High winds peeled off areas of the church’s roof, including a large section above the main entryway and library. In addition, many of the church’s windows were shattered, trees around the building uprooted, and interior doors damaged.
The pastor estimated that repairs to the church will cost more than $1 million and not be completed for at least six months. Smith noted that a nearby Seventh-Day Adventist Church has offered its sanctuary for Hill Street’s Sunday morning services.
Meanwhile, the same line of storms that tore through Louisville did major damage to Hazel Green Ministries in Wolfe County, destroying a campus dormitory used to house short-term mission teams.
Ministry director Lewis Faulkenberry, said that 70 mile-per-hour winds caused the roof of the building—which was built in 1901—to collapse.
Hazel Green Ministries, which has been an outreach of Red River Baptist Association since 2003, hosts the majority of its visitors in the summer, Faulkenberry noted, and that no one was in the building during the storm.
He also explained that because of the extent of the damage, he has not been able to get an estimate on repairs.
Faulkenberry noted that he and others are expected to decide this week whether the beds in the dorm can be moved to another location to house the groups who are scheduled to come in this summer. If not, he said he may have to turn the teams away.
“It’s going to have a pretty devastating effect on our ministry,” Faulkenberry added.
Western Recorder issue date: February 5, 2008
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