New Life at Calvary Church in Cleveland is back open after an EF-1 tornado hit the historic building 18 months ago.
News 5 was the first to report on the damage at the church and has tracked its recovery process ever since.
RELATED: Tornado blows off roof at New Life at Calvary Church in Cleveland
Pastor Kellie Sullivan led the first service back since the tornado.
"It's good to be back home," Kellie said.
Kellie talked about the months of discouragement and struggle faced throughout the journey.
"It's a victory," said Sullivan. "That tornado could've wiped out every window, could've knocked down every stone— but it did not."
Gregory Cosper, a worship team member, said many places don't come back after damages like the one the historic building had.
"Before this roof got on, I mean it was a hole. And to see that and to know that... this is it. It's replaced, and that's a blessing. That's truly a blessing." Cosper said.
Terrence Sullivan, a congregation member, described how it felt to be out of the building for so long.
"When we first moved out of here it definitely felt really weird," Terrence said.
"It definitely took some getting used to. People had to switch to doing online services instead," said church member Jayden Hendrix, "People weren't really able to come in here and really enjoy coming to church."
Sullivan said the road to recovery has been challenging but good.
"We've had our food pantry every month, we've had our hot meals, we've had our youth events," said Sullivan, "But we have not stopped. That's a testament to God, that he allowed us to keep going to stay motivated to keep serving our community."
The youth department was also affected in the storm, and is a place Kellie hopes sees full recovery next.
"We're hopeful to get upstairs. Our youth department, we cannot wait to have our young people be back in their space," she said.
"We are a work in progress; we are never quite finished," said Kellie. "This is a place where you can come whatever stage of life you are... wherever you are, we want to be a part of that journey."
In February 2024, we detailed the church's progress and efforts to get listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The church is still awaiting whether they'll become listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Kellie said a decision is expected soon.
