Church Marks Tough 1st Year : Religion: Valley congregants celebrate anniversary of new sanctuary, a monument to perseverance.

It took two years of financial haggling, dutiful volunteering and a whole lot of praying before the white wooden doors of the new Paradise Church of God in Christ swung open last March.

That same perseverance and spirit saw the Pentecostal congregation through its first year in a new sanctuary--a year in which there were endless bills to pay and a few unexpected deaths. But volunteers built a new office and a nursery; the congregation grew, and last week, the church marked its new building’s anniversary with a rollicking, song-filled service that captured its worshipers’ pride.

“Every day, when people walk through this church, every one of these members and their families and friends can be happy with themselves,” Deacon Cornelius Matthews, 69, said later. “For without all their help, we wouldn’t be here now.”

The new structure is like a rebirth for the church, which has been on the same site on Herrick Avenue since 1953. Church officials tore down the old edifice two years ago after enduring a leaking ceiling and trying to squeeze people into the cramped space. The congregation worshiped in a rented school gymnasium until its new sanctuary was completed.

The new, 500-seat church seems like a cathedral compared to the former building. It is airy and bright with white walls offset by varnished wooden arches, pews sporting electric-blue cushions and a new pulpit, organ, drum set and keyboard. Sunlight streams through a large, cross-shaped window at the front of the church.

“Our moving in here was a challenge, a real uphill battle,” said Eddie White, 64, who rejoined the church in 1987 after he took a 10-year hiatus.

“We had more stumbling blocks on this one building than there would’ve been to build a whole line of tract homes,” he said. “I never thought it was going to happen.”

Construction of the $245,000 building was peppered with problems, most of them involving financial snafus and hassles with contractors that were daunting enough to dismay even Pastor Emmanuel Knight at times, as well as some of the most faithful churchgoers.

First, the lending company that made the initial loan went bankrupt. Then there were disagreements with the contractor. When construction was finished, building inspectors said more work had to be done to make the structure accessible to the disabled.

Finally, eight months after the initial target completion date, about 200 church members marched two miles from the school gymnasium to their new sanctuary with Knight leading the procession--his trademark saxophone in hand.

In addition to keeping members’ spirits high, Knight took out a $94,000 second mortgage on his South Los Angeles home to supplement part of the debt not covered by the $100,000 loan the church obtained from a commercial lender.

The building itself came together like an urban, Amish-style barn-raising, with every church member and even some friends pitching in.

Minister Paul Parks built the new office and nursery. Elder Milton Tate, the church’s associate pastor, put up the stage for the podium. One church member’s brother installed the sound system. Another member’s friend put in the light fixtures. The women varnished the wooden arches.

Still, the struggles didn’t cease. The biggest tragedy was the death of Eddie Willis, a young member who had recently moved to Atlanta for work and was struck and killed by a car. Heavy debts still loom, and money is forever tight.

Knight said he pays about $7,000 a month for the organ, building supplies and mortgages on his house and the church.

But the positives have certainly outweighed the negatives, Knight said.

“There have definitely been long roads to walk, but we’ve managed to get over some bumps that have enabled us to worship in such a dynamic building,” he said.

One church friend donated a new van, while another gave $2,000. And about 75 new members, mostly young adults, joined the congregation, boosting its numbers to well over 200.

“We’re getting more members, and the Holy Spirit is passing through them,” said Matthews, a member of Paradise Church since he immigrated from Trinidad seven years ago.

At a recent appreciation banquet, volunteers and church members received trophies and plaques for their help. Knight himself prepared the dinner of roasted chicken, string beans, potatoes and “Hallelujah punch”--pineapple juice with dollops of ice cream.

Brittane Johnson, 7, caught the spirit and danced around the sanctuary during the Sunday service last week that celebrated the building’s first year. Knight played the saxophone.

Friends and relatives of the pastor came from as far as Houston for the special service, and ministers from other churches and denominations delivered sermons and blessed the church to help it get through another year.

Knight is hoping that this year the church will overcome its financial woes enough to be able to purchase a baptismal pool, start construction on some classrooms and begin doing more charity work.

“I know we’re serving the community spiritually--we’ve proven that by welcoming so many new members,” he said. “But hopefully we can grow to do more for them . . . to really add to the betterment of the community.”