By Neisha Roberts
When the local tornado sirens shriek and the National Weather Service’s Emergency Alert System is activated, Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers prepare for service. And that’s exactly what they did April 25 around 6 p.m. when severe thunderstorms and straight-line winds pushed through Houston County.
The storm caused widespread damage in and around Dothan, Cottonwood, Ashford, Columbia, Taylor and Rehobeth, leaving more than 30,000 people without power, roads blocked and trees on top of cars, houses and businesses. However, no serious injuries were reported.
Ken Farley, who has served as Columbia Baptist Association’s disaster relief coordinator for 14 years, said every disaster is different and it is never a “mundane job.”
“This is the most damage we’ve had since Hurricane Opal (in 1995),” Farley said.
On April 29 he and Harold Southerland, Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief District 5 coordinator, assessed areas in the south and southeast portion of the county.
By May 1, seven teams with volunteers from Columbia Association, Tuskegee Lee Baptist Association, Covington Baptist Association, Cleburne Baptist Association, Elmore Baptist Association, Walker Baptist Association and a heavy equipment team from the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM) were working on chainsaw crews, cleanup crews and cooking, serving and delivering meals to volunteers. At press time, 131 volunteers were working in Dothan and surrounding areas.
Volunteers from Bethlehem Baptist Church, Midland City; Bay Springs Baptist Church, Dothan; Calvary Cottonwood Baptist Church, Cottonwood; Ridgecrest Baptist Church, Dothan; and Logos Baptist Church, Dothan (which has applied for membership in Columbia Association), were cooking and delivering meals for the volunteers or allowing volunteers to eat at the church building. Each day more churches were helping in this capacity, Farley said.
One unique aspect of the disaster relief efforts was that the Dothan Harley-Davidson store allowed the local Faith Riders Motorcycle Ministry chapter and Columbia Association’s volunteers to set up tents and serve lunch to disaster relief volunteers April 29.
Other churches, like Cloverdale Baptist Church, Dothan, and Wiregrass Church, Dothan, also served in disaster relief efforts in the area and more than 100 families without power, at press time, had been fed by five local churches.
At press time Southerland said many requests and work orders were still being filed and he and Farley still had assessments to make. Downed power lines caused problems for completing assessments and getting relief teams to certain areas.
Ridgecrest Baptist, which has its own disaster relief trailer, was part of the association’s overall relief effort and housed teams from outside the area.
Chuck Locke, who handles the missions endeavors as assistant pastor of Ridgecrest, said many of the volunteers who met at the church at 6:30 a.m. on April 26 to help in relief work had been through disaster relief training. By April 28, Ridgecrest teams had completed work on 10 homes and were working on other homes at press time.
‘God loves you’
Locke said disaster relief is a way to show “our community that Ridgecrest and the believers love you and God loves you.”
During relief efforts 12 evangelistic conversations took place with those who were being helped by Ridgecrest teams, Locke said.
“That’s been the best part of it. To show God’s love in a practical way and see where He leads.”
Mel Johnson, Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief strategist, said churches in Columbia Association “really stepped up to the plate to feed and house the disaster relief teams” and “have been a strategic part of our response efforts.”
On May 4, four teams arrived in the area to relieve the initial seven teams and to continue in the second week of relief efforts.
At press time Johnson reported that 47 jobs were completed and 28 professions of faith had been made.
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