A pastor has appealed for donations after a church he leads was left severely damaged by what he describes as repeated and “scary” acts of vandalism, with repair costs expected to exceed £50,000.
Daniel Berkoh-Gyamfi, leader of Salvation Chapel International, has practised Christianity in Britain since moving from Ghana more than 27 years ago.
For several years, members of the congregation had been gathering to worship at the Country Park in Pitsea.
When a nearby Pentecostal church building was put up for sale, Mr Berkoh-Gyamfi saw it as an opportunity to establish a permanent base for the growing community.
It was a building they had used for fellowshipping between 2018 and 2019, so the pastor was confident of its suitability.
The site had been earmarked for demolition to make way for housing before Mr Berkoh-Gyamfi contacted the owners and put a bid in. This was promptly accepted.
However, for Mr Berkoh-Gyamfi and the Salvation Chapel International, that’s where the problems began.
Speaking exclusively to GB News, the pastor described a series of escalating attacks on the church building in Langdon Hills, Laindon.
“During the purchasing process, the building was subjected to continuous vandalism. We thought it was just one who had smashed the windows, but they later smashed everything in the church,” he told the People’s Channel.
A pastor has appealed for donations after a Christian church he leads was left severely damaged by what he describes as repeated and ‘scary’ acts of vandalism, with repair costs expected to exceed £50,000
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All of the female, male and disabled toilets had been totally destroyed
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The bathrooms alone are expected to cost £15,000 to restore
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“By the time we exchanged [an offer], they went in and set the building on fire. It took four fire engines from Essex fire brigade to put out the fire in the building.
“At that time, they had destroyed everything: the urinals, disabled toilet, female toilets, all smashed into bits. The church hall, the piano… everything was gone.”
The pastor said he became “very scared” for his safety, given the targeted nature of the attacks.
The vandals scrawled “fish” and “fisherman den” in graffiti on the walls, seemingly relating to the Christian fish symbol, which represents Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour.
The vandals managed to sneak in through the sheets of steel that had replaced the damaged boards
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“We boarded the whole building,” Mr Berkoh-Gyamfi said. “The people came in, smashed all the boards, so the agent put some steel metal at the back.
“They managed to yank it open and went in, and did more damage.”
He added: “So it’s like we’ve been victimised, one for being Christians, and for being black people, because we are Africans.”
Subsidence work had already been planned for the back of the building, something Mr Berkoh-Gyamfi had financially accounted for.
What he had not accounted for was the scale of the destruction inside the property.
The Salvation Chapel International has come together to help restore the building
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He says the Salvation Chapel International has been left “very much short” and they are “pleading and we are praying” for donations to help their cause.
“The bathrooms alone to do the plumbing, they’ve given us more than £15,000 budget because they’ve destroyed everything.
“You have to dig the ground, it’s too much, but we have set up £50,000 to raise to be able to help with our restoration.”
Their GoFundMe page currently sits on just over £2,600.
In an attempt to raise awareness for the Church, Mr Berkoh-Gyamfi reached out to the BBC. They did not respond to his multiple outreaches, which he feels represents “unfair” reporting.
“Their coverage is unfair, because I was putting my story right after similar stories that say: ‘If you have been affected, please reach out’.
“So, I did this search to say, ‘Mosque attack, BBC coverage,’ and then I did BBC coverage about Churches. It wasn’t on the same par.
“Now they are trying to say it’s not Christian, but they say ‘God save the king,’ they didn’t say ‘Allah save the king’.”
When approached, the BBC declined to comment on the individual case, however they pointed to other stories that had been covered of churches suffering vandalism.
