Clarke County Church Moving Forward after Being Vandalized

Clarke County, Miss. It's been nearly two weeks since members of Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Clarke County, found vandals and thieves struck their construction site. Pastor Jimmie Bunch of Mt. Zion, says the concrete slab was ready to pour but when he arrived at the new building site he noticed the vandalism.

"Some people came in and stole all of the copper tubing, busted up part of the foundation, stole all of the concrete wire, and stole 40 something pieces of 16 foot lumber," said Bunch. "It set us back a couple of days, but we looked at it as though it's a stumbling block. We are going to step on it by the grace of God and move forward."

In wake of the vandalism Mt. Zion has experienced, many have come forward to help the church get back on their feet and overcome that stumbling block. The group known as Indian Grave Baptist Church Construction Mission Team has volunteers from 5 different states helping Mt. Zion.

"We want to bring glory to God and to enable the church here to continue to minister," said mission team volunteer Carol Carter. "Our ministry ends in a week. There ministry began over a hundred years ago and hopefully in another hundred years if God doesn't decide to send Jesus after the church, they'll still be here."

The church built in the late 1800s has long been a staple in the community and despite the vandalism it recently experienced, the church continues to make strides in the community.

"I think it's wonderful," said Pastor Matt Martin of County Line Baptist Church. "The gospel breaks down barriers and I can see Pastor Bunch here doing a great job in this community. Just a wonderful privilege and opportunity to come and to preach and fellowship with other believers. I know they're going to be a huge blessing in this community to Christ."

The Clarke County Sheriff's Department continues to investigate this case, if you have any information that can help investigators, call The East Mississippi Crimestoppers Line at 855-485-8477.

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Clarke County Church Moving Forward after Being Vandalized