News

Greetings in the Name of Jesus Christ, Easter 2020 will not be soon forgotten here in Mississippi. Soon after we had our Covid-19 modified services in various forms some of our churches and church families would experience the destructive forces of multiple tornadoes. Yesterday we made contact with eight of our churches and personally visited four churches. The churches we were able to make visual inspections at were: East 10th St. Church of God in Laurel   First Church of God in Laurel Moss First Church of God in Moss Zion Community Church of God in Oak Vale There was visual no property damage at our East 10th Church and Pastor Millis Washington was contacted and was given a report. The First Church in Laurel had some minor roof damage. Also, three families were impacted by the tornadoes with one family losing their home to the storm. I called Pastor Duane Parker and work crews were helping with two of the families clearing fallen trees. Pastor Parker himself, was working with the family whose home was a loss. He was helping clearing debris and securing personal item into a storage unit  Moss First Church, though in the path of the storm suffered no damages. However, six families from this church suffered catastrophic losses with one church member still in the hospital suffering from injuries sustained in the storm. We met with Pastor Paul Matte and had prayer with him as his church is serving as a FEMA help station in the community. He along with his church family is seeking to assist many other families in that community as the destruction stretches throughout this whole era around the church. Zion Community Church of God was our most impacted of the churches visited yesterday. The main sanctuary roof is compromised as sheetrock and insulation cover the pews. There are multiple holes in the roof, windows were broken, and the front porch was totally ripped from the building. The destruction of this church and the grounds around it is major in scope. To add to that Pastor Isaac Carter's house saw damage as a tree fell on it causing roof and structural damage. Furthermore, Pastor Bettie Drummond, on staff at Zion, home appears to be a total loss as a major part of the home was blown off of its foundation leaving only part of the home still standing. Pastor Drummond and her husband were in the home and survived in a small corridor of the home, the only place that anyone could have survived. Funds were sent directly to both churches following the survey. A small clean-up crew was dispatched and was sent to the Moss church to assist with the many homes destroyed in that community. The crew comes from the Pine Grove Church of God in Edinburg under the leadership of Pastor Jerry Germany.   Assessment: As of this email, there is still no power in the Moss community or at the church. To further complicate this matter when power is restored there will be no houses to connect to and so at this point, Pastor Matte request that small work crews intent on clean up, tree cutting, and debris removal is the greatest short term need at this time. For the Zion Community Church, there are still many trees that will need cutting and removed from the parking lot and around the church. A small local crew of congregational members are currently assisting both Pastors but debris removal will take much longer at Pastor Drummond's home. Currently, Mississippi Ministries of the Church of God has established a relief fund for these churches and families impacted by these tornadoes. Should you desire to contribute financially you may make check out to: Mississippi Ministries of the Church of God P.O. Box 1276 Philadelphia, MS 39350 Or you can contribute online at: Mississippi Ministries Once you are on our Faithlife Online giving  Select - Add or Change funds then go to Select a fund and choose Disaster Relief Fund Enter the amount you desire to give.  Should you want to assist with the clean-up and debris removal understand that Mississippi is still under a "shelter-in-place" order and your group will need specific instructions concerning essential activities that can be performed while in these areas. Once the order is lifted larger groups may be able to assist. Should you have any questions please contact the state office at: mmotcog@gmail.com (601) 562-4646