One morning in September 2003, members of the Avery Street CRC in South Windsor, Conn., awoke to sirens. Fire was destroying their church building. The educational wing was gone, and the sanctuary and fellowship hall were damaged.
Avery Street, the only Christian Reformed Church in Connecticut, started in 1961 with support from the Fairlawn CRC in Whitinsville, Mass., and from Christian Reformed Home Missions.
Church leaders appointed a team to guide the church through the process of rebuilding. After much discussion, planning, and prayer, the congregation decided to rebuild on the same site, with a budget of $2,400,000.
Chris Mund, a church member and local CPA, helped the church to obtain a $900,000 loan from the CRC Loan Fund. He also contacted several local banks but found that the Loan Fund offered a competitive interest rate as well as other advantages such as not requiring an external audit, saving the church $3,000 to $5,000 annually.
Construction started in 2005 and the new building was dedicated in November 2006. Avery Street CRC members Damien and Monique Paquet served as volunteer general contractors. Their help saved the church several hundred thousand dollars—and brought the project in on budget.
