The feeling of dread crept into Stawell's City Heart Church of Christ's pastor Terry Dunn as the discovery of white ants throughout the facility was shared.

Flooring in two sections of the church and its meeting room out the back were severely damaged as well as the stage, a focal point in weekly gatherings for connection and worship.

The Victorian Building Authority said termites caused more damage to Australian houses than fire, floods and storms combined - and the damage may not be covered by insurance.

"Concealed in locations that often go undetected, termites destroy timber internally, leaving only a very thin layer to protect them from the outside environment," they said.

"There is no predictable pattern to termite damage - infested sites can be found in roofs and even high-rise buildings."

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Pastor Dunn said the damage was quite obvious once discovered.

"We got Buggeroff Pest Management to come in and have a look and they said to me I didn't want to see it - the damage was bad," he said.

"We've treated them. Our back room flooring was three parts demolished. We discovered it all within a month or two.

"Our stage was barricaded off for about 12 months. It just wasn't safe until we could get it fixed."

Pastor Dunn said a team of volunteers put in countless hours in getting the facility up to scratch once again.

"I was overwhelmed with support," he said.

"There were so many people wanting to help and what a great situation to be in."

Pastor Dunn said the church community decided to make some improvements and upgrades to certain areas while the opportunity was there.

"We've made the stage bigger so we can have different things on there are once," he said.

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"We can have the drums set up, the choir on the stage and other things still sitting there."

Pastor Dunn said he would like to thank everyone who contributed and a special thanks had to go to Terry Nolan.

"He did a terrific job with our carpet and really assisted us with helping to lift and relay the carpet," he said.

"It was such a big job and of course with some time delays due to COVID.

"It's going to be fantastic for our community and everyone is looking forward to spending time together."

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