NEWPORT NEWS, Va.— A Newport news church in desperate need of help gets their prayers answered when a local firefighter and a group of college students team up to tackle a renovation four years in the making.
You would never know the struggles happening inside the sanctuary of Trinity Tabernacle Ministry. The church sits on Parish Avenue and has been in the Newport News community for at least 50 years.
Trinity Tabernacle Ministry
“When you see it, it’s real sad,” said Deacon Antonio Miranda.
Deacon Miranda is referring to more than a dozen bedrooms and bathrooms that have sat empty for the last four years.
The church has an attached dorm room-style living area that is in miserable condition, but that could soon change.
Virginia Beach Firefighter John Staseskie enlisted the help of Christopher Newport University student Saad Yousuf to help fix up the church. Yousuf recruited several of his fraternity brothers, and they will all help pull up the old carpeting and make way for new laminate floors Saturday morning. The church expects around 20 volunteers.
“This is going to be the first time we ever had someone to come in with a huge group to help do what we need to get our visions rolling,” says Miranda.
The floors are just the beginning of a massive renovation. Miranda says he has a vision of what the space could be and what it could mean to the community.
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He hopes the rooms can be a place where people can go to get back on their feet and feel the same kind of love he’s been given by the church.
“God is coming through for us; our prayers are being answered little by little,” says Miranda.
Beyond the floors, they’ll have to tackle the remnants of water damage and repairing a broken elevator, but it’s a huge step in the right direction.
“Like they say: God is good, Jesus is good,” says Miranda.
