This story was updated Monday (March 17).
Two Alabama Baptist churches sustained damage in the storms Saturday evening (March 15) — Calera Baptist from a tornado, and Mignon Baptist in Sylacauga from flooding. Alabama was one of many states impacted by a weekend of deadly storms.
Mignon Baptist was sheltering between 80 and 100 people in its basement-level fellowship hall when the water started pouring in, according to Pastor Jeremy Brown.
The church has many neighbors in a “vulnerable housing situation,” he said, so the church opened its doors to the community when weather warnings were announced for the state yesterday.
“We were hunkered down … and it was a slow, steady rain, nothing heavy,” Brown said. “We are located next to sort of a drainage ditch that filled up quickly, and once it started to run over it came into the parking lot and was rushing through the basement.”
‘I witnessed God in our community today’
The water outside was already waist deep in places, and inside he and others helped the crowd move through ankle-deep water to get to a safer place in the church’s main level. That included helping a woman with a walker get upstairs and keeping children calm.
The way the night went made an impression. One community member, Kyshawn Johnson, posted on Facebook that he was struck by the way Brown and the other men worked hard to ensure everyone’s safety.
“But what really proved to me that God is within this man is when a little girl was crying and i dont think he (Brown) knew this baby nor her parents really if he did that part [doesn’t] matter,” Johnson wrote. “In the midst of panic he stopped what he was doing and embraced this baby to make her feel safer. I witnessed God in our community today. Tonight color didnt matter, status didnt matter…all that mattered was faith and love. There is hope for sylacauga yet!”
Brown said that was their main hope for the night — to show the love of Christ.
“We were able to host people from all backgrounds and walks of life,” he said.
This morning, members of Mignon Baptist and the Hispanic congregation that shares their building gathered to pump water out of the church basement.
“We’re so thankful that there was no loss of life and that everyone remained safe,” Brown said.
Damage at Calera Baptist
To the west, Calera Baptist Church sustained damage to its sanctuary. A tornado described as likely an EF-1 damaged the ceiling, causing water damage on the inside.
Pastor Jason Jarvis told WBRC-Fox 6 News that he thanks God “that he brought us all of us through that safe, and we can replace the ceiling.”
The church met at 8:30 this morning for a time of prayer and then spent some time cleaning and assessing the damage.
“We believe this is an opportunity for the church to come together,” Jarvis said, noting that six local pastors had already reached out to see how they could help. “It is a blessing already to see how God is working through other churches.”
He said he believes the tornado damage in the community “is an opportunity for us to come together and to help each other and let each other know you’re not alone.”
Statewide damage; disaster relief teams assist
Across the state, at least 15 tornadoes touched down throughout the day, with several fatalities.
Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief teams are out today (March 16) assisting affected areas, including West Central Baptist Association, which is at work in Plantersville; Walker Baptist Association, which is at work in Sipsey; and Salem-Troy Baptist Association, which is at work in the Troy and Pike County area.
Mark Wakefield, state disaster relief strategist, said ABDR volunteers had gathered this morning to prepare the mass feeding kitchen for use, but at this time he doesn’t think it’s going to be needed.
“Some teams are working, most are waiting, but I think it’s going to be OK for most folks,” he said. “It’s bad where it’s bad, but those long tracks of violent tornados didn’t materialize like we thought they might, and I’m so thankful.”
To contribute to Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief, visit sbdr.org.
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