| If you are active in the the service of the lord, | | | | unforeseen expenses. They thought that because |
| you may know how much we are often tested in | | | | we were religious people we would be easily |
| his divine service. Our own ministry, for many | | | | taken, and that there was some powerful |
| years, had to preach out of a storefront, with | | | | moneybags who was bankrolling our church |
| barely enough money from our poor congregation | | | | building. But we were building a church by |
| to pay the rent to the building owner, much less | | | | ourselves and for our community, and there was |
| the fund to build a church. | | | | just simply no way that we were going to let |
| Those were some hard times, times that even | | | | anything happen to it. |
| tested the faith of many in the congregation, with | | | | Construction got pushed back and pushed back, |
| the economy on the ropes, and many local | | | | and soon instead of building a church, we found |
| families almost knocked out through the drugs, | | | | ourselves fighting for that church against the |
| crime, and poverty that stalked the inner city | | | | wicked contractor in court. But through the grace |
| where we did the work of the lord. But God | | | | of God, and the rightness of our cause we |
| showed us through the hardest of times, and | | | | persevered, and were able to stop fighting for |
| now rather than fighting to keep our ministry | | | | what was ours and start up with building a church |
| running, we are finally building a church. | | | | again. |
| It is not just poverty that tries mens souls. | | | | Now, we have finally finished building our church, |
| Success can do the same. Building a church is no | | | | and I can tell you what a fine sight it is. The whole |
| simple matter. We thought that we had had it | | | | community can take pride in it, because the whole |
| made when we finally had the funds for building a | | | | community paid for it and the whole community |
| church, but we were mistaken. It had only just | | | | worships in it. Now that we have finished with |
| begun. | | | | building a church, we can get back to doing what |
| Our contractor, despite claiming to be Christians | | | | the church is supposed to do that is we can |
| and churchgoers themselves, were dishonest men. | | | | minister to the needs of our community and help |
| They cut every corner they could building a | | | | the poor and the godless. |
| church, and tried to charge us for various | | | | |