knows a thing or two about going through the storm. >> how many came in expecting something great to happen today? >> reporter: a freak tornado devastated the atlanta church in 2008. >> when the storm came, it toppled that steeple over. >> reporter: after moving around for 18 months, the church finally reopened as the higher ground empowerment center. >> it was just horrible. boy, thank god we done came through that. >> i knew once we got back in the sanctuary people would come. >> reporter: but the church did lose members. burdened with more debt, it faced another upheaval, possible foreclosure. have you heard of a church heading into foreclosure before? >> no. this year has been very shocking to me. i believe that the banks are in business to make money. and understandable so. but when it comes down to a church they need to look at it and work with them to ensure that that church stays in that