MIRACLE ON SOUTH STREET

"So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work."  (Nehemiah 4:6)

"Miracle on 34th Street" is an enjoyable Christmas fantasy film- but it is a fantasy- it's not real.   There has been a "Miracle on South Street", however, that is quite real!  Specifically, it has taken place at 32 South Street in Framingham, Massachusetts.  I tend to be a very verbal and a very descriptive person, yet even I feel at a loss for words as I write this piece.  No matter what words I write, they will not truly do justice to the miracle that has taken place at that location.  And, I must admit that my speech and writing can be sensational at time.  For better or for worse, I learned that tendency from my old boss and mentor, David C. Milley.  He was quite a promoter of Christian activities!  Dave was one of those gifted salesmen who (I supposed) could have sold the proverbial "refrigerator to an Eskimo"!  Yes, I'm sensational, but I assure you that I'm not exaggerating in this piece, and if anything this piece will understate what has happened and what is happening at 32 South Street in Framingham.

This past Saturday night, a friend and I attended the Dedication service and celebration of the Spanish-speaking Iglesia Celebracion Internacional ("Celebration International Church") there at 32 South Street.  The church was "planted" by the (English-speaking) Celebration International Church (an Assemblies of God church) of Wayland, Massachusetts.  It was a wonderful evening.  The congregation was very gracious to the English-speaking guests.  Virtually all speaking was translated so each person could understand what was going on; and there were songs sung in Spanish and songs sung in English.  Now, you may be thinking, "Well, that sounds nice, but that in itself is not a miracle, is it?"  No, that in itself is not necessarily a miracle, but there indeed has been a miracle here!

The building at 32 South Street in Framingham was originally the United Auto Workers union hall.  Some readers may remember that from 1948 to 1989, there was a General Motors assembly plant in Framingham.  (That property is now Adessa Auto Auction.)   Every worker was a Member of the U.A.W. and they paid their union dues and accessed the Union's "credit union" at that facility.  In addition, a number of political events were held there.  The church I pastored from 1987 to 2010 (First Assembly of God of Framingham) purchased that building in 1994.   I could write paragraph after paragraph about why we sold our previous building in 1991, or about the rental locations where we held services, or about the many buildings for sale that we looked at and seriously considered buying.  The "bottom line" was that we looked at a lot of great buildings we just could not afford.  The union hall building was affordable; it was in Framingham, and it could be used for services, a small Sunday School, and offices.  I could also write paragraph after paragraph about the problems and legal entanglements we encountered with that building.  That building nearly caused me a nervous breakdown around 1995, but ultimately things settled down a bit.  I was accused of "loving" that building.  I actually never "loved" it, but I really did believe we were supposed to be there.   One of my long term goals was to build a new building (possibly a modern metal building) elsewhere on the property and tear that one down.  The problem was:  money.  Frankly, we never had enough money and we never had enough people.  The church did  sort of "perk up" numerically and financially around 1998-1999, but we just did not sustain that.  People got tired of all the hard work with seemingly few results.  In late 2000, people including some of the key people in the congregation began leaving the small church, and our average Sunday morning attendance went from fifty-five to fifteen over the next nine years.  Our monetary income declined by about forty percent.  Those were "gut wrenching" times, honestly.

Nevertheless, in the midst of all that, God stirred my heart to believe for the impossible, and I did!  I believed we would not only keep that property (and eventually build a new building) but that we'd acquire other nearby and adjoining properties.  For several years, each day I would walk around the 32 South Street property and the property next door, stretch out my hand, and declare out loud  that in the Name of Jesus "only the Word of God, and the Will of God, and the Plan of God, and the Glory of God" would be done on and in and through those properties!  I must have looked pretty foolish!  Readers who know me personally are aware that I have a very loud voice, and I would declare that stuff in the Name of Jesus using my very loud voice.

In early 2010, the Assemblies of God officials made the decision for our church to disband.  They allowed me to live in the parsonage for up to another year, and I did that.  They put the 32 South Street property on the real estate market.  (Since that time, I've not pastored.  I work a secular job, although I am still an Assemblies of God minister.)  I went through tremendous anguish in those days.  In retrospect, I accept that the leadership intended the very best for me and for the work of God when they made this very tough decision.  I don't hold them responsible for the personal crisis I went through for months.  One of my biggest battles was the fact that the 32 South Street property could have been sold to anyone (a business, a developer, an atheist)- really anyone who made an offer and went through with the Purchase and Sale Agreement.   Would that property continue to be used as an evangelical church?   Would that property continue to be used for God's ministry purposes?  It seemed unlikely.  I went through many mental battles,  I "heard" deep inside myself such thoughts as, "God didn't answer your prayers and your declarations.  OH, what a FOOL you are!  You wasted fifteen years owning and maintaining that property.  You were a terrible pastor.  You have no faith.  You are not a man of God at all.   You are deluded.  God doesn't car a lick about you or about what you prayed and declared!"

I was quite surprised and frankly elated to learn after a number of months that Celebration International Church of Wayland was purchasing that property to use it for Spanish ministry.  I began to realize that maybe my prayers and declarations were not foolish or worthless.  Even so, I knew there were major problems with that building.  Would they really be able to turn it into an attractive and desirable building for church services?  We had tried but mostly failed.  I wished them the best, but knew they had a daunting task ahead of them.  At the Dedication service on Saturday night, Pastor Jesus ("HAY-zeus") Munoz, the leader of the Spanish-speaking congregation said that when they began holding services at that location, they had nine people in attendance.  A few months later, there were six in attendance.  Yet, he was convinced that the church needed to move the sanctuary from the downstairs meeting hall to the upstairs.  The layout of that building was indeed not ideal, but if you'd have seen the upstairs of that building, which included several small rooms, a couple of medium-sized rooms, and a hallway- and a number of challenges (including lighting and electrical) you'd probably have said, "I don't think it can be done!"  Pastor Joe Sapienza of the Wayland church believed God along with Pastor Jesus Munoz that they could totally remodel the facility and move the sanctuary upstairs!

The work was not quick or easy.  They hired a structural engineer to help them, because turning the upstairs into a sanctuary would mean removing a supporting wall!  They had to bring in a metal beam.  They had to rewire and insulate the place.  Anyone who ever was part of First Assembly of God of Framingham and anyone who was ever part of the U.A.W. there knows what a difficult  ( or impossible ) task they faced.  They did hire a very competent contractor, but the Wayland and Framingham churches also put in a tremendous amount of their own sweat equity.  That's why I quoted from Nehemiah above.  "The people had a mind to work".   Incidentally, after attending the Dedication activities, I remembered a prophesy a guest preacher gave about the 32 South Street building well over ten years ago.  The man was The Rev. Spence Decker.  Spence is an old-fashioned southern Pentecostal preacher and a personal friend.  Spence spoke at a special Sunday evening service we had, and he declared that the church would grow greatly and would knock down a wall to accommodate the growth.   I also thought of that prophecy a few times after the church closed and concluded he was wrong.  No, I was wrong!  Spence was "in the Spirit"- he saw great growth and ministry going on in that place, and he was correct!

I felt a little sad as I walked through the 32 South Street building on Saturday evening, but the key phrase is:  a little.   There was a flood of memories of how hard some of us had worked to try and make First Assembly of God of Framingham succeed and how tough it was to see it closed down.  But, I felt mostly very happy on Saturday evening!  The downstairs is now an attractive fellowship hall.  The upstairs is a beautiful sanctuary!  It's got modern amenities including projection and power point.  Readers many know I'm not a big "power point person".  I think it's way overused.  However, that doesn't mean that I'm totally against that technology.  I'm not.  When used correctly, slides and video clips, as well as  projection of words to worship choruses can greatly enhance a church service.  In fact, Pastor Jesus Munoz showed a moving "slide show" of the work being done to the building.  All I could think about was Nehemiah, and what did Pastor Joe Sapienza speak about?  You guessed it:  Nehemiah!  (If you don't know the story of Nehemiah in the Old Testament, he led the people in a very difficult building project during a time of great discouragement and opposition, but the job got done in amazingly fast time, and was a huge success.)

I liked a number of things that Pastor Sapienza said.  One was that this is not an end but a beginning.  Joe believes they'll eventually have to add on to that building.  I think that's very possible.  I also still think they may build an additional building on the site and may acquire other properties in that area to use for ministry purposes.  It is only a beginning!  If you drive by 32 South Street, you may think,  "Well, this is just a small sixty-year-old yellow brick building.  It's really nothing special."  Oh, that's where you would be wrong!  A little over a hundred years ago, God poured out His Spirit at the Azuza Street Mission in Los Angeles.  It was a ramshackle old building- a former stable.  Yet, one of the greatest revivals that's ever happened in the Church Age happened there in a period of just a few years.  Will there be a move of God on South Street in Framingham as great as that of Azuza Street of old?  Well, only God knows, but I wouldn't rule it out!

Incidentally the Sunday services at Iglesia Celebracion Internacional are from 10:00 a.m. to Noon.  Most of it's in Spanish, but I'm sure someone would help with translation if you really wanted to visit a service.  And, I want to add that a new English-speaking Assemblies of God church is functioning in Framingham.  It's called "Meeting Place Church" and they're currently meeting at Foodie Cafe on Fountain Street.  God's doing some great things- including that miracle on South Street!