History

Article ran in Palladium Item January, 18th 1986.Restored To Use

"And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah."   I Kings 17:16

By Harold Wiley

     William Lewellen figures the money his congregation has used to restore the Temple Of God (it used to be Trinity United Methodist Church) at North West I and Hunt streets is like the handful of meal that was constantly being replenished in the story of Elijah and the poor widow.

     The congregation set out on Sept. 1 to make the vacant church useable again.

     "We started buying materials as we needed them, and by the end of the month, we'd spent $1,200. But our bank account was the same as when we started. It was like the handful of meal in the widow's barrel. It never ran out. The money must be the Lord's supply. We decided then that it must be God's will."

     The bank hadn't made a mistake. The people just kept giving.

     Lewellen said the building had been vacant for about 18 months after the trinity congregation merged with Faith United Methodist Church and moved out. 

     The Temple of God congregation began in August of 1984 as a prayer group.  "We were meeting in one another's homes. In September of '84, we rented the Quaker Hill Conference Room on Sunday nights. That's when we got the name, 'Temple Of God.'  ON Nov. 18th of '84, we moved to 1840 W. Main St. in the basement of a barbershop there."

     The congregation was incorporated as a church Jan. 25, 1985.  "We're an independent, full-gospel church," Lewellen said.  "We'd been praying since August of '84 for a church."

     Now, he said, the people "can't believe this big place.  When the Lord blesses, he really pours out a blessing."

     Lewellen said he bid on the building July 12.  His was the best bid, and, "They let us move in to have services in the educational addition on the fifth of August."  The Temple Of God took official possession of the church from the United Methodist conference early in November.

     Lewellen and Denzel Williams, assistant pastor, and Dorrris Lakes, deacon, took vacations from their jobs, and they and several retired members of the congregation went to work at the church.

     During the building's vacancy, the pipes for the hot-water heat had frozen and burst, and the boiler had to be replaced.  They had the heating system repaired and the furnace converted from oil to gas.

      They did the rest of the work themselves.

      The altar platform had to be replaced.  New carpeting had to be installed.  They put wainscoting on the wall behind the altar.  The basement had mildewed, so there was plenty of painting to do.

     All that's left to be done is getting pews - folding chairs will do, for now - and repairing and painting the stucco exterior.  "We'll do that in the summer."

     With classroom space for 400 and room in the sanctuary and balcony for more than 200, the building is a far cry from a barbershop basement, and it's location is more convenient for most of the members. (End)