East Tennessee church to be demolished, generations say goodbye

CAMPBELL COUNTY, Tenn. (WVLT) - It was a sad day Monday at the Faith Way Assembly Of God in LaFollette. The church is expected to be demolished Tuesday after flood waters covered parts of Campbell County just over a week ago.

Eight feet of water filled the church as heavy rains hit Campbell County last Friday.

Assessors said the property isn't stable or safe. Pastor Steve Bruce said the building will be gone, but the congregation is holding on to something irreplaceable.

"The building may be gone, but it may never be forgotten from my heart. And, the people who have been blessed and touched, they will never forget it either,"

Bruce said.

It's still too early to know what's next for the building, but the congregation is still meeting at other locations. One thing that's keeping them together, he said, are the memories.

"I had a call yesterday from Kentucky. A man left a message with me that he had brought his son, when he was just a baby. He couldn't digest his food and they brought him in for prayer that night. I never seen him again, "

Bruce said.

"He called me yesterday, and that was 10 years ago, and he said his son had been completely healed of that problem. He said, 'I just wanted you to know that your church made a difference in our life'. That's what we hold on to; those memories are what we have."

Bruce said starting over is especially hard, because the church didn't have flood insurance.

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Or, you can sent by mail at:

Faith Way Assembly of God

PO Box 1602

LaFollette, TN 37766