Covenant News

Want An Airport Terminal? Just Move It!

BETHEL, AK (July 6, 2000) - The process of building the kingdom in Alaska took on new meaning for Bethel Covenant Church this year as a local airport terminal became a youth and Christian education center in a matter of weeks.

On June 13, a 55-by-80-foot Alaska Air terminal recently bought by the church was hauled three and a half miles to a site next to the church sanctuary. Total building purchase and moving cost was estimated at about $100,000. In an area where a gallon of milk costs $5 and small apartments are rented at $1,200 per month, this deal is considered a miracle by pastor Rodney Sawyer. Given the details behind the purchase, it could be argued that more than one miracle took place.

Sawyer, now in his fourth year as senior pastor, faced a big problem at Bethel Covenant, which had grown to about 100 in average attendance. There was just one room large enough for Christian education classes and groups were forced to meet at the parsonage, a 15-minute walk from the church. Finding prime real estate in Bethel was difficult because most of the town resides on swampland - in fact, most buildings are built on stilts to avoid water damage.

"We had been looking all over," Sawyer said. "We had wanted to buy the land next door and offered the owner a large sum for a small lot, and he said no. When we started considering the feasibility of moving our church, all the doors were closed."

The seeds of the miracle were planted one day when Sawyer walked into Crowley Marine, a major dock for barges. In Bethel, a town of 7,000 located in a remote part of Alaska, you either fly in items or have them brought by barge, making Crowley Marine a veritable county seat for trade.

Crowley Marine didn't have the storage unit Sawyer was looking for, but the owner told Sawyer that an office building was available for just $30,000. The church could afford to buy the building, but still didn't have land on which to locate the building. That's where the first buds of the miracle began to sprout.

Sawyer discovered that the lot next to the church could be available if the church could find the neighbor-owner a new locale. Fortunately, a house was located by none other than Crowley Marine, who helped arrange a three-way deal involving the church and the owner of the lot next door. Now the church had a 40-by-70-foot building, along with a lot next door to the church to put it on, all for $50,000.

Shortly thereafter, Sawyer found out that Alaska Air, the biggest airline at Bethel's airport, had built a new terminal building and that the old building was to be sold. For just $54,000, the church could own a building with nearly 1,200 more square feet of space than the one it had just purchased. All they had to do was sell the building they just worked so diligently to purchase.

Selling the 40-by-70-foot building turned out to be an easier task than Sawyer ever imagined. In fact, the whole deal took only the length of a single telephone conversation. However, it took some time before the church could complete arrangements with those moving the former air terminal building. To further complicate matters, when the building was at last in the process of being moved, one of the wheels on the fork truck fell into a sinkhole - it took a day to free it. Finally, after another mishap on day two of the move, the building was dropped into place next to the sanctuary.

The Bethel church obtained a loan from National Covenant Properties and the Department of Church Growth and Evangelism of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) provided administrative assistance. The church hopes to have the facility fully operational by fall 2000. A group of 20 professional carpenters from Wisconsin have offered to help refurbish the building (the church will pay only for materials). Sawyer estimates renovation will cost about $250,000. "We're just trusting the Lord that it will all work out," said Sawyer, who seems to be used to that way of making decisions.

Sawyer served an independent church in Beloit, Wisconsin, for two decades before becoming acquainted with the ECC and considering the Bethel pastorate. Most of his extended family lived in the Midwest, making Alaska a less attractive option when looking for a new church to serve. The harsh weather in Alaska wasn't a plus, either.

After spending a week in prayer, however, the two decided that Alaska was where God was leading them. Sawyer appreciates the 50-50 mix of Caucasians and Native Eskimos at his church and while the temperatures can be frigid at times, the reception he's received from his congregation has been warm.

"To tell you the truth, I wasn't very interested when (Evangelical Covenant Church of Alaska) field director Paul Wilson told me about the place," Sawyer said. "Western Alaska is not very developed and winters are really severe here. But, the Lord kept opening the door for me and I wasn't about to shut the door on the Lord. And it's been a wonderful experience up here."

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