FRANKFORT, KY – A Baptist church is receiving an outpouring of love and support from its community after refusing a FEMA grant that came with stipulations about immigration and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
First Baptist Church on St. Clair in Frankfurt was damaged after a major flood came to the area on April 7, 2025. The edifice is no stranger to inclement weather, which is why leaders of the congregation knew to place metal chairs underneath the ends of every pew.
“We moved our pews, unscrewed them from the floor, and put them up on metal folding chairs in the sanctuary,” Rev. Amanda Smith, co-pastor of First Baptist Church on St. Clair in Frankfurt, told the press. “That is what they did in 1978 [when it flooded] and it worked. We did it again and it worked again.”
Still, even with these precautionary measures in place, the building suffered damage to the tune of $1.2 million. The leaders of First Baptist navigated by finding a temporary location in Bridgeport and pausing all community outreach programs that would have normally operated from the Frankfurt location until the summer of 2025.
The church also applied for aid from FEMA and received a $200,000 grant. That is when things took an unexpected turn.
Accepting funding from FEMA would have required First Baptist on St. Clair in Frankfurt to provide the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with documentation and to also reconsider its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
“You had to cooperate with DHS and Homeland Security, providing paperwork,” Rev. Smith said. “It also had language around DEI.”
The stipulations did not sit well with many in leadership at the church, including co-pastor Rev. Justin Sizemore. “We are a church welcome to all people,” the reverend told the media.
“We’re not asking for your credentials before you come in the door. We’re not asking you to check a part of yourself before you come and worship with us. You can come exactly as you are and who God created you to be.”
Out of these convictions, First Baptist Church on St. Clair in Frankfurt voted to refuse the grant from FEMA. The church’s story was published in Baptist News Global, which garnered significant response from the community.
“Several people walked up [during our community-wide service honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.] and said, ‘We’re so proud of you all at First Baptist,”‘ Sizemore revealed.
[They said], “‘We saw the article. We’re so thankful that you all didn’t take the money. And let us know how we can make a gift to go towards your flood repairs. Let us know if you have another work day so we can come down and help.’”
The experience has been eye-opening for the community and a reminder about the power of unity.
“What I hope we would learn is that there are faithful ways to move forward, even when it’s challenging to figure out what are,” Rev. Elizabeth King of First Christian Church told the press.
“While there is risk involved, there are paths that allow us to be faithful and to keep claiming who we are; to keep claiming the people we love and keep seeking to live justly.”