JACKSONVILLE, Ala. (ABP) – A Baptist church near the path of one of the tornadoes that swept across Alabama in April is halfway toward a goal of building 10 houses for people who lost homes and did not have insurance.
Mike Oliver, pastor of First Baptist Church of Williams, says he expected the church would be able to help with immediate needs like cleanup and offer shelter, food and supplies, but he didn’t anticipate four months later they would be building homes.
First Baptist Church of Williams, Ala., dedicates a home for tornado victims in August.
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So far four families have moved into new homes made possible by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship-affiliated church in a community near Jacksonville, Ala., hit hard by storms that killed hundreds across the Southeast on April 27. Dedication of a fifth is scheduled this weekend. Soon work is expected to begin on the 10th.
In the immediate aftermath the church, with help from out-of-town volunteers, cleared debris at more than 75 work sites. They served meals, sometimes to more than 1,000 people, and set up a collection center where hundreds of storm victims came for supplies like non-perishable food, clothing and baby items.
As the ministry shifted into helping people find temporary homes, Oliver sought funding for a mobile home for a family who had lost everything and had no homeowner insurance. The request yielded three mobile homes, indicating church members could do more than feed and clothe victims.
After giving away the mobile homes the congregation began building 1,100-square-foot houses at a cost of about $55,000 each. Families contribute work and as much funding as they can and sponsors pay for the rest. Some groups make a commitment to pay for an entire house, but typically it’s a combination of the family’s FEMA grant, church funds and other donations from funding partners that make up the total.
Volunteers are guided by a licensed contractor. Each home is decorated and fully furnished. At the dedication, the family is presented with a Bible and the keys to their house. Unlike housing ministries like Habitat for Humanity, the homes are given away debt-free. Oliver says that’s because the church is responding to a crisis situation trying to get the county’s most needy residents off to a new start in life without the burden of debt.
The church formed a separate corporation named “The First Baptist Church of Williams Community Resource Group” to oversee the rebuilding ministry. It has a board of directors, a selection team that deals with individual families needing housing, a finance team that directs the handling of donations, a builder’s team that oversees each worksite and a resource team to assist families with issues related to resettlement.
“We are finding that this is long-term recovery,” says a message on the church website. “Many people have suffered as a result of this storm. With your help and with God’s blessing, good is coming from the terribly bad.”
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Bob Allen is managing editor of Associated Baptist Press.