Nearly a week after an EF3 tornado struck Journey Church of Kankakee County, Illinois, church treasurer Rachel Thill said she feels, “God’s inexplicable peace about the situation. We shouldn’t have any peace, but we do.”
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The church, which lost two thirds of its roof and received significant structural damage from the March 10 tornado, held its Sunday worship services at Bethel Baptist Church in Bourbonnais.
Ways to pray
When asked how others can be praying for Journey Church and its members, Thill said, “We believe God has a plan for our church. Pray for us to have the wisdom to follow God’s will for our church. Pray we have peace and patience as we work to do what is needed to rebuild.”
Amid the destruction, Thill said the church has been blessed by businesses and organizations who have provided free storage for items they have salvaged from the church, meals while they combed through the debris, and other services. Thill’s husband Jon serves as the church’s worship pastor, which is currently without a pastor.
Ongoing work
Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief began ministering in Kankakee on March 16 through a five-person Incident Command Team led by Glen Carty, Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief interim state director, at a Multi-Agency Resource Center. A MARC is a designated site where individuals and families can go to access emergency relief services from local, state, federal and non-profit organizations following a disaster.
Carty believes there is much work to be done and thinks it could be a multi-week callout.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Lisa Misner and originally published by the Illinois Baptist.
