ST. LOUIS – On Sunday, a north St. Louis church was badly damaged by powerful storms that ripped an exterior wall off the house of worship.

Community members are cleaning up debris from storm damage to the Williams Temple Church of God, near MLK and Union.

“Even the people that was just riding by with concerns, we thank God for that. Most of all, we thank God that it wasn’t a tragedy, because everything can be put back together what we see,” said First Assistant Pastor Larry Perkins.

Church leaders said the storm struck just hours after Sunday’s service, shattering windows, tearing off pieces of roofing, and peeling sections of an exterior wall off the building. Debris and pieces of the church were strewn across the intersection.

Bishop Lawrence Wooten, the pastor at Williams Temple Church, said, thankfully, no one was injured.

“Some of the air conditioning (units) are sparking and things of that sort. So, they’re cutting off power on the inside,” he said. “It hit, and we had no warning or tornado warning and things like that. It hit, but we’re survivors, thank God.”

Wooten said there is more damage to the roof and siding on the rear side of the building, located in the Kingsway West neighborhood.

“One of my members drove by and said the church has been hit and sent us a picture,” Bishop Lawrence Wooten said.

Wooten said it’s too early to know how much the damage will cost or how long the repairs will take, but said most of the damage is to the educational building. 

“We’re the church that helps people. This is the miracle corner, and it’s a miracle that no one was hurt or injured,” he said.