April 19, 2024
WEST POINT, Ga. – A week after a tornado demolished an entire neighborhood around Bethel Baptist Church, Pastor Chris Hendricks stood among the ruins on Sunday and declared that “our God has delivered us.”
Members of the congregation gathered beneath a tent on the Bethel parking lot for Sunday worship, a brilliant sun beaming down on the twisted lumber that used to be their church building.
The twister that hit shortly after daybreak a week ago damaged or destroyed an estimated 100 homes in Troup County. No deaths were reported.
“God is your refuge; God is your anchor; God is your hope,” Hendricks said in his sermon to the tornado survivors. “God has delivered us from the storm. He delivered us from harm’s way.”
Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief crews spent the past week helping the church and nearby residents clean up the tornado damage. They’ve sawed trees off homes and out of yards, tarped damaged roofs, and provided spiritual counseling to storm victims.
Gov. Brian Kemp had issued a state of emergency to allow state and local governments to respond more quickly to several communities across the state that had been hit by tornadoes, including Milledgeville where Northside Baptist Church was damaged.
“We see all this destruction around us this morning,” said Steve Smith, a member of Bethel Baptist Church. “We’re not going to let that stop us here, because we’re here to praise the Lord.”
Andy Buchanan, director of missions in the Troup County Baptist Association, pointed to the crumpled remains of the church building then reminded the congregation that the church is alive and well because the church is the people.
“That’s just a building right there,” he said, motioning to a brick wall that’s still standing.
Buchanan thanked the many volunteers who donated their time and money to help local residents. He specifically mentioned the Disaster Relief crews who arrived on the scene shortly after the tornado touched down.
“We can’t tell you how much it means to us,” Buchanan said.
Hendricks said people from near and far have shown kindness to his congregation, including Floyd George, a member of First Baptist Church in nearby LaGrange who set up a smoker at Bethel on Sunday to make sure everyone was well fed.
“We just felt like it some something we should do,” said George, who, with his wife, Donna, gave free barbecued chicken meals to the entire congregation. “It’s a blessing to get to do it.”
