SAN ANTONIO — Repeated acts of vandalism have plagued an east side Baptist church in recent months, prompting the congregation’s pastor to pray for peace and ask the community for help in funding enhanced security measures.
“With the help of God, the church will stand,” said Pastor Anthony Dixon of Mt. Gilead Baptist Church.
The church, located just east of downtown, has been the site of ongoing vandalism since February.
Dixon accuses homeless people of breaking windows and rummaging through the church’s shed several times, leading to more than $10,000 in repair costs.
“They’re making themselves at home,” Dixon said. “These walls here, the windows have been destroyed on several occasions. You can see that they’re boarded out. And all the way down to our kitchen area, you see where the burglar bars were pulled out.”
Police have not arrested anyone in connection with the vandalism, according to Dixon, who admits it feels like he’s almost out of options on what to do if the vandalism keeps on happening.
He noted it’s not effective to immediately replace the window because the vandals just return and break them again.
Dixon said it’s grown to the point where the small church has prioritized investing in flood lights and cameras. He says he is fed up but keeping faithful.
“That’s why we have installed cameras. We put in the expense for that and then we have brothers who are here and we have extra security with the City of San Antonio,” Dixon said.
Dixon is confident investing in a fence or gate is the next best step toward potentially keeping out the vandals and ensuring the church community’s safety.
“We want to try to keep everything looking as natural as I can without it looking like a prison. We feel like if we can get our fencing taken care of here, it can cut down on a lot of the damages," he said.
There’s no set timeline for when a gate or fence will be installed. Dixon knows funding such a project will be quite the challenge.
“This is a cry for help. We’re not giving up what we’re doing here. We’re going to continue serving here on the east side,” Dixon said.