Disaster Relief

JACKSON, Miss. (BP) – Mississippi Baptist Disaster Relief (MBDR) volunteers are responding in multiple locations after a series of massive tornadoes was spawned by a super cell weather system that moved through the state on the evening of March 24. The number of fatalities statewide is estimated at 26.

ROLLING FORK, Miss. (BP) – Pastor Bob Gilliland’s son Roger called and told him to turn on the weather; a tornado was approaching.

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (BP) — California Baptists are collecting supplies and delivering sandbags while grappling with both a historic snowfall and incoming heavy rains.

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (BP) — Residents of East Palestine, Ohio remain on edge, despite officials’ assurances, about the safety of returning to their homes after a Norfolk Southern Railway train derailed Feb. 3. A subsequent “controlled breach” of the train’s cars resulted in a large fire and cloud that covered the area, leading many to stay away in hotels or homes with friends or relatives.

GAZIANTEP, Turkey (AP) – With hope of finding survivors fading, stretched rescue teams in Turkey and Syria searched Wednesday for signs of life in the rubble of thousands of buildings toppled by the world's deadliest earthquake in more than a decade. The confirmed death toll approached 12,000.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (BP) – Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) volunteer Jason Yarbrough kicked off his first year as state disaster relief director for the Baptist Convention of Oklahoma by attending the annual SBDR roundtable Jan. 24-26 at North Jacksonville Baptist Church in Jacksonville.

MEMPHIS (BP) – Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams from Tennessee and Mississippi are providing support for first responders Friday (Jan. 27) in Memphis as the city braces for possible protests related to the reported beating and death of a man who died a few days following his arrest on Jan. 7. Since the incident, five former police officers have been charged with murder.

Editor’s note: Rick Lance is executive director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions. PRATTVILLE, Ala. (BP) – When terrible events happen, who are you going to call? The answer is often the Yellow Shirt Army – namely Southern Baptist Disaster Relief workers. Across the SBC, many state conventions have trained people who make […]

AUTAGA COUNTY, Ala. (BP) – Josh Pendergrass was at home Jan. 12 watching storm coverage when he saw the meteorologist draw a circle around the exact place where his church sat.

SELMA, Ala. (BP) – Guy Anderson’s downtown home has a big front porch, and he’s stood on it many times in the more than 25 years since he and his wife, Debbie, bought the historic 1880s property.