Encouraging one another

Joe Bob Mizzell wasn’t sure how the people of Alberta Baptist Church, Tuscaloosa, would react when they saw him.

Mizzell, director of the office of Christian ethics and chaplaincy ministries for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, had been pastor of Alberta Baptist for 17 years. But that was 20 years ago, and he’d only visited a few times since.

When Pastor Larry Corder led the congregation in a different facility — Open Door Baptist Church, Tuscaloosa — May 1, Mizzell attended. It was the Sunday after Alberta Baptist was devastated by the April 27 tornado outbreak in the state.

“It is a total loss,” Mizzell said of the church building. “The complete community is wiped out. “It’s like a combat zone,” he said. “This is as bad as anything I’ve ever seen.”

Mizzell’s presence was a welcome sight for church members. “I think everybody in the building came and hugged me,” he said. “It was a somber experience.”