Grace Baptist Still Rebuilding after Easter Tornado

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – It has been three years since a devastating tornado outbreak tore through the Tennessee Valley.

One of these tornadoes was an EF-3 with winds of 145 mph that carved a path through East Brainerd and Ooltewah the night of April 12, 2020.

Driving through this area today you can still see the scars of its destruction.

The future site of Grace Baptist Church and Academy at the corner of Jenkins and Shallowford Roads, currently awaiting funding to finish construction.

One school and church campus that was heavily damaged by the storms is still rebuilding.

Grace Baptist Church and Academy at the corner of Jenkins and Shallowford Roads was one of the most heavily impacted buildings.

Matt Pollock, the head of school of Grace Baptist Academy, said, “Well, the word process is a good word. We are in process, but it’s been a laborious process of recovery.”

The Grace Baptist Academy has been housed at nearby Morris Hill Baptist Church until its main campus is completely rebuilt.

Only the preschool center, Grace’s Children’s Center, was able to be salvaged as it reopened in December 20-20.

Ground was broken on a new school and church at that same time, but three years to the day of the tornado, construction has yet to be completed.

Pollock said, “As we looked at funding, we are very dependent at this point on waiting on FEMA to come through with their funds.”

Pollock says without all of their promised funding, construction cannot be finished.

He said, “We have received some funds, over a million have come in, but there is no way a million will even come close to that. We are looking at tens of millions that have been assigned to us, to our case. They have not yet been released.”

Pollock does not blame the people the church has been working with.

He said, “There’s some great people we’re working with in the FEMA organization. But the system is we’ll say is frustrating. It is very laborious. There’s a lot of checkboxes. A lot of verifications, and even software issues.”

Pollock estimates that when funds do become available, it’ll be about nine more months of construction for the main building to be ready.

Despite the setbacks, the spirit of the school and church has remained strong as the student body has been growing.

He said, “I think if there’s one word I would say about our students, they are resilient. I believe that is influenced by the resilience of our teachers, our leadership, are very strong. They’re committed to the mission.”

Pollock also thanked both Morris Hill Baptist Church, Silverdale S-D-A, and other members of the community for providing help the past three years.

They hope to be in their new building by the next anniversary in 2024 and believe that funding should be released soon.

Nine tornadoes touched down and 12 people were killed as part of the 2020 Easter Tornado Outbreak in our area in Hamilton and Murray Counties.