KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Rebuilding has been quite the process for Bethel Seventh Day Adventist Church.
In June, the church was vandalized with some of the worst damage investigators had ever seen.
Members are continuing to do what they can as they try and start over.
Pastor Bryan Mann says the process has been a long one, from dealing with insurance companies and trying to get contracting bids..
Mann said he and members are temporarily going to church at a different location until Bethel can be fixed.
“They miss home, they miss being here at Bethel,” Mann said.
Through this hard time, they find their strength by helping others, like people impacted by Hurricane Harvey in Houston.
“When you look at what they're going through, the lives that have been damaged, the homes that have been destroyed, I think you see the best in humanity,” Mann said. “When our catastrophe happened, people who just had a heart to help, they stepped in.”
Mann said now it the time to step in and help.
“We decided we're not just going to sit around, no matter what has happened to us,” Mann said. “We're going to step up and make sure we do everything that we can to help others.”
While vandals tried to tear this church down, it didn’t stop members from building each other up, whether in Kansas City, Kansas or Houston, Texas.
“I think love reciprocates love. And even if there's no one to love, those who have the love of Christ inside of them, they're going to reach out,” Mann said. “Whether someone has done something for you or not. It's the right thing to do, it's the Christian thing to do.”
The food pantry at the church remains closed while it’s being used to store items for Harvey victims. The church still does a large food giveaway with Harvester’s once a month.
Mann says it’s uncertain when they’ll be able to move back into the church, but they hope soon.
