CARPENTERSVILLE, IL (April 1, 2011) – First-time attenders to Iglesia del Pacto Evangelico Renacer kept leaving before the service was over. “They wouldn’t stay because it was too crowded,” recalls member Rosa Barron.
So three years ago, the congregation of about 140 adults and children in Hanover Park began looking for a new building. The church kept putting money aside for the purchase, but the search for a facility dragged on for years without success.
“We had almost given up,” says Barron, whose husband, Javier, is the pastor. Then last September, a member passed by a church that no longer was being used.
Unlike the search, negotiations to purchase the building proceeded quickly. By the end of November, the congregation had put down an initial $129,000 for the facility that ultimately will cost about $650,000.
The members worked four weeks straight in December to get it ready for them to hold their first service December 31. Two hundred people attended. They started the new year the next day by holding a vigil.
The new facility is doing more than enabling people just to attend services. The vibrant children’s ministry also had maxed out and was unable to grow further.
The church has two sanctuaries, the newest one being built in 1968. The extra sanctuary and other parts of the building have given the church the space it needs.
“It gives a lot more opportunities for programming,” says Barron.
A lot of restoration and repair still is needed because the previous congregation had not done regular maintenance, Barron says. It had to replace the heater for the smaller sanctuary, and the church has spent most of the $5,000 it had remaining in the building fund.
One of the primary needs is work to improve the parking lot, which gets muddy whenever it rains. The church also hopes to obtain a commercial stove so that it can provide meals for church events as well as support outreach opportunities.
Despite the ongoing needs, the church is grateful for its new space, Barron says. “We can keep proclaiming the name of Christ in the community of Carpentersville.”
For more information, contact the church at 224-484-8281.
