When the sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church of Englewood, New Jersey burned to the ground March 22, 2016, its pastor, Rev. Richard Hong, sprang into action.

The fire — what he called “a totally sympathetic disruption,” rather than a complete disaster — set in motion the “critical ingredients” of the church’s disaster plan that included attention to its brand identity, focused messaging and continued reliance upon a technology infrastructure to maintain giving.

Everything else was merely logistics, Hong said. He answered requests for interviews and media coverage from New York outlets with responses filled with “resilience, perseverance and hope.”

“We have been able to focus on how to be a church without being in a church,” he continued. “It removed our building idolatry.”

A more flexible congregation

The stained glass and steeple of the building dated back to the 1870s. Fortunately, 80 percent of the stained glass survived because the roof collapsed and vented the fire’s heat.

“We’ve not missed a single Sunday, nor have we missed a single Sunday church school since the fire,” Hong said, even though the fire struck the Tuesday of Holy Week. “The fire didn’t disrupt the church’s systems – they were the foundation of the recovery effort.”

Although the sanctuary was a complete loss, the majority of the damage to other parts of the church was smoke-damage. It took five months to remediate the damage before the congregation began worshiping in the gymnasium.

Hong said the church used the recovery period as an opportunity to experiment and innovate. In moving into a gym, the congregation added a morning contemporary service and began livestreaming services. The most recent Sunday had 68 people viewing the service via livestream out of a total of 200 in worship between the services.

“The fire is helping us become a more flexible church,” said Hong.

“We committed to curtail nothing during the recovery effort,” he said as the church continued ministries and education. Throughout this period, Hong focused on the church’s values of living boldly, sharing boundlessly, growing community and building God’s world.

Planning for the future

The church is already planning for its new building with the $14 million it will receive from insurance and they’re looking to build for the next 50 to 100 years, not to rebuild what was in the past. On any given Sunday, 10 to 20 percent of people in services are visitors and Hong said the congregation is homing in on a design that will fit the needs of existing and future attendees, including those who “attend” online.

As a recognition of members who attend and give virtually, Hong introduces the offering by saying, “We want to thank everyone who supports this ministry online or though other forms of automated giving, and now is the opportunity for the rest of you to support this ministry through your tithes and offerings.”

He believes people give to a hopeful vision, to what the church is becoming. “They do not give to need or history, these factors are not sustainable,” he said, noting that the “Spark Hope” campaign has been incorporated into the church’s logo.

As testimony to the staying power of the church, the charred bronze cross that adorned the communion table was pulled from the ashes of the fire and rather than cleaning it, the marks of the fire were preserved with a coat of lacquer. Only days after the fire destroyed the sanctuary, the cross was carried in and presented to the congregation during Good Friday services.

“Nothing speaks more to our themes of resilience, perseverance and hope than to look at that cross,” said Hong. “It’s a reminder that God is in the business of rebuilding and restoring.”