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Print By Brenda Myers “We want our church to be on fire, but not quite that way,” quipped Pastor Harold Linder as the local news station interviewed him. Earlier that morning, Linder, pastor of Heavenview United Pentecostal Church in Winston-Salem, NC watched as fire gutted the church he had pastored for the past five years. Missionary Phil Tolstad (Uganda) had hooked up his motor home in the parking lot at the back of the church and was scheduled to speak Sunday morning, May 28, 2006. About 3 a.m. that morning, his motor home filled with smoke. As he stepped outside, he found the church engulfed in flames. After notifying neighbors, the authorities, and the pastor, he was able to move his motor home away from the fire without any damage or injury.
The church building is a total loss, the roof completely collapsed and there’s nothing left standing in the sanctuary except for a few microphone stands, a music stand, and the baptismal tank. The fire chief said that when they arrived, the building was already 80 percent engulfed. (Investigators have concluded that a faulty wire in the apparatus that heats the baptismal tank started the blaze and the church was not negligent in any way.) Unexpected Publicity, Unexpected Opportunities One of the local TV stations was on the scene immediately and the fire was the leading story on the 6 am news and then throughout the day on Sunday and Memorial Day Monday. By the time church was over, every TV station in the area was there.
We had a great service Sunday morning. The fellowship hall (an adjoining building) was packed with folks, with over 20 people standing, crammed into the tiny kitchen at the back of the fellowship hall. There were lots of visitors and it was a powerful service. Although there were some tears shed, victory was in the house. We’ve gotten great media coverage! During the service the TV crews came in and filmed that as well. One of the crew said he grew up Pentecostal, but now attended a denominational church. He said he was interested in coming back to visit our church when he wasn’t working. We’re hoping to see him again. Another man stopped by Monday to look at the debris. He told Linder that he was so moved by the story and the footage of the fire on TV that he wanted to come out and see it for himself. He said the image of the (unburned) cross moved him. A section of our church facing out to the street has a big cross made of thick clear glass blocks. Every other window with the glass blocks was destroyed. The cross is in perfect condition, even though it looks like that’s where the majority of the fire was. Amazing. (The man is Lutheran and had never heard of the Holy Ghost, so the pastor was able to quickly give him a mini-Bible study.)
The fire has generated a huge amount of traffic from those that have a connection to Heavenview, and those who are just curious. It seems that every backslider from the past 25 years has been there, many of them taking pictures, crying, and looking on in disbelief. They seem so devastated—yet some of them haven’t been there in years. So interesting. It has been a great witnessing opportunity. Tuesday night we had prayer (previously scheduled) under the trees at the back of the parking lot. It was a BYOC (Bring Your Own Chair) prayer meeting. We had a great crowd with lots of interested neighbors that walked or drove by slowly so they could catch what we were doing. Wednesday night we again crammed into our tiny fellowship hall to hear Pastor Linder preach, “It’s Time to Move!” Again, God moved in a powerful way.
Small Miracles One of the firemen found Linder’s Bible still in the middle of his desk, wet but unburned. They were also able to retrieve his waterlogged laptop, and it looks as if they will be able to retrieve the data from his hard drive. Monday afternoon, Linder and other church personnel were able to retrieve some pictures from his office, the cash box from the bookstore, the bass guitar and a few other things. My husband found what looked like a burned/charred handbook. As he opened it up, he found that it was the Adult Sunday School Teacher’s Guide, in perfect condition on the inside. Even the two transparencies that were in the book were unscathed!
What Comes Next We’re excited about the prospects of building a church building from the ground up. We were at the point of needing more space soon because the sanctuary is full every service. Three months ago, the pastor told the church that God had shown him that we were in a “Season of Blessing.” Since that time, someone has received the Holy Ghost every Sunday. On Easter Sunday, 21 people received the Holy Ghost. Looks like this is just another part of the blessing! We don’t know what the future holds, but so far it’s been an exciting ride. It’s definitely a Season of Blessing!
ninetyandnine.com © 2006, Brenda Myers --------- Brenda Myers has been a member of Heavenview United Pentecostal Church for many years now. |
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