JERSEYVILLE – Do you have faith? The ministry received a donation from a former hospital valued at $ 3.9 million.
Steve Pegram, founder of the Jersey County nonprofit, said the group had already expressed interest in the hospital – closed for nearly 10 years – and had “prayed for it” over the past four years. last years.
In June, Pegram got a call from Bob Carruthers, director of the Sandy Creek Baptist Association, telling him the building’s owners wanted to donate it. The next day, Pegram said, he got a call from a Walmart representative in Jerseyville offering to donate 40 gallons of cleaner.
“It told me that this is all from God,” Pegram said. “As soon as you walk in there was a musty smell. What are the chances that Walmart will call the next day when you find out that it contains this kind of smell? “
Pegram said the ministry also received a fog machine from the Sandy Creek Baptist Association that uses a special disinfectant to kill various types of mold.
“There are 42 rooms in the building, and I had to do all of them,” he said.
The building deed was officially signed at the ministry on September 10. Pegram said the building will be called Got Faith? Center of Ministries. He said he was working with Shawn Williamson, a former pastor of the First Assembly of God in Jerseyville, to help with the building’s electrical wiring.
Pegram’s plan is to host various departments and projects offsite, such as a pantry and counseling for teenage pregnancies, drug addiction, and alcoholism. He also plans to transform the lobby into a place where people Pegram calls his “curmunchkin” friends can visit and play cards.
For two years, part of the building has housed the Church of the Resurrection. Pegram said he was working with the church on a Senior Box project that would provide boxes of food to seniors once a month in Jersey, Calhoun and Greene counties. He expects the program to be ready in October.
Do you have faith? The ministry celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. In May, authorities in Jerseyville and Jersey County recognized the first weekends in May and August as Got Faith? Weekends.
All the food collected from Got Faith? events go to Jersey County pantries such as The Salvation Army Pantry, Fieldon’s Pantry, Early Fruit Department, Jerseyville Township Pantry, Charity Works and the pantry of St. Vincent De Paul.
