EXPANDING CHURCHES LIFT THE SPIRIT

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, January 17, 1993                   TAG: 9301180355
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: C-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short
EXPANDING CHURCHES LIFT THE SPIRIT
AS I SURVEY the state of our community, I see the cumulative effect that taking prayer out of schools, abortion, complacent parenting, welfarism and an attack on family values and rights of Christians by committees, boards, legislatures, courts, agencies and associations have had. It truly is a pathetic sight and one that my forefathers would be shocked to see.
However, something is going on in our community that I do not understand. There are under way or recently completed major additions or renovations at the Catholic, Christian, Church of God, Episcopal, Lutheran, Pentecostal and Presbyterian churches. I estimate that there has been more than $4 million of construction on major projects just in the town limits.
History has proved countless times that to suppress the truth of Christ's church has the opposite effect that the suppressor intended.
However, persecution does not seem to adequately explain the pervasive expansion that I see. While the exact purpose is still hidden from me, I find my spirit already lifted by a greater expectancy for the future. Would it be foolish to assume great houses being built without the prospect of inhabitants? GREG KRUPEY WYTHEVILLE

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB