Here's how a Clarksville church became an epicenter of disaster relief after Dec. 9 tornado

Aron Maberry, Next-Gen Pastor at Mosaic Church, and a team of church-goers were thrust into a new role on Dec. 9, as coordinators of a massive disaster response involving thousands of volunteers.

Around 2 p.m. on Dec. 9, the lives of Montgomery County residents were changed forever as an EF-3 tornado with winds of 150 miles per hour made its path through three counties in Tennessee and Kentucky, killing seven in Middle Tennessee. Four of those deaths occurred in Clarksville, including a 10-year old boy.

North Clarksville was hit the hardest by the storm, directly across from Mosaic Church.

According to the Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency, 2,212 residential sites were impacted by the tornado and 268 homes were destroyed.

Within hours, the church transformed into a "command center" leading, organizing, collecting and distributing tornado supplies, goods and support.

“If you look at the tornado path, it hit from the west side to the east side, but literally hit first, directly across the street from our church,” Maberry said. “This became a natural spot for first responders to react. Our sheriff's office, Clarksville Police Department, Fire and EMS, all of them set up their emergency stations here, immediately after the tornado hit. Even Erinne Hester and her property assessment team worked out of this location.”

The church members evolved their organizational plans hour-by-hour and day-by-day throughout the week.

Tornado recovery: 'We're just grateful to be alive': Clarksville families rebound after devastating tornado

Tornado survival: 'Angels on top of us': Family of five survive tornado, bathroom stall only thing left standing

Not long after the storm, Maberry and his church team got word from Convoy of Hope, which brought a tractor-trailer full of supplies from Missouri.

“I guess they left out of Springfield, Missouri at 4 p.m., right after the tornado hit, and arrived here at 1 a.m. Sunday morning,” Maberry said. “Now we have a trailer full of supplies, and our local first responders operating from our facility. This became a natural place from which to deploy resources.”

From there, Mosaic Church became the epicenter of volunteers, donations and the tornado relief and clean-up efforts.

Between the supplies from Missouri and donations from the community, rooms at Mosaic Church were filled with a mountain of supplies.

Tables of baby food, clothes, socks, blankets, hygiene products, toys and coloring books piled high as volunteers packed totes for those affected with much-needed necessities lost in the tornado.

"We have everything from baby food to dog food," Mosaic Church Pastor Anthony Daley said a couple of days after the storm.

As volunteers moved in a systematic, organized pattern, kind of "like ants in a colony" one volunteer casually observed, any outside spectator might assume the week of Dec. 9 was not first time the church had to jump into disaster-relief action. But according to Maberry, the recent tornado recovery is the first time the church has responded to such widespread disaster.

Greeters stood at the door of the church's main hall, pointing volunteers and those in need in the right direction.

Calls of “How can I help you?” and “Have you signed in yet?” greeted people walking into the auditorium as those preparing to go out signed up before going to sit and listen for instructions.

Investigative reporting: How safe is your home? Recent tornadoes, shoddy construction expose dangers in Tennessee

On the stage, one volunteer stood front and center holding a microphone telling volunteers the stops the buses were making and how often they were running.

A "coffee ministry" sat across from the auditorium equipped with greeters as volunteers prepared a quick hot chocolate or coffee before boarding a Clarksville-Montgomery County school bus shuttled to the clean-up sites in north Clarksville.

Leaders and organizers held walkie-talkies close to help locate whoever and whatever was needed.

On the other side of the room, Mercy Chefs, an organization that prepares food for volunteers and the displaced during natural disasters, was already making and distributing hot food, a small comfort that sustained many.

“Our hearts are with all those who have been affected by these tragic storms,” said Gary LeBlanc, founder of Mercy Chefs said in a press release. “We feel fortunate to have been serving the Nashville community on an ongoing basis for several years as this helped us to quickly respond to an incredible need in Clarksville. We hope our hot, chef-prepared meals bring comfort and hope to those whose lives have been upended.”

Outside sat pallets filled with cases of water, totes, rakes and cleaning supplies with a drive-thru for volunteers to fill the cars of people stopping by.

Included in the long list of volunteers was Mosaic Church member Jeremy Lannom, who went wherever the church needed him.

“It’s been overwhelming seeing everyone ready to help,” Lannom said as he prepared to unload a pallet of water bottles the day after the tornado.

Lannom spent the days following the tornado stepping into many different roles, including packing cars with supplies, moving supplies indoors and outdoors and making sure everyone had what they needed.

“I’m proud of the church body and in this community,” Lannom said. ”Very, very proud. The outpouring of anybody and everybody coming to help which has just been mind boggling.”

School damaged: West Creek Elementary School staff welcomes students back after tornado damage

Mosaic's leaders quickly decided to cancel all three church services on Sunday morning after the tornado in lieu of helping to coordinate recovery assistance.

“That's a big deal,” Maberry said. “We canceled all three services. We had so many church members saying, 'we want to help out, we want to volunteer'. Mosaic Church has about 4,000 members in total, and about 2,500 who attend each week. So, Sunday morning we put out the call for volunteers.”

The area was initially locked down as a safety protocol by officials, but as soon as they began getting clearance, volunteers went to work.

“We sent in an initial wave of about 300 volunteers,” Maberry said while onsite days after the tornado. “First thing was cleaning up the debris, and trying to get into homes to make sure people were okay. We checked on our church members that live in the area, and their neighbors.

“Monday, the city, county, MCSO and CPD started asking if they could send their volunteers to us. We had well over 1,000 volunteers on site. At this point, we've had about 3,500 volunteers come through since Sunday. Over 1,000 on that first day, and it's just insane how it all came together, so organically.”

Two weeks worth of work in one day

The Mosaic team worked with the City of Clarksville and Montgomery County to come up with a plan, a way to find out the areas that needed help, and where the volunteers would be allowed to go. Some areas were just becoming accessible on Friday after the tornado.

"Mosaic Church was critical to our early response to the tornado," said Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts. "They not only provided space for the county's emergency operations mobile unit and critical supplies to those in the area, but they coordinated the volunteer efforts that resulted in hundreds of volunteers each day being deployed safely and efficiently to the hardest-hit neighborhoods.

"I've said it before and it bears repeating, if there is something good going on in our city, the good folks at Mosaic Church will be in the middle of it. I am eternally grateful for their help."

According to the Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency, 2,212 residential structures were affected by the tornado, with 286 of them completely destroyed.

According to the county, 80 commercial properties sustained damage. The Fort Campbell Boulevard strip center was leveled, including Redwood Chinese Restaurant, Luigi's Pizza, Battleground Fitness and Sun Tan City.

“After that first day, we heard from a county official who said they believed we did about two weeks worth of work that first day,” Maberry said. “They asked for a two-day pause by us, so they could bring in heavy equipment and catch up. We resumed on Thursday, with more than 900 volunteers. The support has just been incredible.”

Some volunteers included Fort Campbell soldiers who received an announcement of the volunteer opportunity and jumped at the chance to help.

“The storm changed people’s lives forever, and I wanted to do what I could," said Fort Campbell soldier James Scott.

Mosaic also found themselves housing volunteers.

“We've housed a bunch of volunteers who joined us from out of town, probably about 50 people,” Maberry said. “We've had folks from Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Florida, and so many other states come just to help out. But, the vast majority of volunteers have been from Montgomery County and Fort Campbell.”

Over the past few weeks, donations have been moved to YaiPak nonprofit, and Maberry is encouraging everyone to take their items to that location.

Maberry says it is extremely humbling to know that they were perfectly positioned to help.

“Our pastor said that he believes that this week we've preached the best message we've ever preached to our community,” Maberry said. “It has been incredible. He said if you had told him on Saturday that the next day you're going to have half-a-million dollars in resources, and more than 1,000 volunteers to help out in your community, he would have told you you're crazy. But, it all just came together.

“God moves in mysterious ways. He provides."

Structures affected by Clarksville tornado:

• 2,212 residential sites

• 80 commercial sites

• 3 public facilities

  • Status of structures

• 268 residential sites destroyed

• 517 have sustained major damage

• 1,001 have sustained minor damage

• 426 have been affected

This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: How Mosaic Church led disaster relief after Dec. Clarksville tornado