Community volunteers help church after copper theft

IRONTON, Ohio (WSAZ) - Pastor Jeff Williams at C3 Freedom Church first knew something was wrong when the building’s water would not turn on.

“I started checking things out; that’s when I realized the copper lines were gone,” Williams said.

Church officials say someone had cut into the wall from the outside, broken into the building, and stolen about 50 to 60 feet of copper, leaving the church without running water and no immediate fix in sight.

“It was a punch in the gut ... I was hurt and upset,” Williams said.

The break-in happened on the church’s new, larger side of the building, where they were hoping to move their services.

Williams got in contact with a peer to come and assess the damage. When Williams arrived, he could not believe what he saw.

“There was about 25 people walking up the sidewalk ... they were here to help me clean up the church,” Williams said.

The crews worked to clean the building, and the church also received help from others who helped pay for new copper -- even to install it. While the work took a couple of hours, once finished, it put the church ahead of schedule for the move into their new portion of the building.

“We are blessed. We actually ... are further along than we were before last week,” Williams said.

Williams said he is grateful for all the help the church received.

“When I saw all those people, it lifted my heart and thrilled me because that was the first sign everything was going to be OK,” Williams said.

The church still has some work to do on the new addition which, once completed, will allow more seating room for the congregation.

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