The portable church in
Now Lead Pastor Joe Lavagnino stares at an empty lot.
“We just stood around not knowing what to do,” said Pastor Joe.
Pastor Joe is staying positive...but has a heavy heart.
The trailer alone is worth $20,000.
The stuff inside, about $34,000.
“We had a whole case of bibles, we had equipment for the Children's Department, for the nursery...we had a full on portable sound system. A media system with projectors and screens and computers,” he said.
The theft happened Friday night.
The congregation--four-hundred people strong--made the best out of Sunday services... with borrowed equipment.
“It was a sort of unplugged service with acoustic guitars and people understood that this is just a part of life-and the essence of our church is not equipment it's the people,” he said.
“Right now they're looking into it, we don't have anything solid yet,” said Clovis Police Spokeswoman Janet Stoll-Lee.
It won't be the first time it’s happened to a local church.
In January, thieves stole a trailer from the California Southern Baptist Convention.
They made off with thousands of dollars worth of gifts for kids of migrant workers.
Pastor Joe has no doubt thieves came prepared.
“It was a very heavy trailer and so a normal truck would not have pulled that thing away,” he said.
If you spot a 24-foot trailer with the Church name “Loma Vista” on it, call Crimestoppers at 498-Stop.