OWENSBORO, Ky. (WEHT) – Severe thunderstorms on April 5 caused significant damage to Legacy Church in Owensboro. Surveillance video shows the moment damaging winds knocked down a wall of windows inside the front lobby. Senior Pastor Jeff Phillips was just feet away when the damage occurred.
“I was like, ‘Goodness, this is getting really strong’,” recalls Phillips. “And about that time, bam, here came that bank of windows in.”
Immediately, Phillips and his staff began salvaging any items they could as rain and wind blew into their lobby. Within minutes, Phillips says volunteers were at the ready to help clean the debris.
“My first phone call was to one of the members of the church, which has a construction company,” says Phillips. “And, I mean, he was here within 15 minutes, had the wood of course, and immediately began to put some wood up, frame in the frame, and get the plywood up so that we wouldn’t damage anything else.”
In just two days, the opening had been tarped and boarded, and Easter weekend services continued as planned. Phillips says he is thankful for the help of his congregation and explains this incident is a teachable moment for the church.
“We’re not going to be stopped by things like that,” says Phillips, “We’re in a culture and an hour today where there’s a lot of external things going on. People worried about their finances, people worried about all kinds of things, but these are not things that are going to stop us, this church and the gospel from moving forward.”
Instead of a setback, Phillips says the church is viewing this incident as a blessing. Rather than replacing the windows, Phillips says they may use this as an opportunity to reconfigure the front entrance of the church.
