Ashland Church Rebuilds After Being Burned Down

Ashland Church Rebuilds New 35 Acre Facility

Six crosses are all that remain after a fire burned down Salem Baptist Church in Ashland but today, pastors rejoice at the land where their new church will now be built.

With permits completed and plans approved by the city, church leaders say they look to close on the purchase of land for their new place of worship this week.

Weather permitting, they will break ground sometime this month.

Josh Jensen, the Associate Pastor, said “We are very excited for it and anxious. Personally it couldn’t happen any sooner.”

In the past year, the congregation has been on the move. Services and programs have been held in more than nine different facilities around town.

The pastors say they’ve got the community to thank for keeping the church together.

Rod Larson, the Senior Pastor, said “The response has been tremendous. They’ve been supportive. They’ve been doing extra work, meetings and have been creative with locations where we meet.”

The new church property will be 35 acres and sits on Farm Road which is just outside of town.

They were able to fund the construction of the new facility with insurance money as well as community fundraising.

Larson said, “It’s been a wonderful response and they are in there for the long haul,  not just an initial surge.”

If all goes well the new building will be completed in the Summer of 2017.