First and foremost, on behalf of the New Bethel Family, we wish to extend our heartfelt appreciation to our neighbors and our church community.  We thank each and every one of you for your thoughts, prayers, kind words, and gracious offers of assistance and space in which to worship.

Here is our first of many updates to come –

As you know, on Saturday, December 15, 2018, our beloved New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church suffered a devastating fire. The fire started in the kitchen in the Upper Fellowship Hall and investigators speculate that it may have been caused by either an electrical issue or a kitchen appliance; their investigation is still ongoing.  The roof above the kitchen collapsed and the kitchen suffered complete devastation.  The entire Upper Fellowship Hall suffered extensive smoke and water damage.  The fire affected every area of our building so in addition to the damage done to the Upper Fellowship Hall, there is smoke and water damage in the Lower Fellowship Hall and extensive smoke damage throughout the Pantry, the restrooms, the classrooms, the vestibule and the sanctuary.  Every surface throughout the building is covered in soot and dirt; the air is still acrid and can be harmful to the respiratory system; and there are large sharp pieces of debris, wiring, and ductwork hanging from what’s left of ceilings and scattered along the floors and stairways throughout the building.  As such, we have been asked to stay out of the building until the air and the debris can be cleared.

Church officials have already taken the initial steps towards rebuilding.  On Wednesday, December 19, 2018, Pastor Reed, the Deacons, and the Trustees met with a consultant from a company that not only specializes in rebuilding following disasters such as hurricanes, floods, and fires…the company specializes in rebuilding churches following such disasters.  The consultant estimates that it could take two to three months to clean and restore our sanctuary and upon completion we will be able to hold services and meetings in the sanctuary, but it could take eight to ten months before the restoration of the remainder of our building is complete.

Because the building currently has no electricity, our security alarm has been deactivated. We are looking into hiring a security company to ensure against looting of copper wiring and anything else of value until power to the building can be restored.

In the coming weeks we will form several committees to begin the tasks of taking inventory and counting our losses for insurance purposes, and to work on the processes and procedures of rebuilding and reorganizing.  This is your church and we wholeheartedly encourage you to be involved in the process by volunteering on committees and offering suggestions for changes or improvements … we welcome your input and your help.

Thanks to our partnership with our neighbor The Oaks Academy and our liaison Deacon Lee Means, they have graciously offered us the use of their auditorium during the cleaning and restoration of our sanctuary.

We will hold Sunday morning worship services, beginning this Sunday December 23rd, at 11:00 a.m. in the Oaks Academy Auditorium.  We will have bus service available for our members who ride the bus.  We will suspend the breakfast program, Sunday School classes, Bible study, and our annual year-end business meeting until further notice.  All these programs will be reinstated as soon as the restoration process allows.

Please watch New Bethel’s website – newbethelbaptistchurch.org – and Facebook page for regular updates.  For those of you who prefer a more conventional means of communication, we’ve got you covered too!!

We are heartbroken, but we are not defeated.  We will rebuild.

God willing, we will see you Sunday!!

NBMBC Communications Committee