the church building and noticed smoke; he called the fire department, and within minutes they arrived on the scene, to discover the building engulfed in flames. They fought with all their might, but when the sun rose, the building lay in smouldering ruins, the cause of the fire unknown.
Discouraging? Absolutely. Decades of memories lay within that brick building on Country Club Road; marriages, dedications, baptisms – so many had happened inside those walls. It was there that many had come to accept Christ as their Saviour; there where many children learned their first Bible verse and attended Sunday School their formative years.
But in the end, the church is not building it meets in, but it is made up of the people – the Body of Christ. And the people were undeterred.
The day after the fire was Sunday, and they met together again, as was their custom, in a loaned building. There was sadness, there was some tears, but the Church came together, and determined to carry on the cause of Christ, building or no building.
Throughout the year that has followed we have been privileged, though the kindness of Pastor Aaron Terry and the people of Lakewood Bible Fellowship, to have facility in which to hold services as long as needed. We have held revival, concerts and special services, and carried on the mission of the church, although displaced.
God is working out His purpose. Exciting things are ahead for Lake Charles First Church of the Nazarene – we’re looking forward to following where God leads!
The church is alive and well!
Until the next thing happens, you can find us meeting each week, on Sundays at 2:00 PM and Wednesdays at 6:00 PM at Lakewood Bible Fellowship, located at 2520 W. Sale Road in Lake Charles.
We’d love to see you there!