THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 29, 1995 TAG: 9510260224
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NAGS HEAD LENGTH: Long : 126 lines
IT'S A MIRACLE.
With 900 pairs of hands, $60,000 in donations and months of planning, a group of Jehovah's Witnesses built an entire worship hall at this Outer Banks beach town in a single day.
All of the labor was done by volunteers. People from ages 4 to 75 arrived from Ohio, South Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia and across North Carolina to give their time and expertise. Electricians installed wiring and carpenters erected interior walls while children stuffed insulation into freshly shingled eaves.
By sundown Oct. 19, the 4,000-square-foot, single-story building was complete.
Nags Head Building Inspector John Brabrand said it was the fastest construction of a structure that size that the town has ever seen.
``It was just amazing to watch,'' Brabrand said Wednesday, shortly before issuing the final occupancy permit. ``They were so organized. They had everything there, ready to roll. Everyone had a job. Kids were working alongside their parents and grandparents. It was really, really neat.
``It's a well-built structure, too,'' said the building inspector. ``They went over and above what they had to do. That would be a good place to be during a hurricane.''
Jehovah's Witnesses have been living on the Outer Banks since at least 1960, said Mike Costin, who supervised the ``Kingdom Hall'' construction.
Originally, they traveled to Elizabeth City for meetings and study sessions. By the late 1970s, they had purchased a house on Blackman Street in Nags Head to hold their three-times-weekly gatherings. When the group got too big for the home, members moved their meetings to Outer Banks movie theaters. Eight years ago, they bought a bigger house in Nags Head and renovated it.
But having their own hall has always been a dream.
``We feel like there will be much more growth in our local group now because we're so much more visible,'' said Costin, a 41-year-old Duck resident who owns a custom home construction business.
``People have seen the building already. Now, they'll start to see the brotherhood, unity and support we all have for each other. That alone will cause people to be curious enough to seek out our congregation.''
Built on a one-acre lot on Baltic Street, just west of Centura Bank, the new hall is a covered in gray shingles, surrounded by a freshly poured concrete parking lot, soon to be landscaped with local foliage.
Inside, wooden wallboards form a waist-high chair rail around the front foyer and simply decorated, spacious auditorium. Sea-foam-green borders adorn the ceiling moldings above faintly patterned white wallpaper. There's a library, a conference room and 150 cushioned metal chairs set in neat rows in front of a raised stage.
``Everything is brand new,'' said Costin's wife, Sylvia. ``We picked out the colors and furnishings ourselves and tried to fit in with the Outer Banks' natural styles. Everybody has just been struck with joy over this whole project - and how it all came together.''
Formalized as a Christian denomination in the 1870s, Jehovah's Witnesses now have more than 5 million members worldwide. They travel across the globe helping one another build churches. In the last decade, they've erected 65 halls in North Carolina alone. Costin has journeyed to Costa Rica to help on ``quick build'' projects. Next month, he'll go to Charlotte to work on another.
Most of the halls are finished in less than four days.
The Outer Banks project was done much quicker, Costin said, because so many of the local Jehovah's Witnesses are in the construction business.
``We've got 99 members from Ocean Sands to Hatteras. And most of the men are in some aspect of the building trade,'' said Costin, who has lived on the beach for 15 years. ``It took a lot of organization to get everyone working at once. But we all got along great. And it went up even more easily than we'd expected.''
Building materials cost about $135,000. And although Jehovah's Witnesses never pass a collection plate at their services and members don't tithe, the local congregation came up with more than half of that money through their own donations. The remainder of the mortgage, Costin explained, was borrowed from the central Jehovah's Witnesses headquarters in Brooklyn.
Based on a literal translation of the Bible, the Jehovah's Witness religion does not include any paid ministers. Elders of the congregation organize projects and lead services. But everyone participates in the study sessions and directs discussions.
Children attend services with their parents instead of going to separate Sunday school classes. And members voluntarily minister to the community, going door-to-door to distribute pamphlets and discuss scriptures with whomever is willing to listen.
Jehovah's Witnesses even teach private Bible study classes in people's homes and conduct individual classes about articles in their ``Watchtower'' magazine.
``Five years ago, we had 70 members on the Outer Banks. Our numbers have grown a lot since then,'' Costin said. ``And we have a lot of other Bible study groups in the community with people who aren't members yet. They make up their own minds, when they want to, and can join us after a few months of attending meetings.''
According to the Costins, Jehovah's Witnesses believe Jesus Christ is their savior and the son of God - whom they call Jehovah. They believe the future holds two great hopes: the chance to go to heaven and live in God's kingdom; and the chance to live in a perfect paradise on earth under a single global government led by Christ. Only 144,000 people will be chosen to live in heaven. The rest of the ``saved'' people will remain on a perfect earth.
Jehovah's Witnesses don't try to predict when that perfect paradise might evolve. And they don't believe in a hell. Bad people, they say, just die and return to dust.
``There is a wicked spirit, Satan the devil. And he plays a major role in the ways of the world today,'' Costin said. ``But we do not believe that our God of love would create people just to condemn them to burn in hell.''
Most Jehovah's Witnesses were once Catholics, Baptists, Lutherans or Methodists, Costin said.
``And on the Outer Banks, we have a lot of former hippies too, who had no formal religious affiliation. That's the beach, I guess,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DREW C. WILSON
Jehovah's Witnesses from five states came to Nags Head help build a
new Kingdom Hall on Oct. 19.
ABOUT THE WITNESSES
The Outer Banks Jehovah's Witnesses invite anyone to attend their
Bible study sessions, meetings and ministry at their new Kingdom
Hall on Baltic Street in Nags Head, next to Centura Bank.
Meetings to discuss the book of Revelations are held at 7:30 p.m.
Tuesdays; ministry school is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursdays; and
a public talk, ``Watchtower'' study and question-and-answer session
are held at 10 a.m. Sundays.
For more information, call the church at 441-6365.
by CNB