WEST—Pastor John Crowder offered words of hope from a makeshift pulpit in an open field when First Baptist Church gathered for its first worship service after an April 17 explosion at a local fertilizer plant.
The blast damaged the church’s worship center, located within the perimeter of the area closed by public safety authorities, and it destroyed Crowder’s home.
TBM chaplains have been on-site in West since the disaster.A standing-room-only crowd remained largely quiet as Crowder preached. Couples held hands. Mothers put their arms around their children. Fathers held their sons tightly. Worshippers greeted each other before and after the service with plentiful hugs and scattered tears.
Preaching from Psalm 46, Crowder emphasized God is the refuge for citizens of West. In the midst of losing friends, homes and the comfort of routine, the townspeople suffered and continue to suffer, the pastor confessed.
Yet God is working in West, Crowder continued, at times struggling to hold back his emotions. God is their refuge, strength and source of hope.
“We have more questions than answers,” he said. “We have lost so many of our friends and neighbors. … As scary as this has been, we don’t have to be afraid.”
Participants hug each other at the outdoor worship service at First Baptist Church in West.He encouraged people to lean on God during trying times. When a person feels most helpless, God often most clearly shows his power, Crowder said.
“When you reach the point where you are on your knees crying for help, you have just reached the point of your greatest strength,” he said.
God already is bringing a variety of support for the community, Crowder noted. The disaster recovery ministry of the Baptist General Convention of Texas already had provided assistance for Crowder, his family and the congregation. BGCT church architecture staff examined the church’s facilities.
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The convention has committed to help the congregation long-term. The BGCT maintains an online list (pdf file) of drop-off locations for West supplies—particularly school materials.
A t-shirt expresses the mindset of West residents after the explosion.Texas Baptist Men also has been prominent in assisting First Baptist Church. Numerous TBM volunteers were present during the worship service. The missions organization has a laundry and a shower unit in the area, and volunteers are operating a temporary emergency child care unit.
A TBM box unit distributed more than 1,500 cardboard boxes to residents as they returned to see their damaged homes for the first time, sifting through debris to reclaim cherished keepsakes. TBM chaplains also have been on-site in West since the disaster.
Dallas Baptist University had planned to send students to First Baptist Church in West to lead a DiscipleNow youth retreat next weekend. After the explosion, the church was prepared to cancel that event. DBU President Gary Cook called Crowder and offered to charter a bus that would bring youth from West to DBU for the weekend.
“First Baptist Church in West will be a major force in the rebuilding of that community,” said Chris Liebrum, who leads Texas Baptists’ disaster recovery ministry. “Texas Baptists will stand with them and provide the resources needed so that, in Christ’s name, they can bring hope to so many who have lost family, friends and possessions.”
The pain West residents feel is deep and difficult, Crowder said. Nothing can change what happened. Only God can carry the community through this situation.
“What happened here on Wednesday is awful,” Crowder said. “But God is bigger than this.”
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