April 8, 2002
Fire destroys Ross Avenue's home,
but varied ministries will continue
___By George Henson
___Staff Writer
___DALLAS--Although fire destroyed its sanctuary on Good Friday, Ross Avenue Baptist Church in Dallas has not changed its priorities--ministry still comes first.
___The building burned shortly before midnight March 28, gutting the landmark sanctuary. Damage is set at $1 million.
___That pricetag will be a huge obstacle for the congregation, which counts 60 in its membership. Pastor Eddie Sanchez said the building was insured, "but for not nearly enough."
___The building was a registered Texas Historic Landmark.
CHARRED lumber and pews are all that remain inside the walls of the sanctuary at Ross Avenue Baptist Church in Dallas. Pastor Eddie Sanchez and his son survey the damage.
___The congregation began as a mission of First Baptist Church in Dallas in 1894 and moved into the damaged building in 1915.
___While the interior of the building was a complete loss, the outer walls remain sound.
___The size of the Ross Avenue congregation has dwindled through the years, but its ministries have multiplied.
___More than 300 people are impacted by those ministries in a typical week, Sanchez said. The church is the site for English-as-a-second-language classes and general equivalency diploma classes. Parenting, nutrition, cooking and literacy instruction also is offered. The church reaches out to homeless people and provides legal aid.
___One primary ministry was a medical clinic that saw patients in the basement of the burned-out building each Thursday. It also was the site of periodic vaccination clinics.
___While moving the classes to the education and fellowship hall building was not a major ordeal, Sanchez said, the clinic will be a larger challege.
___The Baptist General Convention of Texas church facilities department is aiding the church, Sanchez said. The BGCT is helping the church secure two portable buildings, one for Sanchez's office and one for the clinic, the pastor said.
___Keeping the clinic going was a priority, said Keith Crouch, director of the BGCT's church facilities center. "Thursdays are about as big as Sundays for them," he explained.
___The clinic will meet in the church's fellowship hall until the buildings are in place, with the church setting up for the clinic each Thursday and then tearing it down and preparing to have church in the space on Sunday.
___Many who attend the church are poor, which makes for interesting challenges, Sanchez said.
___"In most churches, when your membership increases so do your offerings, but that is not the case here. Most don't have anything to give, but we have more people we need to minister to," he explained.
___Several Dallas-area churches responded to the tragedy with love offerings or other gifts to the church. The BGCT has given the church some financial assistance. Crouch said his office's primary role is to help the church make the right steps as its seeks to recover.
___The church's plan for rebuilding is a bit freeform, but it has a firm foundation.
___"We're going to operate on the same plan we do every day: A lot of faith and prayer," Sanchez said. "God has been paying the bills around here for a long time, and he will continue to provide. God has been good to us, and we will be excited to see how he will see us through this."
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