Ever since Hurricane Katrina hit, many Alabama Baptist churches have made ongoing efforts to help rebuild lives in storm-battered Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. The following is a brief look at the stories of a few of the Alabama teams that have been going to the Mississippi Gulf Coast on a consistent basis.
– When Jennifer Johnson, a member of Willowbrook Baptist Church, Huntsville, in Madison Baptist Association, began ministering to people displaced to Huntsville by Katrina, she never dreamed it would lead to a full-scale effort to rebuild the community of Pearlington, Miss.
On a trip to Harvey, La., Johnson and two others stopped in Pearlington to drop off a load of supplies at a disaster relief site. “When we turned the corner, the first building we saw was the First Southern Baptist Church. It broke our hearts to see the building stripped down to the studs and concrete flooring,” Johnson said. Things kept coming together and soon Whitesburg Baptist Church, Huntsville, along with other Madison Association churches, began the BRICK Layers (Believers Rebuilding in Christ’s Kingdom) with a motto of “Rebuilding Pearlington … one brick at a time.” Teams have since taken 10 missions trips. Five more are planned through October, one of which Director of Missions (DOM) John Long will lead with a team from Pennsylvania to rebuild a couple’s home. The wood for the home’s frame is being collected by students at Whitesburg Academy (of Whitesburg Baptist) in a wood drive. The students will write messages of hope on their pieces of wood.
– Members of more than a dozen churches in DeKalb Baptist Association have taken several trips to Mississippi’s Pearl River County to put metal roofs on six church buildings at a fraction of the quotes given by contractors.
“We buy the metal in Rainsville, send a scouting team down ahead so we can get the metal customized, then take it down pre-cut and put it on,” said Kenneth Clement, DeKalb Association DOM. “We just started our disaster relief team about a year ago, and the Lord has really blessed us and opened doors for service.” The team ranged from 20 to 30 each trip. The bulk of the funds came from a Baptist church in New York, Clement said.
– Teams from NorthPark Baptist Church, Trussville, in Birmingham Baptist Association, have already taken four trips to Gulfport, Miss., this year with a portable kitchen purchased specifically to help feed Katrina victims. Eight more trips are planned for this year. (TAB)
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