The congregation of Northland Harvest plans to put the 2011 flood behind it Sunday with the dedication of its newly renovated church building in southeast Minot.
"Just having all our people together and celebrating God's faithfulness to us is going to be a great blessing," the Rev. Larry Borud with Northland Harvest said.
Construction to do
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Kody Ternes, worship and youth director, left, and the Rev. Larry Borud sit in the newly remodeled sanctuary in Northland Harvest Church Wednesday. The church will hold its post-flood building dedication Sunday.
Jill Schramm/MDN
Borud said there are a few minor construction details that might not be finished by Sunday, but the building is essentially put back to rights. The look isn't quite the same as existed pre-flood, though. The church took the reconstruction opportunity to do some remodeling.
The basement that once provided classrooms, a nursery and kitchen now is being used for cold storage, eliminating issues with sewer backups and the potential for water issues. The sanctuary, which seats 104 and can be expanded to 130, has been reconfigured. The building redesign now includes a hallway from which extend two offices, a nursery, kitchenette, rest rooms and children's church classroom.
With attendance sometimes pushing the sanctuary to capacity, the church is looking ahead to additional construction.
Fact Box
Church to hold open house
Northland Harvest Church will hold a community open house in its newly renovated building Sunday from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Cake and refreshments will be served.
The congregation has spent the past year rebuilding the flood-damaged church, located at 140 Souris Drive, just east of the Holiday Inn. A dedication of the building will occur during the 10:30 a.m. worship service, led by the Rev. Dan Semsch, of Bozeman, Mont., representing Ascension Fellowship International.
Next spring the congregation will begin building a 60-foot by 94-foot addition to house a new sanctuary, nursery and office space. The hallway will be removed, the kitchenette expanded and the existing sanctuary will become the fellowship hall.
"This also will become a prayer center," Borud said of the fellowship hall. "We have faith to believe this could be a community prayer center. There's the possibility that it could be 24-7 here in our city. We really have a vision for that."
During the Dec. 9 service, the church will take a seed offering to begin raising money for the addition. Borud said the existing renovation was paid for by the congregation. Its church network, Ascension Fellowship International, also provided assistance for the rebuilding and to aid about 10 families in the church who were affected by the flood.
Church member Jerry Frederich served as construction supervisor for the rebuilding project.
During the past 15 months, the church has had to temporarily abandon its children's ministries while trying to provide the basics to keep the church family together.
The congregation met at the Vegas Motel until about two months ago. Borud explained that they arrived at the motel one Sunday to discover their space in use by another party. Having no where else to meet, they gathered in their partially built church to worship. Rough as the building was, the congregation determined that it was back for good.
Back home
"It was just like we were home. Even though it was not done, we just wanted to be home," Borud said.
Borud and Kody Ternes, worship and youth director, recently settled into a newly constructed office in the church. After the flood, they had relocated to donated office space at Calvary Alliance Church. Higher Grounds Christian Fellowship had provided the use of its building for Northland Harvest's Tuesday night meetings.
Northland Harvest was able to remove nearly all of its furnishings before the flood. The one exception was the sound equipment, which was left on a cart that inadvertently was not rolled to safety.
"Everybody thought everybody else had it," Borud said. "That was a heartache."
The water was 6-1/2 feet deep on the main floor. Once it receded, church members worked to gut the building, which they had just remodeled four months before the flood.
"So it's been a long road, but we are very excited about being back in and very thankful for the Vegas, for Calvary Alliance, for Higher Grounds. Those were such a blessing," Borud said.
The church also is grateful to Muus Lumber, Jessen Roofing and individuals who helped with the rebuilding.
Blessing in disguise
Borud said he can see God's hand in the flood, despite the devastation that occurred. The disaster has strengthened the church body in ways that are benefiting the city and the church as a whole, he said.
The Northland Harvest building has served as a church since the early 1980s, going through name changes before becoming Northland Harvest. In March 2009, Shiloh Christian Fellowship merged its congregation with Northland Harvest.
The church recently added Kelsey Mehrer as children's minister and will be bringing Darla DesLauriers on staff as prayer coordinator after the first of the year.
Borud said prayer and discipleship are major focuses of Northland Harvest.
"We have a real passion to see people released into their various gifts in the marketplace in business, in education, in media, in government," Borud said. "We believe we can make a difference, and reformation can come to our community. ... It's not just Northland Harvest, but we see the church in the city bringing a culture change."