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SERVE SUNDAY: Small-town church serves community during crises big and small

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Editor’s note: Sunday, August 10, is Serve Sunday in the Southern Baptist Convention.

PERRY, Fla. – First Baptist Church of Perry hosted a back-to-school bash on their campus, Wednesday, July 30, to serve its community, with Send Relief providing some of the backpacks church members filled with supplies and gave away to their neighbors.

“Our goal in this has always been to have a large-scale summer back-to-school event that gets the community on our campus, that brings families on our campus,” said Steven Ruff, pastor of FBC Perry. “The goal that we have for the children who come on campus is that when they leave, they have everything they need, all their supplies, to go to school on day one.”

The eighth annual event has become a staple outreach for a congregation that has grown accustomed to serving its community. For the last three years, Send Relief, the compassion ministry of Southern Baptists, has provided a portion of those backpacks [2] to the church at no charge.

During the Hurricane Helene response in 2024, First Baptist Church of Perry, Fla., hosted Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) volunteers on their church campus. Pastor Steven Ruff (right) met with former Send Relief president Bryant Wright (left) as Send Relief provided resources and administrative support to SBDR during the disaster relief efforts. Send Relief photo by Joseph Ibarra

FBC Perry creates a carnival atmosphere that includes face painting, inflatable games, snow cones and popcorn. Other community partners – such as local law enforcement, hospitals, representatives from local schools and the Boys and Girls Club – participate as well.

“We want these families to know that we’re here beyond just school time. We want them to think of us if something comes up in their family life down the road,” Ruff said. “This kind of community engagement is what we do as a church. It’s a passion of my heart.”

All told, the church was able to serve 140 families, give away 320 backpacks and host 75 volunteers to make the event possible. They also engaged in Gospel conversations and discovered ways they could connect with some of the families in the future.

Supporting their community during the school year has been just one element of FBC Perry’s efforts to minister to its community. The church also hosts a diaper giveaway twice a year to help young families and single parents who hit difficult times.

“Recently, one of our largest employers in town, one of our paper mills, shut down,” Ruff said. “There’s a large economic downturn here. So, we tried to find a way to meet the needs of our families. People donate diapers, and we give them away to those who register. That enables us to connect with them and see if there are other ways we can meet their needs.”

Over the last couple of years, the small town of Perry has endured a string of major hurricanes making landfall nearby: Idalia in 2023, then the double punch of Debby and Helene in 2024. Each time, the church campus became a base of operations for Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR).

On Wednesday, July 30, First Baptist Church of Perry, Fla., hosted its eighth annual back-to-school bash for their community. The church created a carnival-like atmosphere that included face painting, snow cones, and inflatable games. In partnership with Send Relief, the church also gave away free backpacks with supplies to members of their community. FBC Perry photo

SBDR is one of the largest volunteer organizations in the nation that provides disaster relief in the wake of crises, whether widespread or isolated. FBC Perry housed SBDR volunteers [3] who spread throughout the region to help with debris removal and home repairs for local homeowners. Send Relief assists SBDR by providing resources and administrative support during major crisis responses.

“As trying as those times were, when it was over, the people remember where the help came from,” said Ruff. “We still, at times, get people who stop by and ask, ‘Aren’t you the church that helped us during the hurricane season, that had those yellow shirts?’”

After Idalia, the church hosted SBDR teams for two months as they assisted in the feeding and recovery after the storm, and for the next two hurricanes, it hosted them a month each time.

“The witness that was left to our community when it was over was the greatest thing that could’ve happened, and that was worth all the effort,” Ruff said.

Through Send Relief, churches can find the tools they need [4] to jumpstart an impactful, long-lasting ministry. Learn more about how your church can reach its community through compassion ministry at SendRelief.org [4].

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