September 2016 Spare Change
Behind every disaster relief effort are Southern Baptist volunteers. Often the Red Cross or other organizations get the credit. They are the ones passing out the meals and
setting up recovery center, but who is fixing all those meals…Southern Baptists! Check out this article from the Baptist Press on August 17th.
ALPHARARETTA, Ga. (BP) -- The death toll in south Louisiana's unprecedented flooding has risen to 11, and at least 40,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed. In response, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) is deploying volunteers, equipment and resources to the affected area, including four kitchens in Baton Rouge, Hammond, Lafayette and Walker.
The American Red Cross has requested four kitchens which each have capacity of 10,000 meals per day. All four DR teams deploying have twice that capacity. Additional support is expected given the scope of the disaster and the long-term nature of the relief work to be accomplished.
"The spring floods in Louisiana this year affected 10,000 homes, and the response duration was 80-90 days," said David Melber, vice president for Send Relief at the North American Mission Board (NAMB). "Currently we are estimating as many 50,000 affected homes and a much longer response."
The four kitchens will be staffed by SBDR volunteers from Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. Alabama SBDR, like many states, is preparing for the response and will be sending volunteers and at least one shower unit.
"We have multiple states getting mobilized at this point," Melber said. "The four key meal preparation areas will be located at Baptist churches, including Istrouma Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, Woodlawn Park Baptist Church in Hammond, [The] Bayou Church in Lafayette and Walker Baptist Church in Walker. Additionally, we have 16 other Baptist churches set up as defined worksites."
Those wishing to donate to SBDR relief can contact the Baptist convention in their state or visit 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."
NAMB coordinates and manages Southern Baptist responses to major disasters through partnerships with 42 state Baptist conventions, most of which have their own state Disaster Relief ministries.
Southern Baptists have 65,000 trained volunteers -- including chaplains -- and 1,550 mobile units for feeding, chainsaw, mud-out, command, communication, child care, shower, laundry, water purification, repair/rebuild and power generation. SBDR is one of the three largest mobilizers of trained disaster relief volunteers in the United States, along with the American Red Cross and The Salvation Army.
I don’t know about you but I am proud to be a Southern Baptist. I am not just proud because we respond to disasters and have a great heart to serve, but that we do it with a gospel focus. Each and every worker goes with the love of Christ to be a light to those that are hurting. I have heard first hand stories of SBDR volunteers leading people to Christ, people getting plugged into churches and just general spiritual encouragement. Please pray for these ongoing efforts and consider giving to NAMB Disaster Relief. Every dollar you donate goes directly to help these victims.
Also consider going on a mission trip yourself. We have a trip scheduled to Detroit Oct. 9th – 14th. Even though Detroit has not been through a natural disaster, there is still plenty of work to do. If you interested in going on this trip, please contact me at or call me at 812-476-3450.
