A small South Florida church grew from barely filling a living room to meeting at a local school to worship. When the equipment they used on Sundays mysteriously disappeared, they called Help Me Howard with Brandon Beyer.
Pastor Earl Wade has spent the past 15 years growing his church – Oasis of the Fresh Anointing – into what it is today.
Pastor Earl Wade: “We started off in this house right here with only about one other couple.”
He says the words in the church’s name – oasis and anointing – are intended to make people feel welcome.
Pastor Earl Wade: “And fresh anointing because we can’t live in yesterday’s manner.”
As the church grew, they needed more space. So for the past several years they’ve rented a local school to gather and worship on Sundays.
Pastor Earl Wade: “We usually do worship for about close to an hour. There’s no set time, but as the spirit leads.”
This past summer, the school’s ownership changed, and one Sunday, when Pastor Wade went to set up, his equipment was nowhere to be found.
Pastor Earl Wade: “The locker is completely open, and everything is gone.”
Everything the church used to have for a service had disappeared.
Pastor Earl Wade: “Even my donation box that had envelopes in it with the church name, even that was gone.”
Pastor Wade thought maybe the new owner mistakenly threw it away. He says when he asked about it, he was told…
Pastor Earl Wade: “‘We will reimburse you if my personnel discarded your property,’ and he said to me, ‘Send me an inventory list,’ and I said, ‘I’ll do that.'”
So the pastor did.
Kathleen Ditton: “So how much worth of equipment is gone?”
Pastor Earl Wade: “Based on my review, close to $5,000 worth.”
But then the pastor says he stopped hearing from the school’s new owner.
Pastor Earl Wade: “He seemed like professional, cooperative, you know, spoke very nicely, and so I expected that he would make good.”
Howard, it’s hard to have a church service without your equipment. If the school mistakenly tossed it out, do they have to replace it?
Howard Finkelstein: “Yes. The equipment does not belong to the old landlord or the new landlord. Whoever took or threw out that equipment is liable. And the law requires them to pay Pastor Wade the fair market value of that equipment.”
We reached out to the school and even stopped by. Then we heard from Pastor Wade, who told us the matter had been resolved.
He wouldn’t tell us more, but it likely means he and his congregation are singing and dancing once again.
Howard says, remember, throwing stuff away that’s not yours can cost you, but only fair market value, not replacement value, which can be a lot more.
Got a problem? Need a hand? Here’s how to find us below. It’s Help Me Howard. I’m Brandon Beyer, 7News.
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