Call it a sign of the times.
Cayce Baptist Church Fulton, Kentucky, had its new church sign installed March 20 after the previous one had been destroyed by devastating tornadoes in December 2021.
Pastor Mark Dowdy said the sign provided the church with messages of encouragement and news to use for the community at large. Some of the money to purchase the new sign came from the Kentucky CARE program, where funds are available to local churches and associations rebuilding from the tornadoes and last summer’s flooding.
The sign was $22,000 and came from government funds, donations and Kentucky CARE. Dowdy learned about the program from Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief Director Ron Crow.
The church and outside pavilion also suffered severe damage from the tornado, he said. Dowdy estimated 85% of the city was wiped out.
‘Viable communication’
“The sign helped us alert the neighborhood and community as to what’s going on,” Dowdy said. “It was a shot in the arm and lets people know we are building back. That roadside sign was a viable communication with us to the community. We still did word of mouth and flyers but it didn’t have the same reach as the sign.”
The new sign also offers time and temperature and “everybody wants to know the time and temperature,” Dowdy noted.
It also includes the service schedule and times and the upcoming events at the church.
“Most of the time, you see these signs at a big church,” Dowdy said. “I keep telling them we have the same thing as the big church has. We have the same God and the same gospel.”
‘Front line of ministry’
Crow said many have benefitted from Kentucky CARE, which still has funding available.
“We’ve helped homeowners and churches along the way,” Crow said.
Funds come through donations of churches, individuals and associations since the disasters happened.
“We work through the local church because the local church is the front line of ministry,” Crow said.
Although Kentucky CARE has been used on multiple occasions, Crow said most people are working through federal and local governments first. “As long as funds available, we will continue to help,” he said.
For more information visit Kybaptist.org/care.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Mark Maynard and originally published by Kentucky Today.
