After an EF-4 tornado decimated western Kentucky in December, Harmony Baptist Church pastor Tony Holtzclaw personally watched as people braved dangerous winter weather last week to obtain basic necessities.

“It’s snowing, it’s cold and these people have no home…I can’t begin to tell you how this has broken my heart. Please, please, please be in prayer for these families,” Holtzclaw said during a Facebook live update from The River church in Nortonville, Kentucky. 

Over the past three weeks, Harmony Baptist has collected construction items to help Kentucky residents rebuild their homes, many of which are missing roofs or walls after the tornado. The Dawson County church donated a 53-foot closed trailer with $22,000 in supplies as well as monetary donations and Home Depot gift cards. 

They also brought up an open trailer with two wood palettes donated from Coal Mountain Baptist Church in Forsyth County.  

Holtzclaw said his update wasn’t to puff up his church, but to let all who gave “know what a great thing you all are doing.”

A previous article about Harmony Baptist’s collection efforts ran online and in the Jan. 5 edition of DCN. The Cumming-based Christian radio station “Victory 91.5” also publicized the collection efforts in early January. 

Holtzclaw said that his church’s volunteers hope to make bi-weekly trips up to Kentucky to drop off donations in the future. They’re scoping out a 24-foot trailer for that now. 

“It’s not a ‘one-and-done’ type thing for Harmony [Baptist Church],” he said.

Money can be donated by going to the church’s website, hbcdawson.com. There is a specific button at the bottom of the homepage for donations. Alternatively, people can write and mail a check to the church address listed above. People may also drop off Lowe’s gift cards. 

As of Jan. 15, over 1,000 people in Kentucky will have to move out of area hotels, while many of their homes are still uninhabitable. 

With a lack of places for those people to rent, Holtzclaw said he plans to meet with The Church at War Hill and discuss next steps for helping them. 

“It’s not something that’s going to fix itself,” Holtzclaw said of the natural disaster. “It’ll take several years to overcome, and we’re here for the long haul. We’re ready to help and make a difference.”