A tornado mowed through the sanctuary of West Point Baptist Church, Jacksonville, on March 19, leaving nothing standing but the wall around the front door.
The storm also destroyed the youth building and other church facilities.
“The church is virtually gone,” said Roger Willmore, director of missions for Calhoun Baptist Association. “Very little of it is left standing, and what is still standing has been severely damaged.”
The Baptist Campus Ministries (BCM) building at Jacksonville State University also sustained damage as severe storms whipped through the state, Willmore said. The BCM’s condition will have to be assessed, but it doesn’t appear to be severely damaged at first glance, he noted.
The university itself was hard hit, with the roofs ripped from some of the dormitories.
In the wake of the storms, Pastor Ronny Moore and members of West Point are working to salvage as much as they can from the pastor’s study and make a plan for the immediate future.
Moore said they were sad because they loved the facility and felt blessed to have it, but they have peace because they know God is in control.
“The church is OK. It is very much alive and this is not going to stop the church,” he said.
The congregation is in good spirits, Willmore said. “They’re just kind of anticipating what God is going to do in this time and how He will provide as they move forward.”
Already Willmore said it has been a blessing to see how the association has rallied around the church. Several churches in the area have offered to host West Point Baptist’s services as they recover and rebuild in the coming months.
“It is absolutely amazing how people are responding and putting themselves on standby to do anything and everything,” he said, noting that the association had become a staging headquarters for disaster relief and planning. “It is remarkable to see the response of Southern Baptists in times of need.” (TAB)
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