Church service on school football field post-Helene draws thousands

HENDERSONVILLE - Speaking to a crowd of thousands from the downtown high school football field, Justin Alexander, senior pastor at First Baptist Church of Hendersonville, described how a fallen oak tree had narrowly missed his house. He expressed admiration for how the community had come together in the wake of the storm, then he pointed to Bible verse John 13:34, which instructs, "love one another."

"God is moving in Henderson County," Alexander said.

People of all ages stood in the bleachers with their hands raised in praise to God. Volunteers passed out water bottles and bags of food. Little kids and groups of teenagers sat on the track that rings the Hendersonville High School football field. The sun beat down and women fanned themselves with folded-up papers. Musicians played in between speakers. When prompted, the crowd cited The Lord's Prayer in unison.

Alexander, who has been the church's lead pastor since July, said during his sermon that as the storm hit and its magnitude became evident, he texted fellow church leaders, "We have to do something." By Sunday, they had set up a makeshift distribution center at the church. By Monday, there was a line wrapped around the church building.

Penny Williams, the church's chief financial officer, told the Citizen Times, "The theme for this week is 'Come on.' That's what we've been telling anyone who asks if we can use help. We just say, 'Come on.'"

Church leaders posted videos on Facebook asking for resources, and got a huge response. They didn't know exactly how they'd handle collections and distribution of supplies, but figured it out as they went along. Every time it seemed they were almost out of supplies, more would arrive. Deliveries poured in—from people in pickup trucks and people with multiple semi trucks.

"At this point our church is basically a warehouse,"  Alexander said.

They were so inundated with donations that they began diverting truckloads to smaller harder-to-reach communities. "We've sent stuff to Hot Springs, Marshall, Swannanoa, Tryon," Williams said. They partnered with El Centro of Henderson County to bring supplies to migrant workers.

Williams said that the church has about 4,000 members, with about 1,700 typically attending Sunday morning services.

Alexander told the Citizen Times that as the weekend approached, but the church building remained without power, he asked church members with ties to the school board whether they might be able to use the high school campus for services — something he'd envisioned for years, as he used to be a minister to students. "The Lord started bringing things together," he said. The church secured permission from school officials and a production company donated audio services.

During the service, executive pastor Dave Marshall told crowd members to give seven hugs to people they'd never met and emphasized helping one another. He said that volunteers were available to help remove fallen trees from properties or get mud out of basements.

Other speakers included Aaron and Larissa Smith, a couple from Bat Cave whose children had contracted head lice right before the storm — which seemed like an annoyance but turned out to be a blessing, as it prevented them from using a bedroom through which a giant boulder crashed during the storm. The family ultimately had to be rescued by helicopter.Alexander said the distribution center would be closed Monday for organizational purposes but would be open again Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Church service on school football field post-Helene draws thousands