“We have families and kids all over the place here,” Schmidtke said.

The old church next door had been crumbling for years and was condemned by the city last June, city records show.

Lightning strikes in 1989 damaged the building, and the $85,000 in repairs were beyond the church’s financial means. Schmidtke said the congregation relocated to the school building next door in 1995 because the church’s overall deterioration had pushed the repair bill to $3 million. The church opted for the more affordable task of remodeling what had been the school building’s bowling alley as the sanctuary. Church offices also are in the building.

As a result, the old church next door sat empty and vulnerable to thieves and vandals. Despite Schmidtke’s efforts to barricade doors, intruders broke into the church in October to make what he called “boudoir” videos.

Church officials discovered the break-in from a Better Learning student who reported he saw a woman wearing a bra while standing in a bell tower, said Schmidtke, describing the incident as “despicable.” The video crew got away before police arrived, he added.

The Gothic-style church was built with two bell towers and a sanctuary that could hold 1,100 people. About 150 people are in the congregation now, Schmidtke said.