After devastating blaze, Renewal Life Church worships again as they rebuild

Renewal Life Church finds new location after fire

A congregation that lost their church to fire has a new temporary location. Today - they opened their doors to a celebration.

CHICAGO - A congregation that lost their church to fire has a new temporary location.

On Sunday, Renewal Life Church opened the doors of their new location while they continue to work to rebuild.

What we know:

Senior Pastor Je'Rico Brown Holding held two services and an early dinner to celebrate the occasion.

"We're in the process of recovering from the fire of course, that happened on Thanksgiving, so this is our new temporary worship space," Brown Holding said.

That fire last Thanksgiving destroyed the building on 58th and Emerald in Englewood.

Months later, they're open for worship in their temporary building on 74th and Stony Island in South Shore.

"It feels good. It feels really rewarding to be starting over, starting fresh and rebuilding," Brown Holsing said. "We wanted to share with the world that recovery is possible in the midst of trials where many people felt like what do we do next. A lot of our church members were like do we need to find a new church and some people were discouraged."

But the message of Renewal Life Church was reaching much farther than they knew. Brown Holding said people from Michigan and other places throughout the country sent the church things in the mail and donated to help get them back on their feet.

With help, the goal is to rebuild and grow, Brown Holding said.

"Renewal Life is a multi-church, so our goal is to continue to build and spend the next decades building churches around the country," Brown Holding said. "So this is a sign that you can recover, and we just have to keep trusting god and keep doing it."

Worship will continue here for many Sundays to come, the senior pastor says.

"The faith community is huge, and it shows that in tough times people do come together," he said.

The pastor said the fire also destroyed the offices of several small businesses and his campaign office as he is running for Congress as well. 

Anyone looking to donate can visit the church's website.