“The question is, ‘When you’re finished, will there be any money left or will you be out of money?’ It comes down to which gets finished first — the money or the building,” Ramp said. “We have $2.4 million in insurance and I believe it’s going to take every bit of that and probably even more.”

Sitting at 115 N. 25th Ave. for more than 60 years, Westminster Presbyterian Church [PCUSA] has been full of laughter, singing, praising and rejoicing.

But four months after an EF4 tornado tore through Hattiesburg, leaving the church battered and torn, it now is filled with the sounds of hammers, saws, cranes and construction workers.

The Rev. Steve Ramp said while he watches his church begin its reconstructive journey, he can still remember the destruction the Feb. 10 tornado left behind.

“It was so devastating at first to see the roof blown off and the bricks in the street,” Ramp said. “It was overwhelming, really.”

With Larry Albert acting as the project’s architect and Butch Nobles as the general contractor, Ramp said he and his congregation are excited to see the church restored to its former glory.

“It’s beginning to look like it’s feasible, and like it’s coming together,” Ramp said. “It’s neat to see (construction crews) preserving and enhancing what is here.”

Nobles said the destruction done to Westminster Presbyterian affected him on a personal level.

“I was emotionally in shock. We are also members of Westminster. (My wife) Cindy and I were married by the former pastor and our two daughters were baptized in the sanctuary. That was also why it was a difficult decision to take on this project, it is our close family,” he said. “Nobles Contracting was also the general contractor on the USM fence and landscape project, so we had tornado encounters twice.”

Thinking back on the devastation left in the tornado’s wake, Nobles said it was easy to determine what areas of the church would require the most work.

“Parts of the building were gone,” he said.

With pieces of their church scattered on the ground around them, Nobles said church and community members were quick to jump into action.

“Westminster members were there early the next day, and they literally saved the Kilgen-Reuter pipe organ,” he said. “And the insurance company had their consultant on site within 48 hours.”

Ramp said the church’s insurance policy is a replacement value policy.

“The question is, ‘When you’re finished, will there be any money left or will you be out of money?’ It comes down to which gets finished first — the money or the building,” Ramp said. “We have $2.4 million in insurance and I believe it’s going to take every bit of that and probably even more.”

For the past four months, members of Westminster’s congregation have received support and donations from people and churches around the country.

“People in this community have rallied together with prayers, concern and financial support to help us rebuild and recover. In the past, we’ve been pretty good about assisting others. Now we’re learning that it is also blessed to receive,” Ramp said. “We have received over $150,000 of gifts where people have given.”