Nonprofit gives free labor; church receives fellowship hall

Published: Wednesday, June 20, 2012 at 5:06 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, June 20, 2012 at 5:06 p.m.

Swarmed by volunteers from nearly a dozen states, the campus of Clearview Baptist Church looked much like a construction site Wednesday.

Come Friday, thanks to Linden, Ala.-based Bethel Baptist Builders, members of Clearview Baptist Church will likely have a new fellowship hall. Volunteers from Louisiana, Missouri, Alabama, Tennessee, Kansas, Arkansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia, Oregon and Florida chipped in Wednesday as they were working to meet their goal of finishing the structure by the end of the week. The church is on Clearview Street off Interstate 85 Business Loop just outside Lexington.

"We really needed a building to eat, meet and greet in," said the Rev. Jeffrey Perdue, senior pastor of Clearview Baptist Church. "Every Baptist church needs a fellowship hall."

Clearview Baptist Church has no fellowship hall. Perdue said Clearview Baptist was built before World War II. With the new 2,100-square-foot fellowship hall, members will have access to two handicapped-accessible, four-stall bathrooms, a kitchen and an eating room. The church previously had no kitchen, and the restrooms were too small.

With no fellowship hall, members have held events under a tent. As expected, weather has caused several cancellations to events.

"It was just a nightmare if it rained on us," Perdue said. "We can plan now without worrying about the weather. With this, the teens are going to use it on Wednesday night to reach other teens. We are going to use it to possibly feed the homeless in the area."

The church, Perdue said, was responsible for the building materials while Bethel Baptist Builders is heading up the volunteer labor efforts. With the volunteer efforts, the pastor explained Clearview Baptist Church is gaining a fellowship hall while using $75,000 of its own money.

A member of Clearview Baptist Church learned of Bethel Baptist Builders through the nonprofit's efforts of building a fellowship hall in Troy. That's when Perdue reached out to Bethel Baptist Builders and after a trip to Lexington, officials with the nonprofit agreed to build the fellowship hall.

"They never met us," Perdue said of the volunteers. "They don't know us. To come here and willingly give a whole week of their time, their money and their effort, it's truly about what being a Christian is about."

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Nonprofit gives free labor; church receives fellowship hall