Southern Baptists spring into action after devastating storm

MURRAY, Ky. (BP and local reports) – Southern Baptists have set up six disaster relief sites across the South following the Dec. 10-11 supercell storm front that spawned multiple tornadoes and a fatality count that could go over 100 people.

Mississippi Baptist Disaster Relief is standing by to minister in the affected areas should Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) coordinators call for mobilization, reported Hubert Yates, director of disaster relief at the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board.

With four sites in Kentucky, two in Arkansas, one in Missouri, and local responses taking place in Tennessee, SBDR efforts are underway to help survivors in the storm recovery.

“The massive amount of damage and the scope of need is almost beyond comprehension in communities stretching almost 200 miles, but Southern Baptist leaders and volunteers have been amazing in response,” said Coy Webb, crisis response director for SEND Relief, the compassion ministry of Southern Baptists headquartered at the North American Mission Board (NAMB) in Alpharetta, Ga.

“Many of those leaders and volunteers were on the ground in the first 24 hours and continue to respond as they provide help and hope to those reeling across Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas,” Webb said.

Kentucky has recorded the highest death toll thus far – 74 of the 88 fatalities – and dozens more people are reported as still missing. The toll is expected to rise.

First Church, Murray, Ky., will host the SBDR volunteer teams that will be responding in the town of Mayfield and surrounding area, which was flattened by a powerful tornado thrown off by the storm.

In the wake of this disaster, volunteers will have the opportunity to provide physical help and spiritual hope. “They certainly go through the stages of grief. When the shock is gone, and it’s getting gone now, reality sets in,” said Glenn Hickey, who will serve as SBDR incident command leader.

“The soul is broken. The spirit is broke,” he said. “If we do our job right and act right, it opens a door to pray with them and share Jesus with them.”

Wes Fowler, pastor of First Church, Mayfield, spoke to his congregation Dec. 12 in their church building which though heavily damaged, remained standing while many other buildings were crushed in the town of just under 10,000 residents in southwestern part of the state.

“In the middle of the storm, there’s only one place where we truly have peace and that’s when we place our faith and our trust in Jesus,” Fowler told his people in a video on the website of The Washington Post.

“In the middle of the storm, there’s only one place where we truly have peace and that’s when we place our faith and our trust in Jesus.”

Wes Fowler, pastor of First Church, Mayfield

Other Kentucky Baptist churches will host SBDR teams in Benton, Princeton, and Bowling Green for the response, which will likely last weeks if not months. SEND Relief delivered a shipment of resources Dec. 14 that included roofing materials, emergency food, and other disaster relief supplies from its warehouse in Ashland, Ky., to service the SBDR sites throughout the state.

NAMB has donated $25,000 to the response, according to Kentucky Today, a publication of the Kentucky Baptist Convention.

Volunteers with Arkansas Baptist Disaster Relief began early in the week preparing meals, providing chainsaw work, and affixing temporary roofing to damaged homes in that state. Local teams in Tennessee have been providing relief work while the state’s Baptist Disaster Relief leaders continue assessing needs.

Tax-deductible financial gifts to meet disaster relief needs can be sent to the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board at P.O. Box 530, Jackson, MS 39205-0530. Checks should be made payable to the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board and designated “Disaster Relief” on the memo line. To contribute electronically through a secure credit card site, visit https://www.mbcb.org/giving/.

To contribute electronically to Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief through a secure credit card site, visit https://kbc-exe.givingfuel.com/disaster-relief-tornado-donations. Gifts are tax deductible.

SEND Relief has set up a donation site, https://www.sendrelief.org/projects/midwest-south-tornadoes/ for those wishing to make a monetary donation for relief. Gifts are tax deductible.

For more information on Mississippi Baptist Disaster Relief, visit https://www.mbcb.org/business-services/disaster-relief/getting-involved/.