'Jesus Dome' church repairs near completion

30-05-2019
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Durban - THE construction of the new exterior to the Durban Christian Centre, also known as the Jesus Dome, is now complete with only the interior left to finish, said Ron Steele, the church’s spokesperson.

“There’s a huge amount of work still to be done,” Steele said.

He said they were hoping for the church to be completed by the end of the year.

A fire destroyed the church in June 2016 and construction of the new building began last July. Steele said the church was insured but the amount paid out was nowhere near what was required to rebuild it so the church was still raising money through its brick fund and pledges.

“You have a budget but you’re never quite sure about it,” he said.

He said individuals pledge what they can afford. Before it burnt down, the church was an eight-sided 5500-seater but now has six sides and would accommodate about 3000 people.

“It’s smaller because of costs and other factors but people have adapted to having more than one church service and seem to prefer it,” said Steele.

“It’s a new building altogether. It was designed by an architect who had it look like a dome but it’s not good for acoustics.”

The three arches are a conversation piece. “It’s some way of retaining the dome because it has become an iconic symbol. But the arch was an idea of the architects,” he explained.

Meanwhile, an inside source said they were not happy with the pressure placed on congregants to donate to the rebuilding of the church.

“I am against the manipulation of the poor to give,” said a congregant who did not want to be named.

While the facility was smaller, the congregant was unhappy with the exhorbitant costs for construction.

Another congregant agreed with Steele that people were not forced to contribute to the construction fund.

“We were told that the insurance money would not be enough, so we were asked to contribute by buying bricks,” she said.

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