Louisiana churches ponder life after Ike

ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP)—Hurricane-weary churches in southern Louisiana that weathered Katrina and Rita and three years later Gustav may have been done in by Ike’s onslaught.

Joe Arnold, director of missions in Bayou Baptist Association southwest of New Orleans, said 5,000 more homes in the region were flooded by Ike than Rita in 2005. This means 15,000 homes rather than 10,000 homes.

“Longtime pastors tell me they’ve never seen the water this high,” Arnold said. “I’ve got 11 churches that were strongly impacted. ‘No church; no offering; no salary.’ That’s an abbreviated version of my report.”

Live Oak Baptist Church in Montegut had three feet of water in the building when Pastor Tommy Bellon evacuated. The parsonage next door sustained similar damage.

Bethel Baptist Church in Bourg had two feet of water in the building and roof damage.

First Baptist Church in Houma was in the final stages of volunteer construction on its new day school. It was an eight-building compound with a central courtyard.

“We only have one standing now, and we may have to tear it down,” pastor’s wife Jan Folmar said. “We may just be at square one.”

Arnold spent a recent morning in a conference with other associational leaders to assess the damage inflicted by Gustav and now Ike.

“One of the problems we’re going to see is a shortfall—my conservative estimate—of $100,000 in offerings over this six-week to two-month period,” Arnold said.

“Some of these people don’t have jobs, so no money to give. … Some of them feel like, ‘I don’t know if I can go through this again.’ They still know their strength comes from the Lord, but it’s part of the grief process.”

Arnold would like partnerships to develop between churches in Bayou Baptist Association and churches elsewhere.

“I have three churches that were limping already,” Arnold said. “If they don’t get partnerships in bodies and finances, they’re not going to open again. When you’re limping and fall into the water, it’s hard to get up again.”

J.P. Miles, director of missions for Carey Baptist Association, which includes Calcasieu, Jeff Davis and Cameron parishes—from Lake Charles to points west and south—noted the region received the full impact of Ike’s powerful storm surge.

“In many areas, it’s kind of déjà vu as to what has taken place,” Miles said.

“We’re looking at a new phase of ministry, especially on the coast. In assessing this thing after Rita, we tried to get people to take a broader view. That’s what we’re going to do again.”

An additional problem in the wake of Ike: Some buildings were even more badly damaged than they were during Rita, Miles said. After Rita, church reconstruction was grandfathered in under previous zoning requirements, if half the building was left.

“Now everything has to be up to code, and entirely different codes, which might mean 18-foot stilts in some cases,” Miles said.

One significant issue is that churches must come up with a 5 percent insurance deductible, or $5,000 for every $100,000 valuation of the property, said Lonnie Wascom, director of missions in Chappapeela, LaTangi and St. Tammany Baptist Associations.

Such deductibles are “a major hit for our churches,” said Wascom, whose associations encompass Slidell and other areas hard-hit by 2005’s Katrina.

“We had a number that were hit with what I consider minor damage,” Wascom continued. “But it’s like ‘minor surgery’ when it’s the other guy and ‘major’ when it’s you, and that’s true with churches—especially smaller churches.”