Weekend flooding leaves Poth church without a place to worship

Flooding causes thousands of dollars in damage

POTH, Texas – Pastor Vicente Perez Jr. and Emmanuel Assembly of God church members are left with thousands of dollars in damage.

The carpet of the church is being ripped out and the paneling on the walls is destroyed.

"Basically the whole facility itself was flooding, and now we have to regroup and rebuild," Perez said.

A part of the Poth community for the past 90 years, the church was planning to giving out back-to-school donations on Sunday. Those donations were also lost due to the water that flowed inside.

The creek behind the church has been a problem for many years. Cement was added to the back of the church to keep water out in the past, but the eight to 10 inches of rain over the weekend was the most they've ever had to deal with.

"This is one of the worst situations, as far as flooding, that we've had," Pastor Perez said.

Church members now have to find a new place to worship until repairs are made. A place was found for this Sunday's services, but after that they don't know where to go.

Despite the loss of their building, the church will continue to worship and serve the community.

"We are here to serve, regardless of what status we find ourselves in today," Perez said.

The church is accepting donations. An account has been set up at the Wells Fargo in Poth. The account name is Emmanuel Assembly of God Flood 2016. You can also call 830-484-2004 to make a donation.

 


About the Author:

Erica Hernandez is an Emmy award-winning journalist with 15 years of experience in the broadcast news business. Erica has covered a wide array of stories all over Central and South Texas. She's currently the court reporter and cohost of the podcast Texas Crime Stories.