Chapel Building Finds New Location
October 10, 2008
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On Wednesday, October 8, the Park River Bible Camp Chapel project took a major step forward. The building was thoroughly braced on the inside and attached to giant beams. The beams were then lifted and placed on wheels. It was pulled off the old foundation and rolled on to the new foundation. On Thursday the building was lowered to rest on the foundation prepared for it. The moving process, which took nearly an entire week to complete, was accomplished by Carrington House Moving from Carrington, ND.
The moving process was a necessity in not only improving the building, but also to preserve the building. The old foundation was already sinking in all four corners, so the additional weight of materials used to remodel the interior would have accelerated the deterioration of the foundation and ultimately the building itself. Dennie Fry, PRBC Site Director said, “After the building was removed, the foundation was actually in worse shape than originally thought.”
The Chapel project can be accomplished because of a large financial gift left to the camp a few years ago by John Paulson. This was a gift large enough to not only help ensure the ongoing ministry at the camp for years to come, but also able to fund the entire Chapel restoration and improvement project. Restoring the Chapel was one of John’s wishes for the camp.
While planning the project, the board of directors felt it would be an appropriate time to answer the dilemma of a lack of office space by including a new office wing. The camp now has five year round employees that need offices, but only three offices. Located in the Retreat Center, only one of those three offices was originally designed as an office. The new facility will have five new offices, a conference room, and two spaces that could be converted to offices if the need were to arise. While funding for the chapel portion of the project is covered by the Paulson estate, the office wing portion is funded by support being raised from other individuals and organizations. The old office spaces will easily be reallocated.
The groundbreaking and preparation of the foundation took place over the summer, and this is another major step in a project that has been several years in the planning. When completed, the entire facility will be heated and air conditioned. It will contain a beautifully restored and enhanced Chapel Sanctuary, a new and larger Fireside Room, an adjoining hallway with men’s and women’s bathrooms, five new offices, a new conference room, a new staff bathroom, and more storage space. The camp looks forward with excitement to using this restored/new facility and is very thankful for the kind support of John Paulson and others. May it be utilized for the Glory of God and the proclamation of Jesus Christ!
