Hurricane Michael

On October 10th 2018, Category 5 Hurricane Michael barreled on shore destroying most of our church facilities. We lost our Sanctuary, office building, chapel, preschool building and youth building. A lone building survived. Since that unforgettable Wednesday, this one building has been a refuge for our congregation.

Immediately following the storm, our gym became a distribution center for our area. God demonstrated His goodness through His people. We were blessed as donations flooded in from all over the country. Semi trucks from various companies would arrive to deliver corporate donations. Moving vans from individual churches would bring everything their congregations could round up. Even the occasional compact car would arrive with room only for a driver and aid. This outpouring replenished the supplies time and time again. Each week, supplies would begin to run out, only to be replaced by the next unexpected delivery. The church and hundreds of volunteers worked day and night for 4 months distributing.

As the need for an emergency distribution center waned, much of the education space was repurposed to serve as dorm space for incoming volunteers. Volunteers would offer their vacation time, weekends, and sick leave to lend a helping hand to a community in need.

Even now, groups continue to schedule times to bring mission teams to aid in the Panhandle recovery effort. Debris removal, tarping, sheetrock, roofing, landscaping, demolition, cemetery cleaning, playground painting, ramp building, and other tasks are among the services offered by those that volunteered. We are blessed to have these amazing people partner with us!

Pastor Josh has continually said, “Hurricane Michael was a cleverly disguised blessing for Carlisle.” Despite the loss of nearly $10 million dollars in facilities, experiences and relationships that would not have came through any other circumstances have changed God’s family here. The future looks bright for Carlisle. The Lord is using this amazing church in ways we never imagined. We look forward to the day when facilities are replaced and restored, when we have a brand new sanctuary, children’s area and office. But our sanctuasium is sufficient. God continues to abide with His people. He’s given us more than we need.

To say that we are blessed is an understatement. And while we pray for the recovery of our neighbors and community, we also pray that the movement the hurricane set into motion never stops.