By Catherine Pritchard Staff writer

It used to be easy to direct people to Mount Moriah Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church.

Just turn off McArthur Road onto Jacob Street or Jossie Street, then to Benjamin Street. You couldn't miss the church, which sits on the short road beside a cornfield.

Now, because of construction of the Outer Loop, Mount Moriah is accessible only by a street with no name.

Bulldozers had to tear through Jacob and Jossie streets to build the interstate, which cut off the easy access to a handful of houses and the church at the far end of the area. A new access road was built at the back of the College Lakes subdivision.

But the access road is nameless. It's a windy path that GPS systems are not acquainted with, so it takes good directions, luck and perseverance for strangers to make it to Mount Moriah these days.

It proved too much for many recently when the small church held its annual barbecue to feed all comers for free. Usually, more than 100 people show up, said James Williams, an elder whose wife, Geralene, leads worship at Mount Moriah. Fewer than half that number found their way to the church this year.

Williams says that's because it's so hard to tell people how to get there.

He paid for small directional signs, which he planted at key intersections along the way - at the intersection of Chesapeake and McArthur roads, then another showing the left turn off Chesapeake onto Shoreline Drive, and another at the end of that curvy residential street showing a left turn onto Saddle Ridge Road, and another past Buck Court at the stretch of nameless blacktop on the right, and another at a new intersection where there's only a pole-less stop sign stuck in the ground and a small Mount Moriah sign that sometimes topples over.

Around a wooded bend, finally, is the church.

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Construction of Fayetteville's Outer Loop makes access to church more difficult

By Ashley Yarchin

Madison, IL (KSDK) - The old church was being remodeled at the time.

PHOTOS - Church burns in Madison, Illinois

Folks have been driving past the wreckage of The Sacred Heart of Jesus Polish National Church all day, sharing stories from when they married here or simply enjoyed parties and the church's famous perogies.

So, it's been hard on the community.

Fortunately, recovery has already begun thanks to the folks who are actually responsible for the mess.

Love Construction and Roofing was at the church Wednesday repairing the roof following the damage from a hail storm a few weeks ago.

Apparently, the repairs required some heat and flames to affix the rubber to the top of the building.

Shortly after that was done, the workers left for the day and within 10 minutes the church was engulfed in flames.

But the parishioners say there are no hard feelings, it was an accident.

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Recovery beginning for church that burned in Madison, IL

12-06-2012 22:39 Church Building with Building Gods Way @ , shares an incredible building strategy with church leaders. Building God's Way is a remarkable network of services that includes ministering to workers on the jobsite while in the church construction process. Don't wait till your building is finished before you reach out to further growth in His kingdom BGW has a nationwide builder network, specializing in church building, that fully endorse and support the Ministry of Construction outreach program. An example of that Builder network is listed here, visit any to learn more: Connect with us on facebook & twitter:

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Church Building with BGW's Don Mahoney - Building pt 2 - Video

13-06-2012 00:44 Church Building with Building Gods Way @ , shares an incredible building strategy with church leaders. Building God's Way is a remarkable network of services that includes ministering to workers on the jobsite while in the church construction process. Don't wait till your building is finished before you reach out to further growth in His kingdom BGW has a nationwide builder network, specializing in church building, that fully endorse and support the Ministry of Construction outreach program. An example of that Builder network is listed here, visit any to learn more: Connect with us on facebook & twitter:

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Church Building with BGW's Don Mahoney - Building pt 4 - Video

13-06-2012 02:13 Church Building with Building Gods Way @ , shares an incredible building strategy with church leaders. Building God's Way is a remarkable network of services that includes ministering to workers on the jobsite while in the church construction process. Don't wait till your building is finished before you reach out to further growth in His kingdom BGW has a nationwide builder network, specializing in church building, that fully endorse and support the Ministry of Construction outreach program. An example of that Builder network is listed here, visit any to learn more: Connect with us on facebook & twitter:

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Church Building with BGW's Don Mahoney - Building pt 5 - Video

13-06-2012 07:09 Cogun Consultant Randy Ongie talks about his buiilding expansion experience at Grace Fellowship Church.

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RDO video 2.mp4 - Video

Residents fight construction of low-income duplexes

Residents in one neighborhood are trying to stop duplexes from being built near their homes.

The Meyerland Community Improvement Association held a meeting Wednesday night, and it was full of outspoken residents.

The Presbyterian Children's Homes and Services plans to build four duplex units on the property of St. John's Presbyterian Church, located at 5020 W. Bellfort.

According to a letter sent out to residents of Meyerland, "The plan is to utilize the undeveloped property belonging to the church for the construction and operation of residences for single parents and their children. This particular program will focus on single parents who have limited education or job skills."

Meyerland is one of Houston's oldest deed-restricted neighborhoods. Even though some residents live right across the street from St. John's Presbyterian Church, the church's property does not sit inside Meyerland's boundary lines. Therefore, the church is not subject to the neighborhoods restrictions.

The Presbyterian Children's Homes and Services, along with St. John's, held the meeting with residents as a courtesy to answer any questions and receive feedback.

"I don't feel like our questions were answered," said Trey Stafford, who has lived in Meyerland with his family for four years. "Many of us have concerns about this project. We worry about security and our property value going down."

"The property will be secure," said John Burnham, who is the pastor of St. John's Presbyterian Church. "When we stand before our maker, are we going to primarily be concerned about our property values or our values for showing support for the poor? I have lived in Meyerland for five years and I know of several residents who are for the housing program because they see the need and desire to show compassion."

Some residents said they are all for helping people, but they don't want that to potentially cause their quality of life to be decreased.

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Residents fight construction of low-income duplexes

Members of St. Luke Methodist Church in Newton are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their congregation all year. It was June 3, 1962, when the first worship service was held in the gymnasium of Emerson Hough Elementary School, and the church has made some impressive improvements since that time as well as constructing a building of their own.

There were 28 charter members and 11 preparatory members for the first worship service. The Rev. Duane Churchman was appointed as pastor of the new congregation, and St. Luke Methodist Church was officially incorporated in August 1962.

Church members were eager to move from the schools gym, and in June 1963, church trustees were empowered to borrow $40,000 from the National Board of Missions for a new church. More than $14,000 remained from the Builders Club Call, and the new church was estimated to cost $60,000.

Ground-breaking for the new church was held on Feb. 16, 1964, and construction began the following March. The church was consecrated on Oct. 18, 1964, at 501 E. 19th St. N. Membership at that time was 120, with 180 in the church school.

In November 1966, Pastor Leo Spiker requested a church conference to vote to build an education addition to the church. The following February, Pastor Spiker took seriously ill with an inoperable lymphomasarcoma, and on May 27, 1967, he died at the age of 38. The Rev. Carroll Robinson was appointed to succeed the Rev. Spiker.

In June 1968, nationally the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church joined to become the United Methodist Church, and St. Luke became St. Luke United Methodist.

In March 1969, groundbreaking ceremonies were held for the education unit of the church, which included six classrooms, a fellowship hall and kitchen.

The Rev. Arthur Campney was appointed to St. Luke in June 1969. He was succeeded by the Rev. Scott Hall in the fall of 1973, who was then succeeded by the Rev. W. Robert Fowler in June 1980. The Rev. Paul Wilcox was appointed pastor in June 1988. The Rev. Daryl Pals was appointed as pastor in June 1993. The Rev. Kalen Fristad was appointed in June 2001, and the Rev. Linda Butler was then appointed as pastor when the Rev. Fristad announced he was leaving to pursue a traveling ministry for universalism. The Rev. Jon Dinsberg was appointed interim pastor in March 2007, when Pastor Butler left for Ames Collegiate United Methodist Church. The current pastor, Audrey Young, was appointed in June 2007.

Today, St. Luke United Methodist Church is 305 members strong, with six of the charter members still in attendance. Charter member Rose South deserves special credit because she served as pianist for the first service at St. Luke and still plays the piano at the church every month.

John Jennings can be contacted at (641) 792-3121 ext. 425 or via email at jjennings@newtondailynews.com.

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St. Luke United Methodist Church celebrates 50 years of fellowship

Roughly 225 members of Outreach Christian Church celebrated Sunday as they broke ground, marking the beginning of the churchs new addition.

Senior Minister Fred Lab said because the church is growing at a significant rate, they are running out of space.

We need more room for ministry, said Lab.

He said the new structure will create a worship center that will seat 350 people and that can be expanded to hold 550, a cafe, narthex and church offices. The current building will be made into a youth center.

The congregation has been working for three years to organize the project and planned for two years. Thanks to financial commitments for the next three years from church members, the construction can begin.

Lab said the church is using general contractor Tailored Building Systems out of Grand Rapids, but is also taking advantage of more local builders. The addition is expected to be completed in about five months. Although Lab said he is a bit anxious about the project, he added he expects things to run smoothly due to the great foundation that was put into place before he became senior minister.

I am blessed to have great elders that I serve with, he said, adding the task has already strengthened the faith of the church.

The main goal with the addition, Lab said, is to connect more people to Jesus within the communities in which the church identifies.

Members of the congregation are looking forward to seeing their plans come to light.

Theres a high level of excitement about what were doing, he added. They are incredibly fired up.

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Outreach Christian Church breaks ground for new addition

11-06-2012 16:39 Design and building of church facilities. Experience fuels success and Oaster is the choice for many expanding ministries across the country for facilities planning. See more online including our video series at

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Oaster Intro - Video