In the wake of killer tornadoes that struck Alabama on April 27, hundreds of Southern Baptist disaster relief workers have mobilized to help with cleanup, feeding victims and meeting other physical needs.
But who coordinates this army of volunteers?
That is the job of 15 on-site command centers around the state, where incident commanders organize workers, gather reports of people in need and dispatch teams to meet those needs in the name of Christ. These command centers work under the direction of the main command center in Montgomery. The main command center is housed away from the destruction areas and is known as the off-site incident command center (more on this center coming in next week’s issue).
The on-site command centers are located in Birmingham (two), Huntsville, Tuscaloosa (three), Cullman, Geraldine, Jasper, Russellville, Double Springs, Snead, Capshaw, Henagar and Rainsville.
Geraldine
First Baptist Church, Geraldine, was serving as a command center for about 75 chain saw team volunteers and site assessors as well as eight chaplains, according to Larry Cupper, incident command leader for DeKalb and Marshall counties.
Much of the chain saw work involved removing trees from homes, Cupper said. But along with the physical labor, his teams addressed spiritual needs, seeing several people make professions of faith in Christ.
When Cupper shared Jesus with one young man, he learned that the man was already a Christian but felt discouraged by the destruction around him.
“I tried to encourage him, and we prayed a long time,” Cupper said. “He wanted to show me around, so I stopped what I was doing and put him in the vehicle with me and just rode around for a little bit. He knew all the neighbors, and it helped him just to get away for a little bit. I hope we made a little difference there.”
Birmingham
A command center at Birmingham Baptist Association was coordinating the distribution of 8,000 meals per day and dispatching chain saw teams to clear debris, according to incident commander John Hayes. Though the center had other ministries available, he said food and chain saw teams were the primary needs.
Often the chain saw teams were able to provide friendship and a kind word to people with high stress levels, Hayes said. On one occasion, a team helped calm a woman who was extremely upset because of the destruction. By meeting her physical needs, the team opened a door to address her spiritual needs, he said.
“They were able to call one of the local pastors to come in, and she made a profession of faith,” Hayes added.
Huntsville
Mount Zion Baptist Church, Huntsville, housed a command center coordinating chain saw crews, shower units, a feeding unit, assessment teams and a chaplain unit. At least 132 volunteers have worked at the center, including many from South Carolina and Michigan.
Among the people served by volunteers in Huntsville was a 71-year-old woman whose house was covered by pine trees but who had been overlooked by local officials. Teams worked for two days to get the trees off her house, site commander David Carver said.
Henagar
Seven chain saw teams from Kentucky and four from Alabama worked out of the command center at Happy Home Baptist Church, Henagar. The church provided sleeping accommodations for 75 Kentucky volunteers.
Incident commander David Patty said a unique bond existed between some of the Kentucky and Alabama workers because Alabama Baptists did disaster relief work in Kentucky two years ago following a severe ice storm.
“In fact, we stayed in the church of one of the teams that’s here now helping us,” Patty, director of missions for Sand Mountain Baptist Association, said. “So my guys and their guys recognized each other.”
Tuscaloosa
About 130 cleanup and recovery volunteers have worked since April 29 from the command center at Cottondale Baptist Church near Tuscaloosa. Team leader Larry Teel said every night, there were reports of spiritual conversations between workers and those they served.
One worker had an “extensive conversation with a Hindu gentleman who was convinced that he was OK” and thought he “would be reincarnated not as a snake but maybe as a bird,” Teel said.
Cullman
At Cullman’s Northbrook Baptist Church, dozens of chain saw cleanup volunteers coordinated their efforts and were fed their meals. On May 2, 92 workers were based at the congregation’s command center.
Gary Nunn, director of discipleship ministries at Northbrook Baptist, said disaster relief is a way to introduce lost people in the community to Christ.
“Being able to provide a place where these folks can come in from different states and be able to go out from here for the Kingdom cause is just invaluable,” Nunn said. “The Lord has blessed us with a great facility, so we’re just using it to honor Him.”
Moulton
Pastor Jesse Reeder of Moulton Baptist Church said chain saw crews based at his church have made an impact in the community and unchurched families have attended worship in the wake of the tornadoes. Though the congregation was without electricity May 1, four or five new families from the community visited the morning worship service during which they heard a gospel presentation, Reeder said.
In addition to about 30 chain saw volunteers from Oklahoma, church members volunteered to help with relief ministries, he said. One deacon used a bulldozer to clean particularly hard-hit sites.
“Some of the families have expressed a lot of gratitude for what we’ve been able to do, and we’ve been able to talk with them some about their spiritual needs,” Reeder said.
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