East Alabama Carpenters for Christ rebuilds Mountain View

East Alabama Carpenters for Christ rebuilds Mountain View

Visitors to the East Alabama Carpenters for Christ website (eastalcfc.wordpress.com) will view two vastly contrasting photographs under the heading “Before and After Photos from Sylvania Mission.”

The first photo, an aerial shot, shows a vacant lot where Mountain View Baptist Church, Sylvania, stood before it was destroyed by one of the April 27 tornadoes. Visible debris is strewn throughout the property. The second photo shows a completely different scene. A large church building with a towering white steeple appears. And what makes this “after” photo of the new church structure even more profound is that it is labeled “June 8.”

Within this short timespan, East Alabama Carpenters for Christ, based in Chambers County, traveled to Sylvania and built Mountain View Baptist’s new structure, with the assistance of volunteers ready to roll up their sleeves.

According to Billy Farmer, chief cook for East Alabama Carpenters for Christ and a member of Fairview Baptist Church, Valley, this timespan is typical for the team.

Farmer said when they arrived at the site in late May, the church had the slab already poured. The team built the walls, put up the trusses and put on metal roofing. The whole process was completed in about a week and a half. “It was ready to finish,” Farmer said, adding they had services in an area of the new building the second Sunday in June.

East Alabama Carpenters for Christ has about 60–70 members and usually does one project a year. According to its website, it is an “organization of laymen which gives men an opportunity to use their time and talents in constructing church buildings to the glory of God.”

Farmer said the group identifies potential construction projects through the North American Mission Board’s online resource, The Bridge. Once a project is identified, the group begins a process of contacting the project coordinator and passing the project idea through a committee.

East Alabama Carpenters for Christ has traveled to a number of states for projects: Missouri, Virginia and Illinois, to name a few.

“If you go one time [on a project], you’ll go again,” Farmer remarked. “You’re hooked.” He said a fellow team member once commented to him on how amazing it was that the group worked so well together. “You’ve really got to live it to see it,” Farmer explained.   (TAB)