BATON ROUGE - More than a year after receiving tools to help rebuild from the August 2016 flood, a local church is honoring the hardware store employee that made the donation.

Mike Pitts, an employee of Lowe's in Baton Rouge, donated tools to Hope United Methodist Church last February after WBRZ reported that thieves had stolen the pastor's tools not once, but twice. 

At Sunday's church service, Pastor H. Louis Jones and others presented Pitts with an award for his kindness.

"Mike was a part of fostering and nurturing hope," Jones said. 

Pitts attended the service with his wife and son, and afterward, was in awe of the congregation's gesture. 

"My best reward is seeing how happy everyone is in this church and how grateful they are to have their church back," Pitts said.

Shortly after the water receded from within the sanctuary, Jones got to work replacing floors and repairing the pulpit.

"You come in one day and your baby is just destroyed," Jones said. "It was though there was no hope."

It's been 13 months since his tools were stolen, and Jones is thankful for Pitts in restoring his church's hope.

"What God has for you is going to surpass what you've done for us, and you've done so much for us," Jones said.