Gospel Light Baptist Church is still worshiping, back in its building for its first Sunday church service in Mineral Wells since tornadoes ripped through the town. Its building was damaged, as were countless others. But even in the darkness, there’s light. Often times found through the gosp el, for those who attend the church each Sunday. “We’ve had a long, tiring, vigorous week, but God is still on the throne and he’s still giving us strength,” Senior Pastor of Gospel Light Baptist Church, Caleb Shipman said. On Sunday, faith and its inner workings were within the walls of Gospel Light Baptist Church despite it being partially ripped through by a tornado last week. “Strangely enough, last Sunday I preached on loss,” Shipman said. “It was more of a text that came from Abraham losing his wife, but loss of any kind can bring devastation, and what we need to do in the midst of loss…not knowing that Tuesday, many people would lose homes and lose belongings and have their life turned upside down. So today is, this week is different.” Throughout the town, the cleanup is only in its early stages. “I think some people are still in a state of shock,” Shipman said. “The people who’ve lost everything are still trying to figure out what their next steps are.” Shipman said that volunteers helping their church made it possible to hold their first Sunday service after the storm. “I put out a text Tuesday night, and by Wednesday, we had 20 or 25 people here helping with cleanup around here,” Shipman said. “Then we cleaned up across the street a little bit, and we just started trying to make our way up into the neighborhood, trying to help people there.” Shipman said their church held a food distribution event on Saturday, with other neighbors helping one another. Now, throughout the process of figuring out what’s next, there are messages of hope. Shipman is encouraging his community to keep finding the light in the darkness. As he lives in gratitude, he calls it a miracle that no one in their town lost their life in the tornado. “We will rebuild, and the Mineral Wells community will be stronger after it,” Shipman said. The City of Mineral Wells also had a community prayer service downtown on Sunday night. It is also collecting monetary donations and is asking for help from volunteers. Mineral Wells tornado Palo Pinto County May 1 Mineral Wells tornado damages military landmarks, including Vietnam War museum Tornadoes Apr 30 Mineral Wells gives update about storm damage; praises employers Tornadoes Apr 29 5 tornadoes confirmed in Tuesday's outbreak, including an EF-3 near Mineral Wells ...read more read less