Southside Fort Worth Church Reopens After Interfaith Rebuild Effort

FORT WORTH — On Sunday, Sept. 22, Reverend Michael E. Williams gathered his flock of worshippers and guests at True Love Sanctuary on Fort Worth’s south side for a joyous ceremony: a ribbon cutting and music-filled worship service for their newly remodeled space. Outside the church, after some dedicatory remarks, Reverend and Mrs. Williams joined with Dr. Spencer and Mrs. Jennifer Smith, and President Brandon C. Ellison and his wife, Stacy, to cut the ribbon, officially opening the church once again. 

A storm in late May knocked a powerline onto the roof of the sanctuary, igniting a fire that destroyed a large portion of the church and charred the roof and rafters. Fort Worth firefighters extinguished the blaze as quickly as they could, but the church sustained very heavy damage.

We came from ashes, but God is with us.” –Reverend Michael E. Williams, True Love Sanctuary

Friends from other churches rallied around the Southside church and came together to help. Mr. Jeffrey Rigall, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Longview, Texas, over two hours away, heard about the fire from a friend of Pastor Williams’.

“Something in my heart told me, ‘Drive to Fort Worth,’” Mr. Rigall said. “I knew that if our church knew about it, that we’d do something. I came here, told the Pastor that help was on the way, then went to the local Bishop and told him about the fire. I suggested to him that maybe we could give them some helping hands to clean up. The rest is history.”

In a Facebook post during the renovation process, Reverend Williams said, “We thank you faithful brothers and sisters who have come out on Saturday mornings and worked side-by-side with Latter-day Saints and volunteers of other faiths to tear out the damaged structures and begin replacing the insulation and sheetrock. We thank the electricians and building contractors who have donated their time and skills. We could never afford to rebuild without so much donated labor.”

“We lost a lot of material things, but we never lost God,” Reverend Williams shared during the ceremony. “Even in those first few weeks, we never left these grounds. We met in tents on the sidewalk. We didn’t leave because God never told us to leave,” he recalled. “I asked God to make a way, and He did,” he went on to say. 

As he acknowledged early on that the church was going to need assistance, he said, “I’m not a carpenter, I don’t build. I just have a vision.” He thanked Pres. Ellison, Stake President of the Fort Worth Texas Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who helped organize some of the donated funds and workers, by saying, “Thank you for having a heart for us and for saying yes. Thank you for telling me that everything was going to be alright.”

Gil Barnard from Fort Worth served as the lead construction expert and donated many hours of his time to rebuild the sanctuary. Reverend Williams invited him to share a few words and he said, “The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of teamwork.” He quoted John 13:34 and said, “A new commandment I leave with you, that you love one another; as I have loved you. The gospel of Jesus Christ is not a gospel of division, it’s a gospel of love. I thank you all for letting me work with you. I love you.”

Pastor Williams then invited Dr. Smith and Mrs. Smith, communication directors for the Fort Worth Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to speak for a few minutes. Pastor Williams marveled at the speed at which he and Spencer became “brothers” and talked about how he valued their new relationship so highly. He told Dr. Smith, “Thank you for telling me that everything was going to be alright.” As Mrs. Smith spoke, she said, “We are so grateful that we have been able to share together in this labor of love with our brothers and sisters.” Dr. Smith read a scripture and said of the new friendships, “We are strangers no more. We are fellow citizens because of our love for Jesus Christ.”

This story was also covered by Fox 4 News. Read their story here.