New Beginnings Canton
New Beginnings Fellowship Church is pleased to announce our newest acquisition, and what is going to be our largest project ever. Earlier this year, two residents at our Houston Tiny House community obtained temporary employment with a contractor renovating apartments in Canton. In this small town approximately 60 miles east of Dallas, one of our ministers came across a derelict nursing home. Questions asked around town produced a lot of information: the facility, which apparently operated for many years with poor care and possible abuse of its residents, was closed due to substandard conditions. Some of the locals claim it is haunted.
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We contacted a realtor and toured the place with a contractor. It was determined that the structure was sound. A lot of cosmetic issues to be resolved, but no major renovations required. With a massive cleaning effort, new floor, paint, and a lot of TLC, the facility could be made ready to serve our ministry within a matter of months.
Ministry leaders conferred. The Board voted to purchase the nursing home, and to establish a church subsidiary called "New Beginnings Canton." On Friday, September 28, 2017, we closed on the property. |
Within the nursing home is a large area that served as a dining hall; this will be converted into a church sanctuary for our future Canton congregation. We will use the nursing home's centralized offices for church administration and other ministry functions. Most important here is the remaining area -- known as East Wing and West Wing. Within are 55 rooms, each with its own lavatory and toilet. These will be used in fulfillment of our ministry's main objective--e.g., worship of our Creator by serving others in the manner God has specified. (See Matthew 25:35,36)
Update: 10/12/2017. While the building is in relatively good condition, we have discovered out first major problem. Soon after the city turned on the water, we had a flooding issue with water bubbling up out of the ground outside one wing. After the area was dug up, we discovered a cavern underneath the slab. A copper pipe obviously developed a leak a very long time ago. It will be fixed this weekend.