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Sneak Peak of Solid Rock Church's New Statue of Jesus

MONROE -- Two years after a lightning strike burned a huge statue of Jesus to the ground, Solid Rock Church in Monroe is just weeks away from erecting a new one.

Sculptor Tom Tsuchiya is the designer and sculptor of the new statue. He never thought he would get to design a 50 foot statue before, let alone one that will likely get worldwide attention.

"Most of the sculptures I've made in the past could fit inside the torso of the new Jesus," he said while laughing.

ABC 22/Fox 45 reporter Hilary Zalla got a sneak peak at an exact replica of one side of the statue's face. The detail of the new so intricate, Tsuchiya practiced on the replica before working on the real thing. All the parts of the statue are being kept at Display Dynamics in Clayton. The new statue is made of a synthetic material which is fire resistant. The entire sculpture will have a lighting suppression system in it, too. A fire from a lightning strike is what destroyed the former statue.

"You can take a baseball bat to it and hit it and it will not damage it," said Tsuchiya.

The new statue of Jesus will be called "Lux Mundi", Latin for  "Light of the World." It should be completely finished and standing by this August.