Groundbreaking Scheduled Sunday April 6

Bethany Christian Church in Arapahoe will hold ground-breaking ceremonies for a new sanctuary and fellowship hall, Sunday, April 6, 4:00 PM. Fire from faulty wiring completely destroyed the 95 year-old church building at the crossroads of Arapahoe, June 25, 2007.

Church members have worked the last ten months to raise funds for the new church from a variety of fund-raisers. Under-insured, the church's insurance proceeds will cover about 40 percent of the cost of a new structure.

According to Floyd Hardison, chairman of the board at Bethany, "We have sold barbecue plates, held raffles and conducted a Capital Campaign. We are about eighty percent of the way there with enough funds to build our building. We still have to raise more money for pews, a sound system, and all the other necessary furnishings. But we're confident that donations will see us through so we are starting construction.” The fund is $200,000.00 short of the amount needed to fully furnish the church.

John Beeman, chairman of the re-building committee, said, "We made an extensive effort to hear from our congregation their individual preferences for the style of the new building. Overwhelmingly, many members wanted to retain as much as possible the traditional style of the old church which served us for almost a century. We visited new churches all over Eastern North Carolina, consulted with a variety of architects, and now we have a plan that we hope carries the best from the past into the best for the future."

Hardison issued an open invitation to the public to come and share in the joy of the ground-breaking for a new church. "We want all to come and share this joyful time with us. It will also be a time for us to thank all those who have contributed to our work for the Lord. Our work is not done and we still have great needs, but the people of Bethany are building a new church because of the importance of God in their lives."

Fro the last ten months, the congregation has held services at Camp Caroline on Dawson's Creek near Arapahoe. The new church is expected to be completed in less than a year.