Denton Baptist Church undergoes amazing restoration
The fellowship hall of Denton Baptist Church in Cosby was unusable for about five months after last year’s flood. Church leaders were unsure if it could even be salvaged but the church continued to meet following Hurricane Helene because the sanctuary was not damaged. — Photo by Mike Hensley
COSBY — “Miracle” is the word Mike Hensley, director of missions for East Tennessee Baptist Association, uses to describe what has happened at Denton Baptist Church in Cosby since Hurricane Helene devastated the county last September.
Church deacon Ronnie Chambers goes a step further. “It was a big miracle,” he maintained. “Only one person could have pulled it off and that was the Lord.”
When Chambers arrived at the church after the flood, he found the church’s parsonage was destroyed and that the back corner of the church had collapsed. “We thought we could never get back in the church. It was absolutely a mess.”
As it turned out, the church was able to continue to meet because the sanctuary was not damaged. “We never closed the doors,” Chambers said.
The basement, which housed the church’s fellowship hall, was a different matter. There was a hole on one side of the wall and the inside was flooded, but water never reached the sanctuary, he said.
Hensley recalled that when he saw the church for the first time that he doubted they would ever be able to use it again. Some local contractors even told him they didn’t think the building could be repaired, he said.
A volunteer team from Sweetwater Baptist Association, based in Madisonville, had a differing opinion. Sweetwater’s director of missions Tony Rutherford is a former Cocke County pastor (Northport Baptist Church) and he contacted Hensley to see if they could assist.
When Hensley told him about Denton Baptist, Rutherford asked David Mashburn, a member of Reed Springs Baptist Church in Philadelphia to see if they could assist. Mashburn is a business owner with heavy equipment and experience, Rutherford said.
Mashburn took his own team to Denton Baptist and while he was still talking with church officials, they began working on the project, the DOM said.
The team made several trips to the church to complete the bulk of the work. “God has blessed our association with men like David who are willing to use their time, talent and resources for the Lord,” Rutherford said.
In addition, other teams from Sweetwater helped The Bread Basket, a food pantry in Newport that had been housed at Riverview Baptist Church in Newport, but had to relocate when that church received extensive damage. The association provided food and supplies along with a new cooler for the food ministry, Rutherford added.
Ronnie Chambers, who along with fellow church member Fred Spence, coordinated construction efforts at Denton Baptist Church, points to the cabinets, the only ‘survivor’ of last year’s flood which destroyed the former fellowship hall. — Photo by Lonnie Wilkey
Chambers said that if the Sweetwater team had not been able to help, there was no one locally who could have done it. “It looked like an impossible job. If it had not been for them the work would never have been done,” Chambers said.
“Everything the volunteers did was top notch,” he continued. “They went over and above what we expected.”
Chambers, who along with fellow member Fred Spence, has coordinated the construction efforts at Denton. He noted that the experience has given him a greater appreciation for the phrase, “With God all things are possible.”
What makes the story even more amazing is that Denton, a rural congregation with an average attendance of 18-20, had no flood insurance and was (and still is) without a pastor. Frank Davis currently is serving as supply pastor.
Chambers shared that the church received about $70,000 in total gifts. “It was unreal. People we didn’t know wanted to come and help. … We didn’t pay a penny on anything.”
It took five months to get back into the fellowship. Most of the work has been completed, but “we are not done yet,” Chambers said. “Our fellowship hall is much better today than it was before the flood,” he acknowledged.
The church still needs a heating/air conditioning unit and Hensley is confident the association will provide that in the near future. “Getting our churches back up and running is a top priority,” the DOM acknowledged.
“It’s a miracle on what God has done and continues to do here,” Hensley said. “I think Denton Baptist Church will grow and continue to impact his community for Christ,” he added. B&R
