Mt. Carmel Ministries, located at 1101 North Main Street in Hattiesburg, took a devastating amount of damage to their buildings from an EF4 tornado in 2013. After the property spent 12 years in a state of disrepair, a miraculous transformation to the church’s streetscape has occurred over the last 90 days.
“We weren’t trying to be an eyesore,” said Rev. Kenneth Fairley, senior pastor of Mt. Carmel. “It was an eyesore and a burden to us, too.”
Fairley said that the reason the building remained in the condition it was in for as long as it did was the result of their insurance being forced to pay for the damages after a federal lawsuit. When the insurance company did issue payment, they did so directly to the State Bank of Texas, the bank financing the mortgage. Instead of that payment going toward the much-needed repairs, it was applied directly to the mortgage.
“What a lot of people don’t know is that there were more than 90 beds in that building that was destroyed,” said Fairley. “We are an outreach ministry. We are feeding hundreds in the community every week, and we continued to do that even then and will continue to do that.”
The community outreach work of the church did not go to the wayside, for some, even decades after any involvement with the church. When the city held a public hearing back in June, the church made the city council aware that due process had not been followed, and that they’d received no notice of violation. As a result, the council did not follow their usual course of adopting a resolution, “just in case.” Instead, the church was given 90 days to show progress.
“I can’t even begin to call all the names of the people who showed up for us,” said Fairley. “People with roots in this church came from all over to help us the way we helped them.”
Fairley said the community came together in ways he was not expecting. Little League ball players Fairley had coached as children showed up with work crews and trucks. Former participants in the church’s Alpha Program, an outreach program targeting gang activity by recruiting young people into the fold of the church, came back and poured back into the church and community that served them.
The church not only made the necessary progress to avoid the action of the city, they successfully completed two of the three areas of concern, which were dismissed in the September 15 and 16 city council meetings. The third area of concern, the steeple and spire, Fairley said has been secured and sealed to prevent any further damage. Wiley Quinn with the city’s Urban Development Department told the council that the department needed additional time before taking any action, as they were in the process of receiving documentation of the repairs from the church and had not yet had the opportunity to inspect the repairs themselves.
As for Mt. Carmel, Fairley says they are keeping this momentum going toward the completion their own comprehensive plan, Operation Restoration. The plan includes goals for the church itself, the buildings attached to it, and even building affordable housing options on the property owned by the church.
“We are going to keep doing what we’re doing,” said Fairley. “We’re going to keep feeding the hungry, providing programs for young people in the community and investing in making this community better.”
