TENNILLE, Ga. — Tennille Baptist Church gathered for Easter worship Sunday (April 5) despite damage to the building caused the night before when a high-speed police pursuit ended with a vehicle crashing into the front of the church.
Washington County Sheriff Joel Cochran said the incident began when a deputy attempted a traffic stop at the intersection of Highway 68 and Highway 15 in Tennille. Cochran said the driver initially pulled into the Dollar General parking lot, then quickly re-entered Highway 15 and headed north.
As the pursuit continued, Cochran said, the driver lost control after going airborne over the railroad tracks on Highway 15.
“The vehicle then traveled across the front lawn of Tennille Baptist Church before crashing into the building, causing significant damage,” Cochran said.
Cochran identified the driver as Kentavian Washington, 32, of Tennille. He said Washington was taken into custody at the scene and is facing charges including DUI, driving on a suspended license, and felony fleeing and attempting to elude, along with additional charges. Cochran added that the Georgia State Patrol has been requested to handle the crash investigation.
Despite the damage, the church carried on with its Easter plans after members gathered Saturday night to prepare the property for worship.
“On Saturday night, right after everything happened, we had around a dozen people come up to the church to clean up the immediate damage and make sure that we could have church on Easter Sunday,” pastor Matthew Jones said Monday.
Jones said the cleanup included work outside on the front lawn and inside the building, where the crash damaged one of the church’s stained-glass windows. “Glass and car parts were thrown into the sanctuary from the side entrance nearly to the front of the sanctuary itself,” he said.
Even in the immediate aftermath, Jones said the church made a conscious decision to respond with forgiveness.
That spirit carried into Easter Sunday. Jones said the congregation was able to hold everything it had planned, including Easter breakfast and an egg hunt after the service. In fact, he said, “We had one of our largest attendance Sundays since I took the pastorate.”
Jones acknowledged that the congregation felt real sorrow over the damage to the church building.
“Needless to say, there were some tears for the damage to the building. There was some grieving,” he said.
But he said what stood out most was not anger, but mercy.
“What was amazing is that there is such a sense of forgiveness for that young man who ran from the police and made such a mess for the church,” Jones said.
In a Facebook post Saturday night, Jones had already urged church members to pray for Washington.
“Pray for the young man who was fleeing the police,” he wrote. “God knows his needs, and we know that we are commanded by our Savior to pray for those who harm us. And praise the Lord that no one was seriously injured!”
Jones said Sunday’s worship became a powerful reminder of the Gospel the church had gathered to celebrate.
“We celebrated our Risen Savior and were reminded that through our own sinful nature, we are no better than anyone else,” he said.
Jones said the weekend became a testimony to the church’s unity and faith.
“It was truly a sweet time where we are seeing our church come together and continue the story of what God is doing here at Tennille Baptist Church,” Jones said.
This article originally appeared in The Christian Index.
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