New Hope UMC September 2007

In September 2007, Union UMC adopted a church under construction in Libera, New Hope UMC in Monrovia District.

This church is located in the Paynesville area, on Old Road Town, in 1997, just beyond the busiest market places in the Monrovia area. Paynesville is an area where many refugees stopped as they were fleeing toward the capital city of Monrovia and many people from Monrovia area fled out to Paynesville to avoid the fighting in the city. It has grown at a remarkable rate. Some are too afraid to be in the capital city limits, others have just stopped there and became squatters on other people’s land after the war.

The church itself was founded by several people who fled to Monrovia during the war from the St. John River District. As refugees they decided to build a church where they could remain together to worship using their own tribal language (Bassa) even though English is still very much spoken by the people attending this church.

The church was established first in a home, moved to another location off a very busy street and now it sets up on a hill with dreams of becoming a two-story building. The bottom story will be used for a church fellowship hall and community center and the sanctuary will be on the second floor. 67 feet wide by 96 feet long will be the dimensions of the new building.

It is a remarkable story of faith, courage and persistence. It started with a small group and now has about 500 members. The members sit on concrete blocks that they have purchased one at a time out of their meager income. They are digging the foundation for the church and are also buying cement as they can afford to purchase it.