As Jimmy Bolin walked up to his church to survey the tornado damage Jan. 9, he said one thing stood out, and it wasn’t that the damage was “bad, really bad.”
“On our sign for New Year’s, I’d put, ‘Praise the Lord in 2024,'” said Bolin, who serves as pastor of First Baptist Church Cottonwood. “That just stuck in my heart as I walked up to the church — what a test this is to praise the Lord.”
The church was hit by an EF-2 tornado that also killed an 81-year-old woman in her mobile home and destroyed several of the town’s government buildings.
‘Overwhelmed’ by Alabama Baptists’ help
The storm tore off FBC Cottonwood’s steeple, ripped off its awnings, took out two air-conditioning units, damaged the roofs and dropped a tree through the church’s fellowship hall, Bolin said.
“We were very fortunate — our adjuster came out yesterday, and they will start the renovations on Monday (Jan. 15),” he said. “We got what we could cleaned up and got the sanctuary ready for Sunday.”
Bolin said he was overwhelmed with the way Alabama Baptists responded, starting with his local Southeast Alabama Baptist Association and other associations nearby.
“They were down there within an hour cutting out the tree that had fallen on the church, helping pick up the stuff that was in the yard and helping people in the community,” he said. “It’s heart-touching to see people come together in your time of need.”
Known for their help
John Thomas — SABA mission strategist who also served as the Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief white hat leader in Cottonwood — was the first to arrive with blue hat Chuck Locke and a team from Ridgecrest Baptist Church in Dothan. In the hours and days that followed, they were joined by Disaster Relief teams from Judson, Geneva, Coffee and Dale Baptist associations.
ABDR crews were allowed to enter the town right away despite a lockdown order put in place by Houston County, Thomas said, noting that that speaks well of ABDR teams, their training and the way they’re known for their work in the state.
By Thursday, teams had “pretty well finished it up,” Thomas said. They went home ahead of the possible storms Jan. 12 and planned to return Jan. 14 to assess any remaining trees and debris in the area and see if they needed to return.
‘We’re going to make it’
Representatives from the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions also brought a check to the church to provide extra resources during their time of recovery.
Bolin said the outpouring of love and help from Alabama Baptists has been amazing.
“The training that the Southern Baptist associations have used to prepare these people for this, it’s just a blessing, and you don’t get to see it until it happens,” he said. “When it happens, it’s just overwhelming.”
Bolin said he wanted to “let everybody know that we’re going to make it — the Lord is our helper.”
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