Storm Wipes Out Uninsured Lexington Church

<p>Cleanup is underway for some in the Lexington area after severe weather struck Saturday night.&nbsp;</p>

Wednesday, May 23rd 2018, 6:27 pm

By: News 9


Cleanup is underway for some in the Lexington area after severe weather struck Saturday night.

Winds were so strong, they wiped out the entire back half of a church at the corner of Highway 77 and Moffatt Road. Now, the owner is needing more help than he initially thought.

Pastor Louis Bennett built the Lexington Family Worship Center from the ground up nine years ago. It only took a matter of seconds to destroy it. He is beginning the process of picking up, one piece of debris at a time.

In his 32 years of preaching and 65 years of life, Bennett says he has never experienced a loss this great.

“I looked at it and I was just totally devastated because come to find out, there was no insurance on it,” he said.

Last year, Bennett leased his church to someone else, giving up the altar due to health concerns. Part of the agreement was that the lessees purchase insurance. They never did.

“They’ve been good to work with and everything,” he said, “but this is just kind of an unexpected thing to me.”

The storm blew the roof across the neighboring field, drove a two-by-four two feet into the ground and left debris sprawled around the property. Now, Bennett has to foot the bill for all of it.

He said, “We got about $125,000 worth of damage here.”

Bennett says he has never asked the community for help, but he needs it now to rebuild everything he worked so hard to create.

“It’s like a mother giving birth to a child and the child being taken,” Bennett said.

Locals are helping organize a clean-up day at the church this weekend, and Bennett's wife and children plan to host a bake sale to raise money. They have also set up a GoFundMe page for those who cannot be there in person.

Despite the long road ahead, Bennett finds strength in his faith.

“Through all this I won’t lose my confidence in the Lord,” he said. “If I came out and it was a flat building today, there was nothing on this place, I’ve still got God.”

The clean-up and bake sale will both start at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 26. The church is located at 951 N Main Street, Lexington. The bake sale will be held at Papa Louie’s Thrift Store in Noble.

To contribute to the GoFundMe campaign, click here.

logo

Get The Daily Update!

Be among the first to get breaking news, weather, and general news updates from News on 6 delivered right to your inbox!

More Like This

May 23rd, 2018

March 14th, 2024

December 4th, 2023

September 25th, 2023

Top Headlines

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024