New beginning for Renton church, Rev. Leslie Braxton

Elegant in a black hat, jewelry and sandals, Angela Colbert waited Sunday morning for a trundling old yellow school bus to pick her up and take her to the inaugural service at New Beginnings Christian Fellowship's new building in Renton.

She was supposed to be in the choir but didn't make it in time.

"My husband helped build this church. When I saw all those cars in the parking lot and the deputy telling us to drive down here, I knew I wasn't going to make it," Colbert said. "And of all the mornings."

Well before the 8 a.m. service, the parking lot in what had been the Renton Athletic Club, at 19300 108th Ave. S.E., was filled and the health-club-turned-sanctuary was packed almost to the 905-person capacity.

Only four years ago last month, the Rev. Leslie Braxton resigned from Mount Zion Baptist Church in Seattle's Central District, having been criticized for changes he made to church programs, for his sermons, and for personnel and financial management. He started New Beginnings in the cafeteria of Renton High School and later moved to Lindbergh High, also in Renton.

He rallied his new flock to contribute to a future church, and he and other staff members went without a salary. The congregation raised over $2 million in four years, got a loan, bought the athletic club and started renovations.

But the church members quickly ran into a major obstacle. What they assumed was concrete flooring was asphalt — not substantial for the kind of renovation they had in mind and $1.1 million in extra costs followed.

Braxton went to the congregation, and they came up with $600,000 from members, leaving $500,000 to be raised by the end of August, when the remainder is due to the contractor.

Sunday in his first sermon in the new building, Braxton used Jesus' teaching about building a house on the firm foundation of rock — unlike the church's construction experience with asphalt — and asked for the offering to be a two-check day.

It was. Worshippers were told that more than $200,000 had been pledged at Sunday's three services.

Colbert, who works for a security company and has a 9-year-old daughter, was among those who pledged.

Where she grew up, in Shreveport, La., sermons were full of "thees and thous, and I didn't know what that meant," she said. But Braxton preaches to the heart and talks about situations she faces daily, she said. "Here you can feel God."

"God has not promised me sunshine, but a little rain, a little pain," Braxton told the congregation.

In addition to the fundraising for a building, the church has started a homeless-outreach program in Renton and bought backpacks and 6,000 books for children in need.

The congregation also gives financial assistance to a sister Baptist church in East London, South Africa.

The 900 who gathered Sunday, clapping and singing, responded by raising a right hand toward the cross as a symbol of belief.

"I love the name New Beginnings," Colbert said. "It's like my life."

Nancy Bartley: 206-464-8522 or nbartley@seattletimes.com

Information in this article, originally published August 3, 2009, was corrected on August 4. An initial version of the story incorrectly stated that New Beginnings started in the cafeteria of Lindbergh High School in Renton. It started in the cafeteria of Renton High School and later moved to Lindbergh High.