As temperatures continue to plummet, one local church is determined that no one be left out in the cold. Salem Springs Baptist Church opened its warming station to community members Sunday and intends to keep their doors open as long as people need shelter from the elements.

So far, the rural church has helped a family of six. The heater in their house wasn’t working properly, so they needed some place to stay for the night. McKee met them at the church, where the family of four adults and two children used the life center’s padded pews as beds for the night.

The facility also has showers and a kitchen, features that came in handy when the church opened their building to victims of the 2014 Clements tornado outbreak. Salem Baptist sheltered several families whose homes had been damaged or destroyed.

“We basically open up our church whenever circumstances merit it, like now when it is so cold,” McKee said. “We have been blessed with this building. We don’t see any reason to horde it to ourselves.”

He said that people can come and warm themselves for a few hours or, if necessary, stay in the church’s life center overnight.

“We assess each person’s situation on an as-needed basis,” McKee added. “And then do whatever we can to meet those needs. That’s what Jesus told us to do, to help people in their time of need.”

There are a few basic rules. No smoking, alcohol, illegal drugs or foul language.

“This is God’s house. We expect people to respect it,” McKee added. “They are just rules we all follow.”

McKee expects that more people will turn to the church for temporary warmth as pipes continue to freeze and overtaxed heating units fail.

“We hate to see anybody being cold when we have this nice, warm building to offer,” he added.

Salem Springs Baptist Church is located about 1.5 miles from West Limestone High School at 28320 Alabama 99. For more information about the warming station, call 256-497-7796.