CALDWELL, Texas (KRHD) — A fire destroyed the New Tabor Brethren Church in Caldwell two years ago. Now, a new building is taking shape in its place, and church leaders say they are one step closer to reopening their doors.
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Pastor David Johnson said the loss of the physical structure never shook his faith in the congregation itself.
"If your hope is in that structure, you don't really have a church. The church is the body of Christ, it's us."
For Johnson, the rebuild is about more than just a building. After more than two decades at New Tabor Brethren, he said every corner of the church holds a memory.
"My oldest son was married in here and almost everyone in the church was either baptized, married, you know, we've had some key funerals there and a lot of memories."
Among the few items that survived the fire were a communion table, candles, a cross, and a Bible. Nearly everything else — including the piano and organ — was lost.
The community stepped in when the church needed help most, Johnson said.
"They got behind us. They loved us. They embraced us and they really, really helped us get on our feet and get a start."
As the new sanctuary goes up, members are leaving their mark on the building's future. Congregation members wrote favorite scriptures and encouraging words on the interior walls before they were closed up. Some of the youngest members even traced their hands on the walls.
"We wrote our favorite scriptures encouraging words all over the inside of that place so that when we're there and they've been walled up we know what's there."
Johnson said the fire destroyed a building — not the church — and the congregation's mission remains unchanged.
"Whatever we need to do, we're gonna continue to do that. This kind of stuff is not going to stop us."
Johnson said he hopes to welcome his congregation back into the new building by the end of 2026 or early 2027.
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