Centennial Christian Church has received more than $3 million in federal funding to help rebuild its tornado-destroyed North St. Louis worship center.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency approved more than $77 million in post-disaster funding through its Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which helps repair, rebuild and stabilize communities affected by recent disasters. The Fountain Park neighborhood church is the only nonprofit in the St. Louis area that received FEMA’s most recent disaster-related funding grant.
It has been a painful year for the church family, but FEMA’s recent funding investment is a step in the right direction, said Dietra Wise Baker, Centennial Christian Church’s transition pastor.
“We have found this [FEMA] staff to be dedicated and helpful in our journey, but this is a story that’s really about the resilience of a congregation in the community that will not give up on the dignity, the historic value of our community, and won’t give up on our people,” Wise Baker said.
FEMA awarded a supplemental grant of more than $2 million to help Centennial with rebuilding the historic structure and more than $1 million to assist with replacing contents inside the building and restoring the church’s operations and community services. These funds are reimbursed to the church in part as the grant-funded project moves toward completion.
Before the church can start rebuilding, Wise Baker said leaders are required to go through the New Beginnings process with the Christian Church Disciples of Christ. It includes helping Centennial redefine its mission and performing needs assessments and demographic data collection to help the church gain a clear idea of its future.
“The church’s intention is to be a historic church again in Fountain Park,” she said. “It now has to go through a deeper planning process to make that vision a reality, that’s not a 1-2-3 process, that’s going to take some time.”
On May 16, 2025, Centennial’s roof and steeple caved in as an EF3 tornado ripped through parts of St. Louis. Three people were trapped inside, along with longtime church member Patricia Penelton, who was killed. Penelton’s husband filed a lawsuit against the City of St. Louis and the church in April.
The tornado-destroyed church was demolished in April. After the storm, the congregation began holding worship services at Florissant Valley Christian Church in Florissant.
As the church moves through the rebuilding process, Wise Baker said it will need continuous financial help from the community. It is accepting donations to support recovery and rebuilding, and to support the Fountain Park community and surrounding areas with social services.
“We have a family that’s grieving still that we care for and that we are in relationship with, alongside of a city that is still struggling deeply to recover and is not getting fully all the support that it needs to do that,” Wise Baker said. “It’s not just about Centennial, we care deeply about what’s happening in Fountain Park and in North St. Louis.”