On April 10, 2024 eight separate EF-2 tornadoes ripped through the city of Slidell, Louisiana. New Horizon Church and Lakeside Christian Academy were in the direct path and received serious damage.
We are so thankful for God's protection as no one was injured on our campus during the Tornadoes. However, our church and school building were severely affected. Our building is home to New Horizon Church, Lakeside Christian Academy, The Bridge Radio 88.7 FM and Iglesia De Dios Evangelio Completo (The Church of God for the Completion of Evangelism)
Much of our roof was torn off and thrown across the parking lot. Our building sign withstood hurricane Katrina winds, but the steel beams were no match for this tornado. After many days of clean up, we are only left with about half of our roof. The roof damage allowed torrential rain to pour inside our building for an entire day, ruining ceiling tiles and insulation and flooding our flooring almost entirely. All of our school and nursery classrooms, as well as our cafeteria, have been cleared of all flooded carpets and flooring, and are in need of sheetrock repair, new ceiling grid, tiles and insulation, as well as new flooring.
Our school students are finishing the year in a temporary facility, but we have to be back in our building in August for the start of the new school year and there is much work to be done!
We have met with amazing, kingdom-minded roofers, builders and contractors that want to help us recover as quickly as possible. We have a fundraising goal of $350,000 which will repair our existing roof, fix any ceiling grid and tile, add insulation, install sheetrock in flooded areas, and lay new carpet and flooring in the classrooms and common areas.
Since the damage was localized to a smaller area of the parish, the governor has decided not to declare a state of emergency, so there will be no relief funds or FEMA resources available to us.
Because of the incredibly high insurance rates in the state of Louisiana, most insurance companies in our state were not writing wind damage policies and affordable coverage wasn't available for us. This has left us without insurance for our primary cause of damage.
We are counting on God's faithfulness and your support to get our church and school back into a safe building.
How you can help:
1. Pray
2. Give toward our goal
We are so thankful for the volunteers, supporters, ministries, staff and families who have given so much of their time, efforts and resources to get us through the immediate aftermath.
We have a long road ahead of us and we are asking for support as we try to get back in our building and continue to provide ministry and education for the families in our community. Please keep us in thought and prayer as we navigate what is next following the impact of these tornadoes.
"Sorrow may last through the night; but joy comes in the morning!" Psalm 30:5
View more photos and videos of our damage and our recovery efforts below.
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