Word Of Life Church Breaks Ground

The dark clouds cleared and a rainbow sparkled across the sky just above the new site for Word of Life Community Church.

“It kind of ended at our property,” the Rev. Carl Hampsch said last week as he admired the bright stripes across the sky. “It was like when God took the rainbow to Noah.”

The 30-acre site in Otis Orchards where the church is being built wasn’t flooded for 40 days and 40 nights.

But like Noah and his ark, the 150 members of the Biblical tale, the 150 members of this non-denominational Christian church have been afloat.

During the past 2-1/2 years, church members have met in two schools, a former bank building and a converted dairy.

“We’ve been kind of a gypsy church for a while,” Hampsch said.

Now church members are finally getting their own home.

Construction began last week on the $275,000 steel building on North Idaho Road.

The 3,600-square-foot church should be completed by the end of the year.

Hampsch, who lives in Hayden, Idaho, and also pastors at New Life Community Church in Hayden, is overseeing the construction.

He said he hopes to add sports fields behind the building in the future.

The church has received $80,000 in donations for building and bought the land for $75,000, Hampsch said.

Presently the members are meeting at Maranatha Bible Church in Newman Lake on Sunday evenings.

“I’m glad we’re building,” said Jada Poshusta, who has been attending the church for almost two years. “We’re close to being finished with the nomadic existence.”

The Rev. Tom Starr, pastor at Maranatha Bible Church, volunteered his church after the group had to leave one of the schools when it closed for the summer.

“We’re glad to give them the opportunity to meet, because it can be a little frustrating to have a congregation and nowhere to meet,” he said. “Carl is a neat pastor with a neat congregation.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo