Interfaith Volunteers Uniting to Rebuild Fort Worth Sanctuary

 

FORT WORTH — The True Love Sanctuary C.H.S.C. on the Southside of Fort Worth recently suffered an accidental and devastating fire. The church, led by Reverend Michael E. Williams, has operated a food pantry as an important part of its ministry for nearly 20 years, serving thousands of families. When other local churches heard about the fire, they reached out to see how they could help.

This past weekend, many, including Fort Worth-based members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, met to install insulation and hang drywall. If sufficient funds can be raised in the next six weeks, True Love Sanctuary hopes to reopen.

Williams and the True Love Sanctuary on the south side of Fort Worth are roughly $10,000 shy of completing renovations after a downed power line from a recent storm ignited a fire, burning a 12-foot by 18-foot area of the attic, including the HVAC system.

“I thought we had lost everything,” Rev. Williams said. “I cried. I was hurting. I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t know where people were going to be able to worship God and serve God. I was hurting more for the people than I was myself because I know how many people depend on us in this community.”

True Love Sanctuary, located at 1911 Yuma Street in the Hillside neighborhood, has operated a food pantry as an important part of its ministry for nearly 20 years. It has given out food to an average of 200 needy families per month in 2024, and it provided Thanksgiving meals to 4,000 families and Christmas meals to 1,000 families last fall. 

 

Although the damage was only moderate, the fire was existentially devastating to the church, which was founded 24 years ago. The congregation is so impoverished that dedicated Rev. Williams and the assistant pastors have full-time jobs elsewhere and have never drawn salaries for their church ministrations.

The sanctuary had been notified by its insurer a few weeks earlier that coverage was being terminated due to unsatisfactory roofing. In response, the sanctuary had replaced the old roof with a new metal roof, but the fire broke out during a gap in insurance coverage before the policy had been reinstated.  

True Love Sanctuary has always operated week-to-week on a shoestring budget with no cash reserve to draw on, and this calamity brought it to the brink of permanent dissolution.  

After the fire, Rev. Williams and True Love Sanctuary are now on the receiving end of service to rebuild, and he is very grateful.

“I really don’t have words. It’s really an honor. The Bible tells us that we reap what we sow. We are receiving a blessing, and this is huge,” he said. “I thank God for the love that is being shown to us in this community through this ministry. When I see how God has blessed my brothers and sisters coming together to help us out is amazing.”

Local congregations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other organizations like the United Way have mobilized to help. Members of True Love Sanctuary and area LDS Church congregations have now jointly completed the demolition of the damaged portions of the sanctuary. Since no one in the True Love congregation has significant construction expertise, local building contractors and electricians are planning the restoration steps and are donating their time and expertise to bring down costs. 

A local electrician has completed electrical repairs, and a new HVAC unit has been sited. A framer has reinforced charred wood in the attic with new lumber, and a local restoration specialist will encapsulate and seal the burned areas. 

An interfaith crew of 15-20 volunteers met last Saturday morning to install insulation and hang drywall. Within the next six weeks, if sufficient funds can be raised to purchase materials, True Love Sanctuary hopes to complete the reconstruction work, including taping and texturing the drywall, hanging new doors, replacing baseboard and trim along doors and windows, repainting the interior with another joint work crew, mounting new ceiling fans and lights, and laying new carpet.

 

A total of $16,500 in donations have been received to date with the Tarrant County United Way contributing $10,000. It would ordinarily cost close to $50,000 to complete this restoration, but the estimated total cost is just $26,500 thanks to donated labor and charitable discounts on some materials. There is still a funding shortfall, and reconstruction work will soon need to be postponed if they are unable to pay for the building materials. 

If anyone would like to donate, contact Reverend Williams at [email protected]. Donations made directly to the True Love Sanctuary are tax deductible. Reverend Williams has pledged to send statements to any direct donors confirming the amount donated and confirming the 501(c)3 tax status of True Love.