Wheaton Christian Center Church reopens

The spring storm that left the Wheaton Christian Center Church uninhabitable is now viewed as a blessing.

About 1,000 people gathered at the Carol Stream church Sunday for the first time in five months.

With a new roof over their heads -- and new carpeting , new furniture and a fresh coat of paint -- parishioners couldn't stop cheering.

Worshippers clapped their hands and sang with soul, happy to be back at their home along North Avenue.

Pastor Carlton Arthurs was "wonderfully excited," and said the church and congregation is better off now than before.

"We feel very grateful that this day has come when we are getting back in the building," he said.

The March 31 microburst blew off part of the building's roof. It also tore a hole through the back wall and ignited a fire after the gas line ruptured. The damage cost more than $4 million to repair.

For more than five months, parishioners were meeting in rented rooms at either a local Holiday Inn or the College of DuPage.

Evelyn Smith of Glendale Heights, who's been a member of the church for 21 years, said there was a sense of anxiety when the congregation was displaced because she never knew where she'd be next, and leaders had to set up and tear down weekly.

"I'm glad to be back home in a place that's familiar," she said. "It's your roots, foundation and grounding."

James Hanson of Hoffman Estates, too, was very excited.

"Everything that happened in the past -- it's like a miracle," he said. "I think the community's going to benefit from this church."

Wheaton Christian Center Church will celebrate its 30th birthday this year.

The congregation got its start in Bloomingdale. It moved to the former Kmart building on North Avenue in 2001 after outgrowing the Bloomingdale facility.