MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A severe thunderstorm made its way across the Mid-South on Wednesday morning, leaving a trail of damage from gusting winds.

Pastor James Williams was filled with a spirit of thankfulness and relief after seeing his church, Hope Fellowship Baptist, was not seriously damaged Wednesday morning when a storm swept through the Creekside Meadows Apartments, where the church is located.

“God gonna take care of everything my brother. Wherever we are God gonna take care of it,” he said. “We been here for 27 years. We started in 1999 and God has blessed us.”

All around the church, however, are scraps of wood and metal roofing ripped from the top of an apartment building and thrown about during a very violent storm.

“See how the rooftops done came off and there’s stuff like, everywhere. It’s a whole disaster,” said Markel Houston who lives at Creekside Meadows.

Another resident who doesn’t want to be identified said it was a frightening few minutes.

“I was ironing and I just heard a lot of hail hitting the window pane and my air condition unit, and that when I knowed it was real bad,”

Pastor Williams is happy his church sanctuary was untouched by the storm but did find a shattered window in the church’s family center. Church member George Hardin found sharp pieces of wood had punctured the roof.

But the pastor said his first concern is for the safety of residents at Creekside Meadows where his church ministers in a mighty way.

“We have church on Sunday morning, bible study on Sunday morning. We also have three apartments where we tutor kids from three to six every day,” Williams said.

The storm left behind damage in other parts of the Mid-South as well. A large tree fell across Zach Curlin Street at the University of Memphis, damaging a vehicle.

On top of the damage, thousands of Memphis, Light, Gas, and Water customers are experiencing power outages within the Memphis area.

In Alcorn County, Mississippi, roads were blocked by trees and limbs. Alcorn Central Schools held students late until they could clear the roads. The Corinth Police Department reported that a funnel cloud had been spotted near downtown.

Residents at an apartment complex in Bartlett had to deal with some flooding Wednesday afternoon. A Flood Advisory was issued until 3:15 p.m. for Shelby County for excessive flooding with the threat of more rain to come.

We reached out to Creekside Meadows for an update on damage and to find out how many residents may have been impacted by Wednesday morning’s storm. We left a message and will let you know when we hear back.