Southern Baptist volunteers gave away 17,000 Thanksgiving turkeys in a two-day event in Biloxi, Miss., that culminated with a worship service featuring Christian music artists Newsong and Clay Crosse and country music singer Mark Wills and a message by pastor Johnny Hunt Nov. 21–22.
“Our community lost more than 20,000 jobs after Hurricane Katrina, so I knew that there was a good possibility that 20,000 families would appreciate having a turkey for Thanksgiving,” Kevin Clifford, pastor of Bay Vista Baptist Church in Biloxi, said.
Over the course of a few months, the church was an operations center for the distribution of more than 4 million pounds of food to needy families, and as Thanksgiving approached, the members began to catch a vision for giving away free turkeys, in a continued effort to show the love of Christ.
So Bay Vista spread the word, and in the end, about 200 Christian organizations had contributed money to the project. A man in Virginia gave the church a check for $75,000 to get them started, and the church gave another $25,000 from its disaster relief fund.
The next feat was accomplished when Bay Vista was granted permission to use the local Mississippi Coast Coliseum as a site for distributing the turkeys. The complex was heavily damaged by the hurricane, but in preparation for the handout, volunteers from several states brought in machinery and manpower to clear debris and ensure that the parking lot could handle the massive crowds that would come to pick up a free turkey.
“It was amazing to hear their deep appreciation and their awe that churches would be that committed to them, not ever knowing them, not having met them,” Clifford said of the recipients. “They knew what kind of money had to be spent in order to pull that off.”
Clifford noted that Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who is a Methodist, has credited Baptists with getting the state back on its feet through their tireless efforts in feeding multitudes and giving their time and money to clean up entire communities.
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