Salado-area churches destroyed by tornado host Easter services amid rubble

Salado, Texas (KWTX) - Two churches destroyed by an EF-3 tornado that ripped through southern Bell County on Tuesday hosted their Easter services at their church sites despite no longer having a church building.

Crowds of people sat in foldable chairs on the cement slabs left behind after the tornado and surrounded by the rubble and destruction at both Victory Baptist Church and First Cedar Valley Baptist Church.

“It’s great to be back here on god’s property on the slab that he left for us,” said Alex Seeton, a church member.

Billy Borho, the pastor at Victory Baptist Church said hosting service in the empty lot shows is that the church is more than the four walls.

“I think the focus today should be on our relationship with the lord and why this came,” Borho said. “Why did this come? Why did he let this happen? There’s a reason. I don’t know all the reasons but I know that god is faithful and I know that he loves his people,” he said.

Borho said the church has already had a construction company pledge to gift them a brand new church building.

“The building that they said, I don’t know for sure but it’s 300 feet long and a hundred feet wide,” Borho explained. “That’s a big ‘ole building for an itty bitty church.”

Both churches today saw crowds much larger than their normal services as people from the community came to show their support.

Governor Abbott visited those two churches Saturday. He pledged that the state would help the churches and property owners affected by the tornado.

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