TEMPLE, Texas (ABP) -- First Baptist Church in Temple, Texas, has suspended operation of its 40-year-old Child Development Center indefinitely due to smoke and water damage from a Jan. 19 fire that authorities ruled arson.

The decision, announced to church members in a letter Feb. 2, displaces 36 workers and 110 children currently enrolled in the program, started in 1969 as a day care and kindergarten to meet the needs of families in the community.

Martin Knox has been pastor of First Baptist Church in Temple, Texas, since October of 2003.

Pastor Martin Knox called it "a difficult and painful decision" forced by damage to many areas of the church's 70-year-old sanctuary and five buildings housing offices, classrooms, the church's library and its fellowship hall.

Knox said the building used for children's ministry received smoke and water damage on both floors. It has no electricity, and all floors, ceilings and major components will need to be cleaned, repaired or replaced.

State regulations allow a child-care facility to be inoperable for no longer than three months, Knox said, and it is "very unlikely" the CDC building will be ready that soon.

"There is nothing more beautiful than to hear a child laugh and to have a child hug me," remarked Carolyn Gunter, director of the program for the last 11 1/2 years. "That will be deeply missed."

Church leaders said employees of the ministry would receive "generous severance."

Currently the congregation has only one building that is useable, the Edge Youth Center. A contemporary worship service meets there on Sunday mornings. The congregation's traditional/blended service has moved to First United Methodist Church.

Sunday school classes are meeting at scattered locations including homes, offices and the public library. One group meets in a funeral home.

Knox said the different Bible study locations are working well. Some classes are being moved this Sunday to more permanent locations than the ones they have been using. "We now have a place for all of our children's classes," he said. "This will be a big help."

The church has signed a lease for office space and hopes to be moving from temporary offices in the youth building soon.

A Fire Relief Fund has been established at Extraco Bank. Knox said it has not been determined how the fund will be used.

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This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.

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