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Louisiana flood response to include associations


BATON ROUGE, La. (BP) — Local Baptist associations are poised to play a major role in the ongoing response to the south Louisiana floods.

As the worst U.S natural disaster since Hurricane Sandy continued to close roads and keep thousands of people out of their homes, associational directors of missions from Louisiana said in an Aug. 15 conference call with the North American Mission Board they are prepared to help coordinate donation of personal items for flood victims and recruit volunteers to be trained in disaster relief.

“We determined to coordinate with pastors who are flooded, churches that are flooded,” Jill Morrow, an administrative assistant with the Louisiana Baptist Convention’s missions and ministry division, said of the conference call.

The way to beat the floods, Morrow said, is to keep communication channels open and directives clear.

“There are lists of items that need to be collected and distributed,” Morrow said. “We’ve asked DOMs and churches to collect these items and prepare to ship [them] where directed.”

In partnership with the DOMs, NAMB and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) will continue to assist with volunteers, provisions and training, including recruitment of SBDR volunteer teams from other states.

NAMB will supply leadership for new-volunteer Disaster Relief training and source Louisiana with expert personnel to assist at the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.

NAMB is currently working with the Louisiana Baptist Convention (LBC) staff to establish additional training sites for disaster relief volunteers.

“We are heartbroken to see the catastrophic loss that the people of Louisiana are experiencing,” NAMB vice president of Send Relief David Melber said. “Our prayers and efforts here at NAMB are to seek to mobilize our SBC family across this country to assist in any way possible.”

Louisiana SBDR director Gibbie McMillan and his team have established a logistical center to track equipment and supplies pouring in from other organizations in an attempt to remain organized.

“My priority is to assist those who need help in times of disaster,” McMillan said. “If there is a disaster in Louisiana, my heart is always there and my hands and feet are often there as well.”

Melber added, “God is using this for His glory. And we pray that our collective efforts will meet not only the physical needs, but most importantly that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is boldly proclaimed throughout this crisis.”

Among points of contact related to the flood response:

— Flooded pastors should contact Bill Robertson, LBC pastoral leadership director, at [email protected].

— Flooded churches should contact Wayne Sheppard, LBC executive assistant, at [email protected].

— Volunteers from non-affected areas of Louisiana will be trained and placed by Wayne Jenkins, LBC evangelism and church growth director. He can be contacted at [email protected].

The LBC has posted a list of items needed on its disaster relief homepage: www.louisianabaptists.org/disasterrelief.

Those wishing to donate to SBDR relief can contact the Baptist convention in their state or visit www.donations.namb.net/dr-donations.

For phone donations, call 1-866-407-NAMB (6262) or mail checks to NAMB, P.O. Box 116543, Atlanta, GA 30368-6543. Designate checks for “Disaster Relief.”