PARRAMORE, Fla. – Construction is underway at Black Bottom House of Prayer after it suffered damage in 2019 and now more recently in Hurricane Ian.
“We are in a praise status, we are praising the Lord for he has answered many of our prayers,” said Pastor Dana Jackson, who leads the Parramore-based church.
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Pastor Jackson said the restoration efforts come after the church received a mixture of money from grants, loans and private donors.
You may remember how back in 2019, the church was set to be demolished after its roof collapsed.
Jackson said faith helped save her church.
“We’ve been hit by the hurricane, we had COVID, the pandemic, from one storm after the other.... we’ve completely defied all odds,” Jackson said.
Jackson said that during Hurricane Ian, the historic church’s bell tower was damaged to the point it had to be removed this past Friday, but despite setbacks, Jackson said the church’s restoration is still on time
“They’re stabilizing the wall because they are getting ready to set up the truss,” Jackson said. “They want to make sure the walls were strong enough to hold the truss, so this is kind of extra security and in following through with the city requirements.”
Guiding News 6 through the construction, Jackson said it will no longer be built in phases as previously reported. Jackson instead predicted construction would be done in two years, but added there have been challenges.
“We’ve received complaints of the children having to cross over to avoid this area, we don’t want to do that, we want to be a blessing,” Jackson said.
Jackson said that the church is still in need of more funding going forward.
She explained the current funds will go toward the exterior, leading to an application filed for an economic development loan on behalf of the church.
In the meantime, Jackson said she needs her community to continue to help.
“I’m even calling for Tyler Perry, Oprah Winfrey... We not going anywhere, and God is going to work a miracle here and you’re going to see some great things happening,” Jackson said.
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