Philly volunteers spread brotherly love in Louisiana
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| Sorting donations Volunteers from two Philadelphia-area congregations traveled 24 hours to join in Louisiana relief efforts such as sorting donated clothing at First Baptist Church in Slidell. Photo courtesy of Keystone Community Fellowship |
But the tragedy that these Pennsylvania volunteers from metro Philadelphia were seeing was overwhelming.
Although First Baptist Slidell -– two miles from Lake Ponchartrain –- sustained four feet of flooding from Hurricane Katrina in some of its facilities, the church was ministering in its stricken community with the help of Southern Baptist volunteers like the dozen members of Keystone Community Fellowship and five from Riverside Community Church, both suburban Philadelphia church starts that target people in the postmodern generation.
Retired educator dons ‘blue hat’ as disaster relief coordinator
COVINGTON, La. (BP)--Upon his retirement as a high school principal, Dempsey Haymon knew he wanted to help with disaster relief.
FIRST-PERSON: Rescued from hell and high water
PLANO, Texas (BP)--On Aug. 29, just days before the fourth anniversary of 9-11, another attack came upon America -- not by terrorists, but by a powerful hurricane. Hurricane Katrina crippled the Gulf Coast with its potent winds and unrelenting surge. Katrina has taken the lives of more than 1,000 people, and in ways that we can’t even imagine, its survivors continue to struggle with the prospect of starting over, having lost everything they know and love.
FIRST-PERSON: Making evangelism good news again
METAIRIE, La. (BP)--On the weekend of Aug. 26-28, the Celebration Congregation of New Orleans was planning to add a fifth weekend service. In a city often referred to as “the graveyard of churches,” our church was experiencing significant growth spiritually and numerically.
1,200-plus churches vow to adopt damaged churches on Gulf
ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)--More than 1,200 Southern Baptist churches have committed to help SBC churches in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The Adopt A Church partnership was initiated by the North American Mission Board the week after the hurricane destroyed thousands of homes and business along the Gulf Coast including hundreds of SBC churches.
Aiding Katrina victims in La., collegians abandon comfort
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| Back to bare wood Quinn Roddy of Midwestern Baptist College tears out drywall ruined by flooding from Hurricane Katrina in Slidell, La. Photo courtesy of MBTS |
On the other end of the phone conversation was a fellow pastor on the Gulf Coast requesting Whitley’s help in mobilizing churches to provide disaster relief in the region.
Whitley, pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Washington, Mo., immediately began e-mailing and calling Southern Baptist churches in the Franklin County Baptist Association to form a disaster relief team to head to Louisiana.
“I put the team together really in three days,” Whitley said of the short notice given.
As he began recruiting volunteers, one of the first phone calls he made was to Scott Brawner, dean of students at Midwestern Baptist College, SBC, and director of Fusion, the college’s year-long program to provide training in hands-on ministry and missions.
FIRST-PERSON: Sat. & Sun. back in New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS (BP)--Margaret and I re-entered our home in the New Orleans western suburb of River Ridge Saturday night at 6:30 p.m., precisely four weeks and two and a half hours since we fled Hurricane Katrina. I revisited our house two days after Labor Day for an hour to retrieve some clothes and check on things, and I thought I knew what to expect on returning. Not quite.
Evacuees find safety, generosity at Baptist church’s shelter
BATON ROUGE, La. (BP)--Rose Keeting saw firsthand the violence brought about by Hurricane Katrina.
Chapman gets firsthand look at Gulf Coast disaster & relief
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| Praying for souls Georgia layman George Swaringen (right), who led several people to Christ at the disaster relief feeding station at First Baptist Church in Pascagoula, Miss., prays with Morris H. Chapman, president of the SBC Executive Committee. Photo by Norm Miller |
That’s what George Swaringen was saying at the end of a food line at First Baptist Church in Pascagoula, Miss., when Morris H. Chapman, president of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee and a Mississippi native, arrived at the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief feeding station there.
“I tell the people, ‘You’ve got bread and water from the food line. But I’m passing out the Bread and Water of life,’” Swaringen, a member of Antioch Baptist Church in Woodbury, Ga., told Chapman. Swaringen had already led several people to Christ -– one while Chapman was on-site.
SBC president hails task force report, says evangelism & CP support are essentials in selecting denomination leaders
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Southern Baptist Convention President Bobby Welch is applauding a task force report that calls for greater Cooperative Program support from leaders throughout the Southern Baptist Convention.
