Around 200 volunteers from over two dozen churches throughout the nation are spending a week of their summer to help construct a multi-purpose building at a church in Union County.
A group known as Baptist Church Builders of Texas has been selecting a project each year since 1978. This year, it picked the proposal from Harvest Church of Southern Illinois in Anna.
Project coordinator T.J. Click says they choose from six to eight applications each year.
Ivan Crago is a construction aide, who is helping organize the crews. He says there is a lot of prep work before they arrive so the weeklong project moves along with few interruptions.
Harvest Church Lead Pastor Matt Crain says the volunteer spirit is inspiring and the donated labor is just part of the generosity the church has experienced.
As far as the building itself, Crain says the extra space is greatly needed for the growing youth population at the church.
He says there will also be space to be utilized by the community at large, including a technology suite and a small business incubator.
Work started on the project on Monday and by Friday the two-story structure will be 80 to 85 percent completed. Local volunteers and contractors will finish it off in the coming months.
