Bethlehem Baptist Church is on the road to recovery after Florence

CURRIE, NC (WWAY) – Florence practiced no discretion when ripping through southeastern North Carolina.

The storm and its flooding did not show any special treatment towards Bethlehem Baptist Church.

“It was devastating. We had just got moved back in from Matthew. we hadn’t been in this church probably 6 months. there were pews sitting on top of pews,” explained one of the church’s deacons, Ted Brown.

The congregation was forced to relocate to Long Bluff’s hunting lodge in the interim of the storm and repairs while they wait out construction.

Even though the entire building is gutted right, now it’s not hard at all to tell that this was once a beautiful space. Deacon Ted Brown says he’s confident that they will be able to restore the entire church to what it was before Florence.

“We’ll get back. We’ve got a good hard core membership in the church and they stay with us and they’ll be with us right on through it all,” said Brown.

He expects that construction will wrap up in no more than eight months, and that all though this has been a trying time for his congregation, it has brought them closer together.

Brown says donations toward the reconstruction costs of any amount are welcome. If you’d like to contribute, please contact him at (910) 470-5706.