Alabama Baptists, others still helping Mississippi’s Katrina-battered churches in large-scale effort

Alabama Baptists, others still helping Mississippi’s Katrina-battered churches in large-scale effort

Everyone down here is tired of looking at it, tired of dealing with it and tired of looking ahead and realizing another hurricane season is on the way.”

The words were Steve Mooneyham’s, director of missions for Gulf Coast Baptist Association in Gulfport, Miss. But according to him, they could be those of anyone in his area, which was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

“All but about 15 of our 65 churches sustained a good bit of damage, and 18 to 20 were damaged beyond use. And it still looks pretty brutal,” he said. “But in spite of being tired, this has given our people an opportunity to minister differently than they ever have.”

As a result of volunteer efforts and church ministries, people are still being saved every week, Mooneyham said. Neighbors will walk up to volunteers to see what’s going on, hear the gospel presented and accept Christ on the spot.

“The fisherman might say the fishing is good when the fish are jumping in the boat,” he said with a laugh. “People may be fussing at FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and cussing at everyone else, but when they talk about the churches, they have nothing but good to say.”

Some churches are still running relief sites to give away staple items and still seeing a flow of people almost as strong as when the storm first hit. Many are housing out-of-state volunteers in large numbers in the very buildings the volunteers are helping to repair.

“Seven of our churches that are scheduling volunteers to stay in their facilities are full all the way through the summer, and other churches are still scheduling teams,” Mooneyham said. “One church has housed 4,000 volunteers in their facility since the storm hit.”

At First Baptist Church, Bay St. Louis, Miss., the congregation — 75 percent of which is now homeless, including half the staff — is weary but happy to help house the 200–250 volunteers who stay in its facilities each week to rebuild the area.

“Our church adopted a ‘community first’ attitude. This is what the Lord wants us to do, and that in itself gives us the energy to keep going,” Pastor Al Green said. “These volunteers are making it possible for us to [reach our community].”

Housing such large numbers of visitors is an overwhelming responsibility, and that’s one of the factors contributing to the churches’ exhaustion, Mooneyham explained. “But folks are very gracious to respond to the needs here, and we are blessed to have their help.”

There are some things, however, that volunteer teams can do to relieve the pressure on the churches they are trying to help recover:

– Come  self-contained. “Though some of our churches are still cooking meals for volunteers, many are trying to scale back to simply providing a building to stay in, a place to cook and a place to shower. That way, there aren’t as many needs they have to meet,” Mooneyham said.

– If the church is feeding the team, then consider donating food to help it, he said. Also consider helping with utility costs.

– Be prepared to be flexible. “It’s pretty much a Spartan existence for volunteers down here — you may be sleeping on a pew or on an air mattress if you bring it,” Mooneyham said.

Making advance preparations for less-than-desirable conditions is an easy adjustment for Alabama Baptist disaster relief teams — for most, it’s already standard procedure, according to Tommy Puckett, director of disaster relief for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.

“There are groups from Alabama that have been going out since the beginning and who are making plans to go again this summer,” he said. He added that many have followed Mooneyham’s suggestions, getting supplies secured and other arrangements settled before ever leaving for the Mississippi coast.

Other state Baptist conventions have built formal partnerships in the affected area, but Alabama Baptists have built a variety of informal partnerships with Mississippi churches.

“Even though Alabama hasn’t officially partnered with the Mississippi convention, I run into Alabama folks all the time,” said Jim Didlake, director of disaster relief for the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board (MBCB). “Many have not just come once but have come over and over again. We have a tremendous relationship with Alabama, and I am thankful that we can respond to you and that you have responded to us.”

The MBCB has seen about 1,500 volunteers swarm the coast from Pascagoula to Pearlington helping the area’s 180 churches and its neighbors rebuild, he said.

Mississippi Baptists have also distributed 2,000 grants of $1,500 each through the local churches to individuals who have decided to rebuild. Didlake said the money came from Baptists in Mississippi and across the Southern Baptist Convention.

“In both money and volunteer help, we have seen a tremendous and continuous outpouring of our sister states,” he said. “This is seeing Southern Baptists at their best.”