It started as an experiment, says Gordon Friday, pastor of the Timberline Fellowship, of his church’s latest ministry.

In the immediate aftermath of the Bastrop County Complex Fire, the church provided meals, showers and laundry service with the help of the Texas Baptist Men at their building off Texas 21 E, which is located in the fire zone but survived the blaze. Having done their part in the recovery, they soon shifted their focus to rebuilding. Which is where the sawmill comes in.

The idea had come from a TBM member who had come to Bastrop to help with the recovery efforts. He had seen the large number of trees knocked down by Hurricane Ike at that disaster scene, and thought that something should be done with them to help the people in that area.

“He thought there ought to be some way to use them,” Friday said. The Baptist Men had a similar sentiment in Bastrop.

They soon had their chance. TBM members located an unused sawmill at one of their retreat encampments and arranged for it to be refurbished and assembled in Bastrop. The mill arrived at Timberline Fellowship in December.

“We had originally wanted to cut the lumber, dry it and use it for the next disaster,” Friday said. It soon became apparent that high demand and a lack of storage space would make that plan difficult.

Instead, they started using it to produce “green lumber,” suitable for building storage sheds, carports and outbuildings but not for constructing a house with, to give away to people affected.

Word spread quickly.

One week in January, they had a TV news crew come out and do a report on Tuesday. The next day another came and did another report. On Thursday, someone with the county sent out an email blast describing what they were doing and how they were trying to help people who had been burned out.

That same day, Friday said, the mill’s owner called and asked for it back.

That left the Timberline Fellowship in something of a bind.  They had already given away nearly $6,000 worth of lumber and had another 35-40 people on their waiting list.

So Friday and the church set about figuring out how to get one of their own. The mill they settled on cost roughly $20,000, and in a bit of poetic justice, the church had just received a check for a little more than that from their insurance company, representing the value of the trees the property had lost in the fire.

“We’re using that to buy the sawmill,” Friday said. “They died for a good cause.”

The mill arrived Tuesday, and churchgoers and TBM members gathered to learn how to use it.

Friday says Timberline Fellowship, with the help of TBM volunteers, will provide lumber until the demand isn’t there anymore. Once that happens, the sawmill will become a part of the Texas Baptist Men ministry, another unit that they can bring with them to disaster sites around the country, with its permanent home at Timberline.

In the meantime, Friday and Timberline are looking for volunteers to help haul and stack the lumber on days when they’re cutting. Anyone interested can stop by the church at 1199 Texas 21 E in Bastrop, or email tflum
ber@gmail.com.

Timberline will provide lumber to those affected by the fires on a first-come, first-served basis. They’ll also consider hardship cases, but those will be provided for after they make their way through the fire victims. To request lumber, send an email to the tflumber address, and include how much and what sizes you think you’ll need.