Malibu church breaks ground on new sanctuary after fire

MALIBU, Calif. (KABC) -- Malibu Presbyterian Church broke ground on a new place of worship Sunday, four years after the original 60-year-old structure was destroyed in the Malibu Canyon wildfire.

"We're just excited to get our church back up and being a positive light our community," said Pastor Greg Hughes.

The new two-story sanctuary and preschool will be more than 17,000 square feet and costs around $10 million.

Their services are being held in a temporary, dome-type structure while their new permanent church is being built.

"This site is an unbelievable site in terms of view, so we tried to be contemporary, informal and take advantage of this site," said architect Lew Dominy.

Officials say the first phase has been paid for, but they will need to raise money for the next phase of the project.

According to parishioner Patty Phillips, while it has been a long four years , the church has not needed to rely on a physical structure to keep up its spirits.

"The people that go here are some of the most amazing people I've ever known. They're loving, they're caring, and that's what makes this church what it is. It's not the building, but it's the people," she said.

Get more Los Angeles News »

construction, fire, malibu/pacific palisades, los angeles news, leanne suter

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•