I truly believe with all my heart that this will NOT have a devastating impact on our youth ministry. We believe that everything that happens – the good, the bad and the ugly – happens so that MANY PEOPLE will see the goodness and love of Jesus Christ!”Justin Truett
SIMCOE – Yesterday, Jan. 18, a terrible fire ravaged the Simcoe Worship Center (SMC). Firefighters were on the scene quickly, battling the blaze and eventually extinguishing the flames. There were no injuries, but there was considerable damage to the church as a result. SMC’s youth pastor, Justin Truett, talked to us about it today.
“The fire was called in a few minutes before 7 a.m. yesterday, Jan.18, 2016, by one of the deacons that lives right down the road from the church,” he began. “We are officially unsure of how it happened as of now, but we believe it possibly had something to do with the wiring in the older part of the building. This is purely speculative, and hopefully we will know more soon as the investigation continues. We are pleased for the hard work that was done during the fire by all firefighters that came and all police personal that were there to lend a helping hand.”
Truett says that the damage to the church was extensive.
“One part of the church, where the youth department, the children’s church and the nursery area were, was completely burned and destroyed. Eventually the second story, the one that housed the children’s department, collapsed on the basement where the youth room was. This used to be the church’s main sanctuary years ago,” he added. “There was also devastating damage due to the part of the building that connects the youth facilities and the main sanctuary area.
“The main sanctuary, fellowship hall, offices, classrooms and other areas of the church were affected by a lot of smoke damage and extreme heat from the fire. The main entrance, the foyer area, both upstairs and downstairs, was jet black with smoke damage and debris. Thankfully, there was no one hurt during this fire,” he smiled.
Justin and his wife Chelsea are the new youth pastors at SMC, and just a few weeks ago, they started renovating the outdated youth facilities.
“I truly believe with all my heart that this will NOT have a devastating impact on our youth ministry,” he said. “We believe that everything that happens – the good, the bad and the ugly – happens so that MANY PEOPLE will see the goodness and love of Jesus Christ! I am solely looking at this from a very biblical and faith-filled point of view. I believe that God has greatness planned for not only the youth and children we meet with at this great church, but more importantly, I believe that this will be the thing that launches us deeper into the community, to help, assist, bless and reach more people, so that the good news of the Gospel of Jesus will be heard loud and clearer.”
Now that we know what the damages are, what’s next for the church? Will they rebuild? Relocate? Truett had the following to say.
“Plans moving forward are to be discussed; there will be many things we will have to decide. We will seek the Lord’s guidance and do what’s best for the church and for the community, which will come in time as the days, weeks and months follow. Our temporary solution is as follows: We have had several churches in the community so graciously reach out to us and offer their buildings and facilities for us to gather to worship and do whatever we need to make plans to grow past this situation.
“We will be meeting at First Baptist Church in Fairview this Wednesday to have a meeting on what the future holds,” he said. “We will also discuss our gathering place for worship and prayer for the future. We are eternally grateful for the pastor and the staff at First Baptist in Fairview for their love and generosity to us for this Wednesday!”
As people watched the church burn yesterday, via online sources and news stations, many have asked what they can do to help.
“We at SWC ask that everyone who reads this will pray for us,” he smiled warmly. “That through all of this, we will listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit, as this is the most important thing any of us could do, and follow his lead for our path moving forward.”
SMC is located at 4442 County Road 1635. Visit them, and follow the progress, on Facebook at http://qrne.ws/smc.
