Local News
Paragould volunteers help build churches across state, beyond
By HANNAH BURNEY
Daily Press
| Photo courtesy of Alison Harbour with The Sentinel-Record
Crew members work to finish a new church for the Jehovah's Witness congregations in Hot Springs. Inclement weather forced crews to work at a slower pace than normal and finish the building in five days instead of the usual four. | |
PARAGOULD - Rome wasn't built in a day, and inclement weather forced Paragould volunteers with the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses to work at a slower pace than usual building a new church for the congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses in Hot Springs.
They finished the church in five days.
Don Friend, the inside coordinator on the project, said volunteers usually complete a building in four days, beginning on a Thursday and finishing the following Sunday.
"We started a day early on the project in Hot Springs, because we wanted to get ahead of the weather," Friend said. Seventeen volunteers from Paragould helped with the project.
Friend said there is usually a group of 30 volunteers for such projects, but the weather kept some from participating.
Volunteers worked in freezing temperatures in the days before and during the holidays trying to finish the project.
"We had to put heaters out so they could do their brick work," Friend said. At peak times, Friend said, around 400-500 volunteers could participate on the projects.
He added that the congregation also has several youth members who volunteer their time to help build the churches. *****************************************************************************************
"They get an exemption from school. It teaches them to be giving of themselves," he said. *****************************************************************************************
Friend has served on the Arkansas Regional Building Committee since 1992 and has been volunteering to build facilities for Jehovah's Witness congregations since 1983. He said the committee builds churches in areas bordering Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and throughout Arkansas.
"This got started back in the late 70s. It started out on a small scale. At one time, we built them in two days. Now, we take our time and build them in four," he said, laughing.
Friend said the committee has two more churches lined up for the spring and one already booked for next fall.
"Jehovah's Witnesses are growing in Arkansas. That's why there is such a need. There are seven congregations in Hot Springs. They are planning on building one or two more buildings for the congregations," he said. "We built one in Springdale about six years ago, and they had one congregation. Now there are four."
Congregations in need of a facility will purchase the land for the building site and then the committee must approve the area. After that, Friend said, it is just a matter of scheduling a date the volunteer crews can work.
"Sometimes, a congregation will sell an existing building to buy the land, or they may finance it through other sources. I think it helps that they are getting a quality building, and they don't have to pay for the labor," he said.
He added that the volunteers' job is made easier by cooperation from inspectors.
"We appreciate the inspectors very much. They were just super. They work very well with us," Friend said.
Through the 99 Regional Building Committees across the United States, Friend said, about 1,000 new churches are being built a week for Jehovah's Witness congregations.
While the volunteers provide quality facilities for congregations in need, Friend said, they still consider their main purpose to be in talking to people about the Bible.
"It's something Jesus said had to be done. The sooner we have a church built, the sooner we have a place to invite people to talk with them," he said. ******************************************************************************** |
