Volunteers build three churches in 10 days

RATHDRUM – A new Craftsman-style building sits near state Highway 41 in Rathdrum. In front of the building, a huge rock with gold lettering reads, “Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

A couple of weeks ago, the rock wasn’t there – and neither was the building.

In a project reminiscent of old-fashioned barn raisings, North Idaho Jehovah’s Witnesses congregations and volunteers from Washington, Montana and northern Wyoming recently built three new Kingdom Halls in about 10 days. The buildings went up in Rathdrum, Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint.

“This is kind of unusual for us,” said Bill Frates, construction overseer for the Rathdrum project. “Usually, we build one at a time, but due to the fact that a lot of our support personnel came from 500 to 600 to 700 miles away, we decided to try to build all three of these at once.”

While using volunteer labor long has been a tradition of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Frates, a veteran of nearly 100 building projects, admitted on the first day of construction that the group had taken on an ambitious plan.

“Generally, we take about five days to build a new (Kingdom Hall), but we allotted 10 days for the three of them.

“And these buildings will be complete – carpeted and painted. We can have a meeting there when we’re done – they’ll be 100 percent completed. Landscaping, too.”

On Aug. 16, Frates predicted the Rathdrum building would be finished by Aug. 26 in time for a meeting on Sunday morning.

And it was.

Throughout the week, the construction site bustled as armies of volunteers poured in to do their jobs.

Tents popped up on-site, where support workers offered food and a little relaxation to those working on construction. Entry of trucks and equipment was orchestrated with precision, showing the expertise with which the entire construction project had been planned.

Frates said organization is the key to a successful project.

“When one team of workers is done, another begins. It’s all organized ahead of time, and we know where everybody is going to be and when,” he said.

Each crew has master craftsmen who supervise the volunteers, many of whom gain their building skills on the job, Frates said.

The Rathdrum building went up quickly.

The foundation already was in place. By afternoon, walls could be seen, and before the day was done, sheeting was being put on the roof. Next, interior crews went to work, installing plumbing and electrical systems.

As Frates had predicted, before the week was over, finishing crews and landscaping crews had added the finishing touches.

The result is a rectangular 4,100-square-foot building that is handsome but not ornate, fitting Jehovah’s Witnesses beliefs. The tan-colored building features a stacked rock façade with maroon trim, multipaned windows and a large portico.

Frates, of Billings, Mont., has been helping build places of worship for Jehovah’s Witnesses for about 25 years. He said he gains a lot by spending his vacations building places of worship.

“I get a lot of satisfaction in knowing we’re accomplishing something that provides a place of worship for individuals in other communities,” he said.

“And it is just a tremendous boost, as an individual, to my faith to come together in unity with so many people to accomplish this.”