The National Weather Service told local news station Action News 4 that the tornado had estimated peak wind speeds of 118 miles per hour, suggesting it could have been an EF2. The damage is extensive — roughly a dozen nearby homes were severely impacted, though no major injuries have yet been linked to the storm. At the church, several windows were shattered, and as of Monday morning, debris, including the church steeple, still littered the church driveway and parking lot. The entire roof is missing from the part of the building that houses church offices, classrooms and bathrooms.
Construction crews are already onsite, and, while the main church building is unusable, the congregation plans to meet in person, likely in their gymnasium. In the meantime, members from the community are stopping by, pitching in for cleanup and offering to pray over the building.
McClain told RNS he didn’t think it was a coincidence that the church is in the middle of a sermon series about God’s promises. While reading about those promises is one thing, he said, seeing them firsthand is another.
“This could have been potentially catastrophic,” said McClain. “The roof was ripped off, but the sanctuary where we were was relatively untouched … God had his hand on us.”
This article originally appeared here.
