TERRE HAUTE —
Years of patience and prayer are reaping big rewards for Crossroads Baptist Church of West Terre Haute.
After meeting in a variety of make-shift locations for six-and-a-half years, the roughly 50-person congregation will soon have a new and permanent church home on the Indiana-Illinois border.
“It is a huge blessing,” said Walter Huyek, pastor of Crossroads Baptist Church, which is currently meeting Sundays in Excalibur Catering in West Terre Haute and at Consolidated Elementary School on Wednesday evenings.
Crossroads Baptist Church is the latest mission for “Carpenters for Christ,” a movement that builds churches, shelters and other facilities anywhere there is a need. The dozens of volunteers building the Crossroads Baptist Church just over the border in Dennison, Il. are mostly from southern Alabama.
“We just feel that this is our mission,” said Dave Furst, a retired accountant and volunteer with Carpenters for Christ. “This is an opportunity to share the love of Jesus with our extended family up here in Illinois and Indiana. It’s just a wonderful opportunity to be part of the family of God.”
Crossroads Baptist Church paid for the building materials, but the Carpenters for Christ are providing the labor free. That will allow Crossroads Baptist Church to open its doors without debt, Huyek said.
More than 60 volunteers for Carpenters for Christ were working steadily Monday afternoon. In a short time, they managed to have a very clear skeleton of the new church standing. The work is expected to be completed by the end of the day Friday.
Many of the volunteers were from Eastern Hills Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala., However, up to 10 other mostly south-Alabama churches were also represented among the workers as well as members of the Crossroads Baptist Church.
“I was here to see them put up the cross,” said Linda Andrews, a member of Crossroads Baptist Church. The first thing the Carpenters for Christ do after building the frame of a new church is place a cross at its peak, she said.
The Crossroads Baptist Church is located on Kasameyer Drive, which runs south of Interstate 70 and is accessible from Robinson Place. The congregation will conduct a special service in the still-unfinished church structure Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. eastern time, Andrews said.
Regular services are not expected to begin for a couple of months, Huyek said. Plumbing and septic systems will be installed in coming weeks.
Most of the volunteers with Carpenters for Christ have no professional experience in building construction, organizers said. However, about 10 or 15 percent of the crew is experienced and they supervise operations, they said.
“I really enjoy helping other people,” said Ralph Harrison, 79, of Florida, a retired school principal with several previous church-related mission trips under his belt. “This is our faith.”
Perhaps the youngest volunteer, Davey Scarbrough, 18, said he loves the feeling of knowing he has worked hard to help others while asking nothing in return.
“To me it’s an awesome blessing,” Scarbrough said. “At the end of the day, there’s just an unexplainable joy that comes over you.”
The Carpenters for Christ provide all of their own tools and bring their own cooks. They are sleeping at a Marshall, Il. elementary school until they complete their work at the end of the week. They work from about 7 a.m. until at least 6:30 p.m. each day.
Reporter Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.
Local & Bistate
Related Photos
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Cross: A temporary wooden Cross watches over the construction of the Crossroads Baptist Church project.
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Food for the soul: Volunteers and Carpenters for Christ members take time for lunch and some fellowship at the site of the Crossroads Baptist Church construction Monday afternoon.
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Construction: Carpenters for Christ trailer at the Crossroads Baptist Church construction site.
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Framers: Carpenters for Christ volunteers work at the construction site of the Crossroads Baptist Church Monday afternoon.
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Truss me: Carpenters for Christ install trusses on the Crossroads Baptist Church construction project Monday afternoon.
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Going up: The Crossroads Baptist Church is under construction on Kasameyer Rd. by the hands of volunteers and members of the Carpenters for Christ group.
Discussion
Hammering out a new church home
Carpenters for Christ raising new worship site for congregation
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