One year ago, First Baptist Church of Collinsville was completely destroyed by a tornado.
“It was devastating. it was a lot of fearfulness. It was one of those moments where you can’t believe what you’re seeing,” said Pastor Wade Ricks.
The tornado ripped through roofs, shattered windows, and defaced buildings. Nevertheless, members of the church remained steadfast.
“We’re meeting at Faith Baptist Church Sunday mornings at 8:15. Lot’s of people ask if we opened the church again. The church never quit meeting. We’ve met every Sunday since,” said Ricks.
The church started rebuilding back in October and hope to have the new church fully rebuilt by the end of this year.
“As you can see behind me, the new slab has been poured. The first building here is the children’s building, and the building on the other side is the youth building. What it’s in the middle is the worship center and the education space for adults. When it’s all done, it will be one building under one roof,” said Ricks.
The church held a community celebration yesterday evening to commemorate the church’s year of triumph.
“We’re doing what we’re calling an Ebenezer service. an Ebenezer is a large stone that Israel would erect to remind their children and grandchildren about what God did there. We’re going to start this year. We want to do that every year to remind our children and our grandchildren about what happened here on February 2nd,” said Ricks.
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