Faith-based groups respond in a big way to disasters
When storms and floods wreaked havoc this summer, many church groups jumped into action to help in different ways. Two very active organizations are the Southern Baptist Convention and American Baptist Men, both of which have trained teams ready to help in emergencies.
American Baptist chain saw teams helped clean up after the May 30 tornadoes in the Kearney-Lexington area and more recently worked in Omaha clearing trees downed by 100-mph winds on June 27.
“Across the United States we have groups that put disaster trailers together to respond to disasters in their state and in a 500-mile radius,” said Jason Workman, coordinator of the American Baptist response teams in Nebraska. About 50 people from American Baptist churches across Nebraska, both men and women, are part of the disaster response effort, he said.
In Omaha, teams cleaned up trees and debris in the Royal Oaks and King’s Lake areas and ran generators to provide some homes with electricity.
Workman, a former American Baptist pastor who now is an adoption worker with the state Department of Health and Human Services, first got interested in disaster response when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in August 2005. He led a five-man supply run in the week immediately after the hurricane, taking materials to cleanup crews in hard-hit areas.
In the summer of 2006 and 2007, he led youth and young adult mission teams from Omaha and Georgia to help people in Mississippi coastal areas rebuild their homes.
American Baptists now are delivering buckets filled with cleanup supplies, packed by volunteers at Lincoln’s Second Baptist Church, to flooded areas near Valley.
The Southern Baptist Convention has a nationwide network of disaster response teams, with 83,000 trained volunteers, including about 150 in the Eastern Nebraska Baptist Association’s Disaster Relief program, which draws from churches in the Lincoln-Omaha areas.
The Nebraska group has a four-stall shower trailer that was sent to Pascagoula, Miss., for six months following Hurricane Katrina. Last month, that same trailer provided hot showers for flood victims and rescue workers in South Dakota and Wisconsin.
In early June, 20 volunteers from Cornerstone Baptist Church in LaVista worked 460 hours in an SBA kitchen trailer preparing 1,330 meals for tornado victims in Kearney.
The group also has a laundry trailer with two washing machines that was deployed last year to Greensburg, Kan., following the tornado that destroyed that town, said Mark Elliott, director of missions for the ENBA. A team of Omaha-area Southern Baptists went to Greensburg from June 8-13 this year to help with continued rebuilding efforts.
That same week, Southern Baptist chain saw crews were hard at work in Millard helping clean up after the June 8 tornado.
Other volunteers are still manning shower and laundry trailers for flood workers in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
“We do whatever we’re called to do,” said Art Push, the SBC disaster relief coordinator for eastern Nebraska. That can range from hands-on cleanup to on-site chaplaincy and counseling for storm victims, he said.
Both the Southern and American Baptist teams work closely with the Red Cross and other agencies and respond to alerts from state and federal authorities, as well as requests from individuals.
Push, who lives in the Omaha area, said he and his wife, Debbie, decided to volunteer for the disaster relief effort after reading a novel about the importance of Christian service. It’s a way of showing compassion for people in need, and it’s also a way to get men involved in the mission of the church, Push said. “It’s a tremendous outlet for guys who really want to make an impact on people’s lives.”
R.D. Fowler, pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Lincoln, is taking training classes so he can work on future disaster teams.
“It’s an extension of what we do as ministers,” he said. “But it’s not restricted to ministers. Any member of a Southern Baptist church can go through the training and get involved.”
The teams “are following the example of Christ” by bringing hope and restoration to people in emergencies, Workman said. “When we respond at the times of greatest need, we see Christ’s love in action.”
Church members wishing to help with either of the Baptist disaster reponse efforts should contact their local pastors; or call (402) 556-4730 (American Baptist) or (402) 551-0608 (Southern Baptist).
Faith-based groups have an important role both in emergency response and long-term recovery efforts, said George Betz, voluntary agency liaison with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Other denominational agencies specifically for disaster relief include Mennonite Disaster Services, United Jewish Communities, Catholic Charities USA, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, United Methodist Committee on Relief and Friends Disaster Service, to name a few.
Betz noted that people who have received help from a faith-based group or other volunteer organization may still qualify for a disaster grant from FEMA. For more information about that, call (800) 621-3362.
Reach Bob Reeves at 473-7212 or breeves@journalstar.com.
American Baptist chain saw teams helped clean up after the May 30 tornadoes in the Kearney-Lexington area and more recently worked in Omaha clearing trees downed by 100-mph winds on June 27.
“Across the United States we have groups that put disaster trailers together to respond to disasters in their state and in a 500-mile radius,” said Jason Workman, coordinator of the American Baptist response teams in Nebraska. About 50 people from American Baptist churches across Nebraska, both men and women, are part of the disaster response effort, he said.
In Omaha, teams cleaned up trees and debris in the Royal Oaks and King’s Lake areas and ran generators to provide some homes with electricity.
Workman, a former American Baptist pastor who now is an adoption worker with the state Department of Health and Human Services, first got interested in disaster response when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in August 2005. He led a five-man supply run in the week immediately after the hurricane, taking materials to cleanup crews in hard-hit areas.
In the summer of 2006 and 2007, he led youth and young adult mission teams from Omaha and Georgia to help people in Mississippi coastal areas rebuild their homes.
American Baptists now are delivering buckets filled with cleanup supplies, packed by volunteers at Lincoln’s Second Baptist Church, to flooded areas near Valley.
The Southern Baptist Convention has a nationwide network of disaster response teams, with 83,000 trained volunteers, including about 150 in the Eastern Nebraska Baptist Association’s Disaster Relief program, which draws from churches in the Lincoln-Omaha areas.
The Nebraska group has a four-stall shower trailer that was sent to Pascagoula, Miss., for six months following Hurricane Katrina. Last month, that same trailer provided hot showers for flood victims and rescue workers in South Dakota and Wisconsin.
In early June, 20 volunteers from Cornerstone Baptist Church in LaVista worked 460 hours in an SBA kitchen trailer preparing 1,330 meals for tornado victims in Kearney.
The group also has a laundry trailer with two washing machines that was deployed last year to Greensburg, Kan., following the tornado that destroyed that town, said Mark Elliott, director of missions for the ENBA. A team of Omaha-area Southern Baptists went to Greensburg from June 8-13 this year to help with continued rebuilding efforts.
That same week, Southern Baptist chain saw crews were hard at work in Millard helping clean up after the June 8 tornado.
Other volunteers are still manning shower and laundry trailers for flood workers in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
“We do whatever we’re called to do,” said Art Push, the SBC disaster relief coordinator for eastern Nebraska. That can range from hands-on cleanup to on-site chaplaincy and counseling for storm victims, he said.
Both the Southern and American Baptist teams work closely with the Red Cross and other agencies and respond to alerts from state and federal authorities, as well as requests from individuals.
Push, who lives in the Omaha area, said he and his wife, Debbie, decided to volunteer for the disaster relief effort after reading a novel about the importance of Christian service. It’s a way of showing compassion for people in need, and it’s also a way to get men involved in the mission of the church, Push said. “It’s a tremendous outlet for guys who really want to make an impact on people’s lives.”
R.D. Fowler, pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Lincoln, is taking training classes so he can work on future disaster teams.
“It’s an extension of what we do as ministers,” he said. “But it’s not restricted to ministers. Any member of a Southern Baptist church can go through the training and get involved.”
The teams “are following the example of Christ” by bringing hope and restoration to people in emergencies, Workman said. “When we respond at the times of greatest need, we see Christ’s love in action.”
Church members wishing to help with either of the Baptist disaster reponse efforts should contact their local pastors; or call (402) 556-4730 (American Baptist) or (402) 551-0608 (Southern Baptist).
Faith-based groups have an important role both in emergency response and long-term recovery efforts, said George Betz, voluntary agency liaison with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Other denominational agencies specifically for disaster relief include Mennonite Disaster Services, United Jewish Communities, Catholic Charities USA, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, United Methodist Committee on Relief and Friends Disaster Service, to name a few.
Betz noted that people who have received help from a faith-based group or other volunteer organization may still qualify for a disaster grant from FEMA. For more information about that, call (800) 621-3362.
Reach Bob Reeves at 473-7212 or breeves@journalstar.com.
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